now I am aware that there are always newbies claiming that their razor just isn't sharp enough and it isn't their own fault that they are getting bad shaves, however I have a bit of proof (or at least i think, and that's why I'm asking for second opinions) that the reason for the bad shaves is actually the razor.
Around October I bought my first straight from Larry over at whipped dog and he was a pleasure to do business with. A lot of help, and even with the sight unseen deal he let me request a specific color for the razor I was getting. Up until that point, I had been using a Parker shavette with Shark blades and got really good results for my first few times with a straight (went right from the dreaded cartridge to a shavette simply on a whim and from some poking around this site). So seeing as I am a purist, I wanted the real thing because I had read that it just doesn't compare to a shavette. Now I am admitting that this was my first go around with stroping and maintaining a straight, so I almost definitely lowered the life of the hone that came with the razor from Larry, because at first it shaved like a dream. I was thoroughly enjoying my new W.H. Morely straight until about 2-3 weeks ago when I started to get really bad razor burn. The first time was when I attempted my first go around at shaving two days in a row (I usually give two to three days off in between shaves), and then I started to get razor burn right around where the moustache connects to the beard on the side of the mouth. I tried dropping the angle, using such little pressure that the razor barely was on the skin, only going WTG and XTG, and even relathering right before I shaved that specific area, but to no avail.
Well, long story short, I dropped the razor last weekend, and while I'm pretty positive I hadn't damaged it (it was closed when it fell, but slightly opened when it hit), I didn't want to chance it and royally mess up my face. So when I got back to my dorm from Thanksgiving break, I threw a fresh blade in my shavette which had taken a back seat to the straight and voila, the razor burn had essentially disappeared. This led me to believe that it was a dull razor (most likely caused by me the newbie learning how to strop and shave) that was giving me ever-worsening shaves and razor burn, and not my actual technique or methods.
Thoughts, comments, concerns are very much appreciated...I'm here to learn from you more experienced shavers.
Also, I apologize for the length of this post. I hope I didn't take up too much time or turn anyone off from reading this with the length.
Cheers,
Brian
Around October I bought my first straight from Larry over at whipped dog and he was a pleasure to do business with. A lot of help, and even with the sight unseen deal he let me request a specific color for the razor I was getting. Up until that point, I had been using a Parker shavette with Shark blades and got really good results for my first few times with a straight (went right from the dreaded cartridge to a shavette simply on a whim and from some poking around this site). So seeing as I am a purist, I wanted the real thing because I had read that it just doesn't compare to a shavette. Now I am admitting that this was my first go around with stroping and maintaining a straight, so I almost definitely lowered the life of the hone that came with the razor from Larry, because at first it shaved like a dream. I was thoroughly enjoying my new W.H. Morely straight until about 2-3 weeks ago when I started to get really bad razor burn. The first time was when I attempted my first go around at shaving two days in a row (I usually give two to three days off in between shaves), and then I started to get razor burn right around where the moustache connects to the beard on the side of the mouth. I tried dropping the angle, using such little pressure that the razor barely was on the skin, only going WTG and XTG, and even relathering right before I shaved that specific area, but to no avail.
Well, long story short, I dropped the razor last weekend, and while I'm pretty positive I hadn't damaged it (it was closed when it fell, but slightly opened when it hit), I didn't want to chance it and royally mess up my face. So when I got back to my dorm from Thanksgiving break, I threw a fresh blade in my shavette which had taken a back seat to the straight and voila, the razor burn had essentially disappeared. This led me to believe that it was a dull razor (most likely caused by me the newbie learning how to strop and shave) that was giving me ever-worsening shaves and razor burn, and not my actual technique or methods.
Thoughts, comments, concerns are very much appreciated...I'm here to learn from you more experienced shavers.
Also, I apologize for the length of this post. I hope I didn't take up too much time or turn anyone off from reading this with the length.
Cheers,
Brian