Getting Worse Instead Of Better

[MasonM]

I am still experimenting with using the Futur and it seems my shaves are getting worse instead of better. Today I tried adjusting it to a lower setting to see if that would improve the shave and reduce nicks.

I wound up with even more nicks than ever. Perhaps my face simply hasn't yet adjusted to this new razor, or I'm doing something really wrong here. I was making sure to not apply pressure to the razor against my face, got a good lather and let it soak for a few minutes, and took my time shaving while concentrating on keeping the razor at the right angle.

How can something so simple be so frustrating?

[Jonnybc]

When was the last time you shaved Mason? You should let your face recover between shaves when starting out particularly with a razor like the Futur.

[MasonM]

When was the last time you shaved Mason? You should let your face recover between shaves when starting out particularly with a razor like the Futur.
Yesterday.

[Dennis]

Hi Mason - Could be a couple things but the first I think of is what blades you are using and how many shaves are on it? If you have not tried the letterk variety blade pack, I highly recommend it. Also, I set my Futur on about 1.5, never really changed it, and I could always get excellent shaves from it. I never tried it wide open like others have.

Dennis

[rusirius]

Yeah, if you've been shaving every day you may just need to give it a day to rest. My first few wet shaves were pretty bad (my first was the worst, but afterwards still had lots of irritation, bumps, etc). After less then a week my shaves were getting consistantly better, but the irritation was getting worse... Even though I have to shave every day to keep from looking like grizzly adams, I followed my same wet shaving procedure but used my Fusion instead of the DE. This let my face re-coup from my earlier butcherings a bit... By the following day I started back with the DE and it's been irritation free since. In fact, this morning was my first 4 pass DE shave with the last being an against the grain. Only a SLIGHT bit of irritation around the neck, otherwise good to go... :biggrin:

[rusirius]

And yes, Dennis makes an excellent point... Remember that the shave you get is going to start declining starting with the first shave on a blade. If you've got a few shaves on that blade you might want to swap it out and see if that helps.

[MasonM]

Thanks to both of you. Some very good points. There are a few shaves on that blade so I'll change it. I have a really tough beard so I should have thought of that myself. When I was using cartidges I could never get more than two or three shaves from them and I'm pretty sure I have at least four on that blade.

They're also the cheap drugstore blades, platinum coated stainless. Best I can get at the moment. I'll be placing an order for good blades in the near future.

I'll skip shaving for a day or two and see if that helps. I may just have to go back to the older Merkur open comb for a few days after that and then see what happens with the Futur. I never once nicked myself with that old Merkur.

[J_P_K]

I'm two weeks into this wet shaving adventure and also using a Futur. I had a rough period after a nice start. Two or three great shaves followed several not so good ones. I ordered the blade samples from letterk and switched from a Feather to a Derby. Seems to have less tendency to nick... YMMV
I experimented with the setting on the Futur but I've found that I'm best off at 1 or 2, for now anyway. I also have a Gellette "fat boy" that I use to shave my head. At a low setting it's almost impossible to nick yourself with the Gillette. You may want to pick one up and use it while you learn to deal with the Futur.

Did you realize that "Futur" translated from German to English is SHARK? :scared:


Just kidding!:biggrin:

[Dennis]

Thanks to both of you. Some very good points. There are a few shaves on that blade so I'll change it. I have a really tough beard so I should have thought of that myself. When I was using cartidges I could never get more than two or three shaves from them and I'm pretty sure I have at least four on that blade.

They're also the cheap drugstore blades, platinum coated stainless. Best I can get at the moment. I'll be placing an order for good blades in the near future.
The blades you are currently are probably made by Personna and they are a decent blade. I do highly recommend John's sampler pack (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2379). The problem with ordering "good" blades is that you don't really know what good blades are until you try a variety of them. I love Derbys, other people hate them, etc... Make sure you try the blades in each of your razors too - one might work well in one but not the other. When you find one you like, you can often order then by the 100 count on the web for sustantial saving (like 100 Derbys or Israelis for about $15) which will take the cost down to about 15 cents a blade.

Dennis

[MasonM]

I'm two weeks into this wet shaving adventure and also using a Futur. I had a rough period after a nice start. Two or three great shaves followed several not so good ones. I ordered the blade samples from letterk and switched from a Feather to a Derby. Seems to have less tendency to nick... YMMV
I experimented with the setting on the Futur but I've found that I'm best off at 1 or 2, for now anyway. I also have a Gellette "fat boy" that I use to shave my head. At a low setting it's almost impossible to nick yourself with the Gillette. You may want to pick one up and use it while you learn to deal with the Futur.

Did you realize that "Futur" translated from German to English is SHARK? :scared:


Just kidding!:biggrin:
Thanks. Worst case I can use the Merkur open comb (no idea of the correct model name, I think it's an early HD Comb) when the need arises.

[MasonM]

The blades you are currently are probably made by Personna and they are a decent blade. I do highly recommend John's sampler pack (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2379). The problem with ordering "good" blades is that you don't really know what good blades are until you try a variety of them. I love Derbys, other people hate them, etc... Make sure you try the blades in each of your razors too - one might work well in one but not the other. When you find one you like, you can often order then by the 100 count on the web for sustantial saving (like 100 Derbys or Israelis for about $15) which will take the cost down to about 15 cents a blade.

Dennis
Thank you. I should have phrased that better. I meant to say that I was going to be ordering a sample pack of good blades in the near future. At this point I wouldn't know one from the other and have no idea which would be best for this razor.

[PalmettoB]

I got cute with adjusting and it bit me. It took several days and some refocusing on angle and technique to overcome the shave bumps and redness. But it is better now. Just give it time. And I also ordered the sample pack from John (letterk). Good deal, and I look forward to getting it!

[MasonM]

I got cute with adjusting and it bit me. It took several days and some refocusing on angle and technique to overcome the shave bumps and redness. But it is better now. Just give it time. And I also ordered the sample pack from John (letterk). Good deal, and I look forward to getting it!
thanks. Is good to know someone else has experienced the same difficulties. I look forward to getting settled into a good routine.

[gc_30286]

another suggestion.

many people (including myself) noticed that after a few DE shaves they started to get really good shaves then after a week or two the shaves start to get worse (one of the more experinced guys had a name for this but i forget) basically what causes it is you realize that your shaves CAN be better so you start trying harder to get a better shave. you may not even realize your doing it. my suggestion go back to square one,make one with and one across the grain pass and even if you dont get all the stubble just leave it at that until the next day.

its what helped me

matthew

[Steelforge]

another suggestion.

many people (including myself) noticed that after a few DE shaves they started to get really good shaves then after a week or two the shaves start to get worse (one of the more experinced guys had a name for this but i forget) basically what causes it is you realize that your shaves CAN be better so you start trying harder to get a better shave. you may not even realize your doing it. my suggestion go back to square one,make one with and one across the grain pass and even if you dont get all the stubble just leave it at that until the next day.

its what helped me

matthew

Yes I agree totally with this. For the first week my shaves were ok, then the next 2 weeks they went right downhill as I was trying to go for BBS every day with up to 4 passes and lots of touching up spots i'd missed.

Basically I'd get it BBS every day but at the expense of horrendous razor burn. So I went back to basics for a couple of days, fresh blade, Futur on least aggressive setting, good lather, only 1 or 2 N-S passes - and most importantly IMO "shoot for par". I.e. not going over the same spot more than once each pass, once a spot has been shaved you don't touch it again until you've re-lathered for the next pass. Absolutely no shaving without lather to lubricate the razor.

The last few days my shaves have been almost BBS, but the big difference is I'm not beating my skin up each day and it has enough time to recover before the next days shave. So I'm getting very little irritation or razor burn now. Using Derbys helps too (for me), the Feathers are too sharp for my non-expert skills right now.

[Tinzien]

Thanks. Worst case I can use the Merkur open comb (no idea of the correct model name, I think it's an early HD Comb) when the need arises.

I started in the DE world with a Murkur HD and it is my daily go-to blade while I continue to work (3rd month since starting) on my ever-improving technique. For a change I have a 1940's superspeed which is like a fast muscle car because it is so light. Both razors behave differently with a Derby loaded, but each is good in their own right.

Try going to the Merkur for a month along with Proraso pre-shave in the shower for five minutes. If you get similar results as with your German shark, try swapping out for a different brand of blade (Derby being my #1 and Feather #2).

Mike02 is correct though, a pack of 100 blades for $15 off Ebay is a wonderful thing.

One last thing, I forget if you are using a creme or a soap. I get more glide and lubrosity off a soap but more cushion off a creme. Depending on what you have on hand, try going to the other side of what you are using (creme -> soap, vice versa) and see if that helps as well.

[jduffy]

Yes I agree totally with this. For the first week my shaves were ok, then the next 2 weeks they went right downhill as I was trying to go for BBS every day with up to 4 passes and lots of touching up spots i'd missed.

Basically I'd get it BBS every day but at the expense of horrendous razor burn. So I went back to basics for a couple of days, fresh blade, Futur on least aggressive setting, good lather, only 1 or 2 N-S passes - and most importantly IMO "shoot for par". I.e. not going over the same spot more than once each pass, once a spot has been shaved you don't touch it again until you've re-lathered for the next pass.

The last few days my shaves have been almost BBS, but the big difference is I'm not beating my skin up each day and it has enough time to recover before the next days shave. So I'm getting very little ittitation or razor burn now. Using Derbys helps to (for me), the Feathers are too sharp for my non-expert skills right now.

Brilliantly put. When your shaves are so much better than using your multi-blade you start to think that more passes etc. will get you to shaving nirvana. In reality you're just scraping your face at that point to get a few stray whiskers.

It is better to have less irritation and more whiskers than more irritation and less whiskers. Er, something like that.....

[MasonM]

another suggestion.

many people (including myself) noticed that after a few DE shaves they started to get really good shaves then after a week or two the shaves start to get worse (one of the more experinced guys had a name for this but i forget) basically what causes it is you realize that your shaves CAN be better so you start trying harder to get a better shave. you may not even realize your doing it. my suggestion go back to square one,make one with and one across the grain pass and even if you dont get all the stubble just leave it at that until the next day.

its what helped me

matthew
Thank you, that could well have a lot to do with it.

[MasonM]

Yes I agree totally with this. For the first week my shaves were ok, then the next 2 weeks they went right downhill as I was trying to go for BBS every day with up to 4 passes and lots of touching up spots i'd missed.

Basically I'd get it BBS every day but at the expense of horrendous razor burn. So I went back to basics for a couple of days, fresh blade, Futur on least aggressive setting, good lather, only 1 or 2 N-S passes - and most importantly IMO "shoot for par". I.e. not going over the same spot more than once each pass, once a spot has been shaved you don't touch it again until you've re-lathered for the next pass. Absolutely no shaving without lather to lubricate the razor.

The last few days my shaves have been almost BBS, but the big difference is I'm not beating my skin up each day and it has enough time to recover before the next days shave. So I'm getting very little irritation or razor burn now. Using Derbys helps too (for me), the Feathers are too sharp for my non-expert skills right now.
Thank you for the good advice.

[MasonM]

I started in the DE world with a Murkur HD and it is my daily go-to blade while I continue to work (3rd month since starting) on my ever-improving technique. For a change I have a 1940's superspeed which is like a fast muscle car because it is so light. Both razors behave differently with a Derby loaded, but each is good in their own right.

Try going to the Merkur for a month along with Proraso pre-shave in the shower for five minutes. If you get similar results as with your German shark, try swapping out for a different brand of blade (Derby being my #1 and Feather #2).

Mike02 is correct though, a pack of 100 blades for $15 off Ebay is a wonderful thing.

One last thing, I forget if you are using a creme or a soap. I get more glide and lubrosity off a soap but more cushion off a creme. Depending on what you have on hand, try going to the other side of what you are using (creme -> soap, vice versa) and see if that helps as well.
Thank you. I've been using cream but plan to try soaps when I get the chance. I'm definately going to be getting a blade sampler soon.

[MasonM]

Brilliantly put. When your shaves are so much better than using your multi-blade you start to think that more passes etc. will get you to shaving nirvana. In reality you're just scraping your face at that point to get a few stray whiskers.

It is better to have less irritation and more whiskers than more irritation and less whiskers. Er, something like that.....
Thanks, makes sense to me.

[Steelforge]

Thank you for the good advice.

No worries. In turn I'd like to thank Marks wetshaving videos (where I got lots of my info from) as they helped me reassess where I was going wrong, and fix my technique. Particularly the "always shoot for par" phase he used. :smile:

[Tito]

The problem is trying to do too much at once. I had a heck of time getting this all to work. But I learned with the help of some of the veteran members to slow down and find some consistency.

One razor, One blade, One cream, Lots of prep, and lots of patience.
In my experience I found a Gillette Adj dialed way back was very helpful to me to learn the reduction techniques.

Good Luck!!!

[MasonM]

The problem is trying to do too much at once. I had a heck of time getting this all to work. But I learned with the help of some of the veteran members to slow down and find some consistency.

One razor, One blade, One cream, Lots of prep, and lots of patience.
In my experience I found a Gillette Adj dialed way back was very helpful to me to learn the reduction techniques.

Good Luck!!!
You're correct. As advised I started back at square one just working on getting a decent N-S pass without any additional passes and while it's far from a perfect shave it's coming along and I'm doing better. (Fresh blade helped a great deal too LOL)

Perhaps I was simply trying to progress too quickly. Patience is a virtue after all.

[htownmmm]

.

One razor, One blade, One cream, Lots of prep, and lots of patience.


Excellent advice!!!! :thumbup:

In fact, I think we should post this as the motto for the 'Newbie' shave clinic.
Until a noob is following this advice, anything else we tell them will not be helping-only hindering.


Marty