Unable to shave with safety razor *embarrassed*

Hi Everyone,

What a great forum you have here! Hopefully someone can help me with my issue.

For ever I've struggled with skin irritation after shavings - bumps, rash, tons of ingrowns. When I heard about safety razors, I was excited to give them a shot (had been using a Gillette Mach 3).

However, when iI tried to shave with it tonight it was almost like there wasn't a blade in there (there was!). I started off with very little pressure at about a 30degree using short strokes. But, it barely removed any hair - even after 5 or 6 passes in the same spot it was like I haven't even shaved. I started playing with the angle and using more pressure, but it just was not cutting (almost at all).


I do have somewhat thick hair and I had a couple days growth, but it was not anything like a beard.

I hope I'm not doing anything embarrassingly stupid with loading the blade? I'm using the derby blades that it came with - I know they aren't aggressive, but this was liken not even shaving. BTW, I'm not looking for baby bottom, I don't at all mind a not close shave - my big goal is to reduce my ingrowns.

Thanks for advice!!

Here's my setup:

Nothing to be embarrassed about, cause many have done the exact same thing, but it looks like your base plate is on upside down.

SanKaloon said:

Nothing to be embarrassed about, cause many have done the exact same thing, but it looks like your base plate is on upside down.

Click to expand...

wow. Thanks so much!!! I knew it was something embarrassing. My wife is laughing at my right now. Again thanks!

That's a real safety razor! lol

Yup, it's an easy mistake to make. (Not that I've ever done it, haha.)

Don't beat yourself up about it.

"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying."

Jgraz2 said:

That's a real safety razor! lol

Click to expand...

Somehow I still got a little hair off, but I was thinking "what the heck" I though I needed to be careful with this thing. Can't wait to try it the correct way!

This might mean it's a while before I'm ready for a straight edge!

J-dubya said:

wow. Thanks so much!!! I knew it was something embarrassing. My wife is laughing at my right now. Again thanks!

Click to expand...

Dude it happens a lot more than you would think, hang in there!

PMT said:

Dude it happens a lot more than you would think, hang in there!

Click to expand...

thanks!

Not a big deal at all; Problem solved, they should all be this easy!

Nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm glad you got it worked out. One thing I recommend. Use a sharper blade! Derbys tear me apart in any razor. I highly, and when I mean highly, I mean HIGHLY recommend Voskhod blades for beginners. They are sharp but not too sharp, Teflon coated so they're smooth and very forgiving. When I first got into DE shaving, Derby blades almost made me give up because they were not sharp enough. They literally scraped the hair off. Check out Ebay. You can get a 5 blade Voskhod sampler for $3 shipped. Many will tell you YMMV with blades and I'll say the same but I think you should try a better blade out of the gate. Enjoy your shaves, sir. We're glad you're here.

Welcome to the forum and glad to see your have resolved the problem. You also might want to try some Astra SPs as they are a standard, good blade. Good luck and be patient!

mswofford said:

Not a big deal at all; Problem solved, they should all be this easy!

Click to expand...

If its so easy, why did I get the same results when I used an identical soap, brush, and blade?

All I changed was to bring in a 2-piece razor (Merkur 34G,) so I know for sure my base-plate isn't upside-down.

But I got the same result as the OP ... I can't feel any whiskers being cut.

dpm802 said:

If its so easy, why did I get the same results when I used an identical soap, brush, and blade?

All I changed was to bring in a 2-piece razor (Merkur 34G,) so I know for sure my base-plate isn't upside-down.

But I got the same result as the OP ... I can't feel any whiskers being cut.

Click to expand...

*sarcasm*
Unlike the OP your baseplate is installed correctly but your using far too mild of a razor. Plus that soap and brush won't help you any. You need some Gillette Fusion Hydra Gel and Fusion Proglide with that trackball thingy as we can't trust you one bit to keep proper angle or curve your razor side to side. Oh it has what 6 blades which is more than your 1 so it's better.

But in all honestly OP you made one of the best mistakes you can. One of those stupid but easily corrected mistakes. I take those any day of the week over the ones you have difficulty correctly or finding out what went wrong. And welcome to the forum and the world of DE shaving. If you haven't noticed were a pretty easy going crowd but we have a little fun with you if we get a chance.

Go easy with applying pressure, especially if you switch to a sharp blade, it's a bad habit carried over from your Gillette Mach 3. I tried a new razor tonight with a fresh blade and didn't thing it was cutting close. So I applied a bit of pressure which I thought was helping until I started bleeding from a mole I used to have on my cheek. The blade was sharp enough that I didn't even notice until I saw the blood. Oh well nothing a styptic pencil and direct pressure couldn't fix

J-dubya said:

wow. Thanks so much!!! I knew it was something embarrassing. My wife is laughing at my right now. Again thanks!

Click to expand...

No need to be embarrassed! Remember, this is new territory. This stuff isn't hardwired into us. It's a learning experience.

Take it slow and easy. The good shaves will come.

Welcome to B&B! This is the place to find your answers and support.

@OP: thanks for making me spill my coffee

Mistakes happen, and if anything can be assembled the wrong way, it will be assembled the wrong way by someone someday ... I am glad your issue was so easily solved.

Now for your second shave ... no pressure! (really)

OK, I think I got it now.

I had no idea the Merkur HD was an Adjustable.
The first time, it was way too mild. Now, its extremely aggressive.

Problem solved. As others have said, it has happened before. But what makes this such a nice forum are the members who give advice in a friendly way.

dpm802 said:

OK, I think I got it now.

Click to expand...