I found a cheap straight on the B/S/T that was shave ready. I've been interested in straights for a while now and finally pulled the trigger and got one. This thing tugged, pulled and skipped it's way across my face. I don't know if it was my poor blade angle. I tried several different angles trying to figure it out but nothing seemed to work. I was under the impression that straights were super sharp and would have no problem getting through my tough beard but this was not what I was expecting. I'm sure there was some user error involved but I've been DE shaving for almost a year now so I have a good idea of what needs to happen. I abandoned half way through and switched to my Gillette Slim, loaded a new blade and finished the shave. Everything went great went I switched to the DE razor, no tugging, pulling or skipping. I used the same lather I was using with the straight so that wasn't the problem. Maybe it wasn't shave ready? I guess I could try sending it to someone to get it honed and prepared properly? Or should I just chalk it up to inexperience and try again. Just didn't seem like the razor was cutting like it should. Any help or advice would be great. Thanks.
My first straight shave was a fail. Help!
- Thread starter Macbreezy
- Start date
Most likely it was your technique. Even a trully shave ready razor needs a deliberate stroke (hard to do your first time shaving with one).
There are many vairables, but again it is likely your technique. The only way to really know for sure is to have someone else try it out.
There are many vairables, but again it is likely your technique. The only way to really know for sure is to have someone else try it out.
Did you strop it first?
The first time I straight shaved, my technique was so bad that I dulled the edge before the first pass was over.
My chin whiskers are really tough and combined with bad technique, I wound up believing that my poor shave was the razor was at fault.
It took me at least 50 shaves before I got my first Socially Acceptable Shave and another 30 or so more, before I my first straight DFS.
Keep at it and you will improve!!!
My chin whiskers are really tough and combined with bad technique, I wound up believing that my poor shave was the razor was at fault.
It took me at least 50 shaves before I got my first Socially Acceptable Shave and another 30 or so more, before I my first straight DFS.
Keep at it and you will improve!!!
I wasn't that bad, but I would blow one of LA's edges in 4-5 shaves.
Now I'll go 6 months between honings.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
The most common mistake seems to be too big of a shave angle. Start with the blade flat against your face. Rotate the spine out from the face, so that there is a gap of one spine thickness. That is a good angle. A little closer gives a gentler shave. A little farther out gives a more aggressive shave. Too far out turns the slicing into a scraping activity. Do you want to scrape your face? Or slice whiskers?
Second most common mistake is not stretching the skin enough. In your case, I am thinking it is angle, though.
Other common mistakes are too much pressure, not putting the blade in motion before touching the face with it, or poor stropping.
Sometimes the razor just isn't sharp. If the seller did not say it was shave ready, then most likely it was not. Here is a good test. Pass the razor about 1/4" above your arm and see if it will treetop any hairs. Does it cut a few, several, a lot, or none at all? Does it grab? Make a soft ping sound, or a loud one, or is it silent? If it will treetop at least a hair or two with each pass over your forearm, it should shave. If it treetops a lot of hairs and usually makes only a faint ping or none at all, then it is REALLY sharp. Nothing? Then it needs honing.
Don't give up yet. You are in the right place to get help.
Second most common mistake is not stretching the skin enough. In your case, I am thinking it is angle, though.
Other common mistakes are too much pressure, not putting the blade in motion before touching the face with it, or poor stropping.
Sometimes the razor just isn't sharp. If the seller did not say it was shave ready, then most likely it was not. Here is a good test. Pass the razor about 1/4" above your arm and see if it will treetop any hairs. Does it cut a few, several, a lot, or none at all? Does it grab? Make a soft ping sound, or a loud one, or is it silent? If it will treetop at least a hair or two with each pass over your forearm, it should shave. If it treetops a lot of hairs and usually makes only a faint ping or none at all, then it is REALLY sharp. Nothing? Then it needs honing.
Don't give up yet. You are in the right place to get help.
+1 . Also maybe someone will chime in and be nice enough to let you borrow a cheap second straight to practice with.
My first shave with a straight left my face RAW. After that I was hooked and determined to learn. Keep on keepin' on 
- Thread starter
- #9
I'm thinking I had the spine to far away from my face. I'm going to keep working on it. I do not have a strop yet. I've got one coming its just not here yet. The razor was sold as shave ready so I didn't think I needed to strop it. Thanks for the advice. This was also my first time holding a straight razor and it was much lighter than I thought it would be. I'm going to keep at it.
I remember the tugging, pulling, and skipping from my learning experiences and it indicates that you haven't yet developed a touch for making it glide across your face. Out of necessity you have to plot your next move and in so doing you distract yourself. With practice you get to where you just stand in front of the mirror and let the razor do the work. It's a good thing to have at least two straight razors, so you can compare the two and determine what "shave ready" feels like. Get another one honed by someone else.
Everyone who learned how to do this has been in your shoes. It will come together with experience. Find a YouTube video of someone shaving himself with a straight that you like and study it. The more you watch it, the more you will pick up little things you didn't notice before. If you can't perform a stroke the presenter is doing right now, you will be able to later. Trust me on this. I have three years experience.
Do you have a 2nd razor? Maybe buy a cheapo and get it honed up too so if you screw up the edge on one of them you can send it out to get honed and still have something to shave with.
- Thread starter
- #12
No, I don't have a second razor. I've been looking for another one but a cheap straight in good condition get's snatched up pretty quick on the BST.
You could try stropping on newspaper until you get your own strop, as shown by our very own Seraphim here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGVNbMvvOJI
Assuming it really is "shave ready" then adjust your angles lower and try again.
Shouldn't be tugging and pulling.
- Thread starter
- #16
Thanks guy for all the help. I'm working on getting a second razor so I have something to compare. Strop is on the way as well so hopefully I'll start making some progress before to long.
i bet its a honing/stropping issue.
Keep at it. It takes a few shaves even to get comfortable moving beyond shaving just your cheeks. At least it did for me. I also tended to blame the razor, or the strop, or something else, rather than just accept that this was going to take some time.
My first straight shave was in September. By January I thought I was really getting somewhere. Now I feel like that was laughable, I'm so much further along. Who knows where I'll be in another six months, but these days I'm finding that I can get a good to very good shave with any straight I try. Maybe someday in the not too distant future I will no longer think that a fool's pass is aptly named. Who knows?
So keep at it. Reserve judgement on how it goes for at least a couple months.
My first straight shave was in September. By January I thought I was really getting somewhere. Now I feel like that was laughable, I'm so much further along. Who knows where I'll be in another six months, but these days I'm finding that I can get a good to very good shave with any straight I try. Maybe someday in the not too distant future I will no longer think that a fool's pass is aptly named. Who knows?
So keep at it. Reserve judgement on how it goes for at least a couple months.
You have a lot of good advice already in this post...and much of it mimics my path down this road as well. My first shave was nothing but tugging, and I wondered why anyone would want to subject themselves to this torture. I'm 100 shaves in at this point and am getting very good shaves with that same razor that I thought was at fault.
Keep at it, it gets easier and more fun with every shave!
Keep at it, it gets easier and more fun with every shave!
This was news for me. I had no idea bad technique could dull an edge. Too steep of an angle? What is at work to cause that? Very interesting. That explains a lot of things!
Josh
