First straight edge shaves

[nuclear_shaver]

Today I conducted my second straight edge shave! I used on of the Whipped Dog sight unseen ones, and its really a pretty good deal. I when with the poor mans strop, and am glad; I gave it 3 or 4 nicks on the first use (I did much better on the second though, more later).

I found stropping general technique (just getting the motion back and forth) pretty easy after about 50 strops. First couple of times, I tricked myself and moved the razor into the leather and got a few nicks and scrapes on the ends of the strop. After awhile though, I got it down pretty good. I'm not as fast as a pro, but I wasn't shedding my strop. What I found difficult was how much pressure to apply. Sometimes I felt like I was pushing it into the leather and sometimes I felt like I wasnt actually touching the blade to the leather at all. This part was pretty tricky, and hopefully you guys have some advise. I did manage to get the razor decently sharp, I could cut hairs off my arm no problem.

Shaving was interesting. I have delt with dangerous/sharp items before, so I wasn't really afraid of the blade like a lot of beginners are. The key to sharp items is to respect them. I started at my ear and went down and got a fairly decent shave. When I switched to my off side, the problems began. I'm very strong side oriented, and am pretty weak with my left hand. So when I switched to shaving with my left hand, it felt awkward and wierd. I even managed to give myself a small cut by moving the razor against my skin. I did two WTG passes and at the end, my left side had noticable less smooth shave then my right side.

Another thing I noticed was the angle at which you keep the blade to your face is tricky. With DE/SE, the angle is more naturally set by the shape of the razor, but here you can put it at any angle.

My second shave was much better with no cuts/blood. I got a better, more even shave, but it was still not as close as with a 3-pass DE/SE shave. I think I will have to add at least one XTG/ATG pass for that.

Any thoughts, suggestions, et cetera would be appreciated!

The Nuclear Shaver

[Raithskar]

I suggest not to try anything but WTG until you are comfortable with your strokes and using both hands. Too much at once can be frustrating.

I know how you feel about using your left hand. I can't do squat with mine, but I can shave with it now, and quite well at that. The more you use it the easier it gets.

I always use a little pressure on the strop, but I usually press on the shank of the razor to apply it, and I hold my strop very taunt. keep practicing and speed will come, but that is not so much important as a good stroke on the linen/leather.

For blade angle I would suggest a very shallow one, just a few milimeters off your face. The lighter the pressure you use will result in a closer shave. Try using a feather light touch.

Keep practicing, hang in there and good luck with the shaves! They just keep getting better!

[nuclear_shaver]

Thanks Raithskar! Yeah, I suspect my angle is way too large. Next straight shave, I will try a better angle and see how it goes. I suspect that and potentially not quite properly honed razor are my main concerns.

[Giant Kiwi]

Common misconception is that your razor is not as sharp as it could be.
It'll never be as sharp as a DE blade.
Larry's razors are really well honed and I use mine as a benchmark in my honing practise.
With time you will be able to use your off hand. It took a couple of weeks but I can know use my right hand for shaving.

[superbleu]

Common misconception is that your razor is not as sharp as it could be.
It'll never be as sharp as a DE blade.
Larry's razors are really well honed and I use mine as a benchmark in my honing practise.
With time you will be able to use your off hand. It took a couple of weeks but I can know use my right hand for shaving.

I was going to say the same thing, but then OP said he did bite into the strop a couple times, who knows how much damage that did to the edge.

[drathgeb]

Sounds like you are learning quickly. I still nick myself regularly and it's been a month. Probably only a handful of shaves I was blood free.

[nuclear_shaver]

I was going to say the same thing, but then OP said he did bite into the strop a couple times, who knows how much damage that did to the edge.

Looking at the nicks I would say they arnt too bad... not much more than scraping off the tan. If there was any harm done, it would be on the the far edges of the razor, defiantly not the whole blade. Can't see any issues on the blade either...

[Doc226]

I think angle is very important. Try to keep the spine of the razor as close to the face as you can and still have it cut.

[nuclear_shaver]

I think angle is very important. Try to keep the spine of the razor as close to the face as you can and still have it cut.

My angle was almost certainly too wide. must have been 30 deg off my face or more.

[ladykate]

My angle was almost certainly too wide. must have been 30 deg off my face or more.

You might find yourself using sharper angles because it 'feels' like the razor is digging in. That will usually make for an uncomfortable shave with the chance of nicks and cuts and razor burn. Go for more passes, light scrubbing with the razor, and good prep. After a while, you will zero in on it.

[Raithskar]

Thanks Raithskar! Yeah, I suspect my angle is way too large. Next straight shave, I will try a better angle and see how it goes. I suspect that and potentially not quite properly honed razor are my main concerns.

No Problem Bud!

If you are in doubt about the razor cutting, after you get a decent ammount of lather on the blade, instead of rinsing it off, wipe the lather on the heel of your free hand you will see the whiskers in the lather. If that is the case then you are doing fine. I did not think the razor was sharp enough when I first started. Truth is I did not know squat about proper lather, pressure or anything else that results in a successful straight shave.

[Zamonium]

I also thought my razor must have been dull when I started (as discussed in this post).

Since then I've found that if you don't use proper face prep and skin stretching, it will result in the blade grabbing your hairs a lot more. Skin stretching especially.

I don't know if this holds any water, but here it is:

Think about shaving wtg at a very shallow angle without stretching your skin. The hair lies almost flat against your face, so the blade will be traveling through it at a sharper angle relative to the hair. Therefore the distance that has to be cut is great. (The hair also partially deflects the blade, giving a less close shave unless you use a wider angle).
If you stretch the skin in the atg direction, it lifts the hair to make it close to perpendicular, sticking straight out from your face. Not only does skin stretching protect your face, it also makes the distance cut through each hair slightly less, which I've found to have a noticeable effect.

I'm new to this myself and (whether the science of it is valid or not) I found this thought process to be very helpful. About 80% of the strokes I take that I dislike occur when I do not properly stretch my skin. But with proper face prep and stretching, I find myself already (shave #14) getting shaves almost as close and comfortable as 2 passes with my DE.

[nuclear_shaver]

Wouldn't any stretching at all make the distance of the hairs greater?

[Zamonium]

Wouldn't any stretching at all make the distance of the hairs greater?

I think using the word 'distance' was misleading, I should have said 'thickness.' The distance between the hairs will be greater perhaps by a tiny amount, but when the razor is cutting through a hair that is standing up straight (because of the skin stretching against the grain), the hair will be cut at a more perpendicular angle. This has the effect of making the hair less 'thick.' Especially since the blade is partially deflected by the hair if it is not sticking out straight.

Here's a picture that I expertly drew using mad skills:



The result is a closer and more comfortable shave. This has helped me out a lot.

Hope that makes sense to you; if not then I think it's just my strange way of thinking.

[nuclear_shaver]

I think using the word 'distance' was misleading, I should have said 'thickness.' The distance between the hairs will be greater perhaps by a tiny amount, but when the razor is cutting through a hair that is standing up straight (because of the skin stretching against the grain), the hair will be cut at a more perpendicular angle. This has the effect of making the hair less 'thick.' Especially since the blade is partially deflected by the hair if it is not sticking out straight.

Here's a picture that I expertly drew using mad skills:



The result is a closer and more comfortable shave. This has helped me out a lot.

Hope that makes sense to you; if not then I think it's just my strange way of thinking.

Those are indeed some mad skills! (But seriously I couldn't have made that at all). Now it makes more sense. I thought (incorrectly) he meant the distance between hairs. I will have to start doing this more rigorously. You pull ATG?

[Zamonium]

Yeah, stretching the skin in any direction helps keep the shave safe (since the skin won't catch the blade as easily), but stretching atg especially helps mow down those little bristles!

[nuclear_shaver]

Yeah, stretching the skin in any direction helps keep the shave safe (since the skin won't catch the blade as easily), but stretching atg especially helps mow down those little bristles!

I guess that's kind of difficult for me to visualize... maybe I'll look at some videos. I guess I could reach over my head and pull up right at the sideburn...

[Zamonium]

I guess that's kind of difficult for me to visualize... maybe I'll look at some videos. I guess I could reach over my head and pull up right at the sideburn...

That's what I do. There's a good video here that I found very helpful. He makes it look easy.

[Raithskar]

Here's a picture that I expertly drew using mad skills:

You need to start you own gallery Zam.

Seriously though, I tried to put this into words but Zam knocked it out of the park with his Mad Skills.

[Zamonium]

You need to start you own gallery Zam.

Seriously though, I tried to put this into words but Zam knocked it out of the park with his Mad Skills.