Took the plunge into straights; frustration ensues

Have been using DEs since earlier this year with very few issues, and having fun with it. In the back of my head, I knew I'd want to try a straight eventually, but was in no rush.

Just happened to come across an online ad of someone one town over selling a (non-vintage) Bismarck at a fair price for nearly new condition, so I picked it up.

First shave today. Was a bit of a discouraging experience, resulting in 2-3 nicks and one good slice/weeper. You can tell, obviously, there's going to be quite the learning curve. I would expect that the parts I had trouble with (jawline, left-hand side, etc) were just a factor of experience, but I felt more tugging than expected as well. I don't know what shape the previous owner was keeping it in, so even though it looks good to the naked eye, I may take it to a knife shop in town that does honing, just to rule out anything related to the edge. Just to confirm that it is in fact shave ready, then I can narrow down the issues to my own stropping and shaving technique.

Does that sound about right for a first time experience? I can't devote enough time in my morning routine, so will have to keep the straight for weekends, so I can see this taking a while.

No knife shop!!!!!! Please, I'm begging you!

Whereabouts are you in Canada? Maybe we can find someone in close proximity.

Your experience is typical for the first shave. Good idea to have a pro hone the razor. Just check their credentials to make sure they really know and hone razors and not just knives. Razors are a totally different ball game.

If you aren't 100% sure they know what they are doing, there are several gents here who will help you.

Good luck.

rockviper said:

No knife shop!!!!!! Please, I'm begging you!

Whereabouts are you in Canada? Maybe we can find someone in close proximity.

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I'm in Ottawa. The shop I had in mind is Knifewear. They have a shave section and offer a straight sharpening service. I've met the guy that does the honing when I've been in shopping for cream. Couldn't tell you his skill level though. I've seen a local guy advertising through Kijiji, but that seems riskier.

Have you tried using the scrape technique? It is a bit easier for beginners. Instead of doing long strokes, you put the razor at the correct angle on your face, and do tiny little scrapes down your cheek. Make sure you are pulling your skin as taut as you can. Good way to check for sharpness is forearm hair, you should be able to shave a little patch of dry without any tugging or pulling whatsoever.


Knicks happen, I have been shaving with a straight for 2 months, BBS shave everytime, and I still on occasion nick my left cheek, practice makes perfect. Once you get the stropping, shaving technique down it is IMO, a more pleasant and rewarding shave.

Thanks. I was keeping the strokes fairly short, but I will keep that in mind again for try #2. And I haven't given up, but it was just a humbling experience.

Also we LOVE pictures, so pictures!

zed117 said:

Also we LOVE pictures, so pictures!

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Sorry for the amateurish cell phone pic, but the lighting in my house isn't great today. For a used razor, as you can see it was in pretty good condition.

+2 on sending it to a pro to get the edge assessed. I wouldn't trust a knife shop, even if it was nearby! Knife honing and straight razor honing are two vastly different beasts. I do them both and it is not the same skill set or techniques. Not even remotely.

Unless someone around here very familiar with straights knows about that shop and can recommend it, I wouldn't take it there.

As to your nicks and cuts. Remember the mantra, use and extremely light touch, shallow angle (no more than one spine width away from your face, if you can help it), keep the skin stretched and flat ahead of the razor the whole time. As long as your lather is slick enough, you should keep your blood on the inside. Oh, and did I mention to use a very light touch?

Good luck and keep us posted. Don't worry, your shaves will get better with perseverence. It is my favorite and best tool for shaving, without a doubt.

Thanks for the straightforward advice. I will keep at it and report back when I've made some progress.

Nice Dovo: A new edge and more shaves under your belt will make you a happy camper.

If you're stuck on a shop: classicedge.ca in Hamilton does a honing service.

I hope my first experience is alittle better, I have a ST8 coming from a member here.

That's a sweet looking blade. Flowing lines always look good to me.

zed117 said:

Good way to check for sharpness is forearm hair, you should be able to shave a little patch of dry without any tugging or pulling whatsoever.

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In fact, you should be able to hover the blade parallel with your arm, and pass it an 1/8 to 1/4" above your skin and hear it pinging arm hairs that happen to be standing in the way. Shaving with an edge that can't do that (for me) leaves much to be desired.

One thing I would recommend is not to try and shave your whole face the first few times out. If your right handed do the right cheek from ear down to jawline for a couple of days then finish your shave with the DE. Then try the left side same way. Then the neck and then the upper lip and chin. Just do one pass for a couple of weeks and touch up with DE. It helps develop muscle memory and confidence with less blood.
Keep at it good shaves will come,

I am still fairly new to straight... But from what I experienced and advice I was given tugging and pulling results from dull blade, not enough of a shallow angle, or combination of both.

I didn't like my first attempt with a straight. That was about a month ago. A few hours ago I decided to give it another shot. Much better results. I didn't know that you call it the scraping technique, but I just naturally started doing it when when I wasn't getting good strokes. I could tell that I'll get better with practice. What I'll do to improve is use the straight for a few minutes, then switch over to my. Mach 25 to finish up. The 25 was just kidding.

TAYLORPUPPY said:

I didn't like my first attempt with a straight. That was about a month ago. A few hours ago I decided to give it another shot. Much better results. I didn't know that you call it the scraping technique, but I just naturally started doing it when when I wasn't getting good strokes. I could tell that I'll get better with practice. What I'll do to improve is use the straight for a few minutes, then switch over to my. Mach 25 to finish up. The 25 was just kidding.

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Oh yeah, and no nicks. Not one