First shave with a feather artist club

Poflynn · Feb 11, 2016

Hi there, I have been a lurker on here for a while so it's time for a post. For the last year or so I have used de razors, my favorite being a merkuer slant razor with feather blades. I have tried almost every blade imaginable and can only get a no tug shave with a feather. That has made me a huge fan of feather so I've decided to make my next investment a feather artist pro (partly because of it being awarded b&b straight razor of the year). So tonight I had my first (partial) shave with a straight razor. I must say I was both impressed with ease of use but disappointed with the blades. I got a pack of pro blades and a pack of super blades so I've decided to start off on the pro's. The pros seem to pull a lot, has anyone else had a similar situation with this razor. It could be my technique but I have done a bit of research. Any tips or advice would be great.
Thanks in advance 😀

Haggises · Feb 11, 2016

Welcome aboard!
That Award thread has a lot of tips, if you're tugging on the first swipe with a Feather Pro then it could be a couple of things.

Angle could be wrong - if you are too steep, high angle to the skin, then blade will scrape along the hairs. Alternatively, if you are too shallow, the blade may be slightly off the skin. This could happen more with the SS version, which type do you have?
Have the blade moving as it contacts skin.

Is your lather up to snuff? I tend to use a slightly thinner lather for straights. Slick is the key, rather than volume. Is your lather stable? If you rub it between your fingertips does it remain slick, or does it crumble?

Good luck!

ackvil · Feb 11, 2016

Welcome to B&B.

Be sure to check out the straight razor forum. The folks there may be able to give you more information.

August West · Feb 11, 2016

Haggises said:
Welcome aboard!
That Award thread has a lot of tips, if you're tugging on the first swipe with a Feather Pro then it could be a couple of things.

Angle could be wrong - if you are too steep, high angle to the skin, then blade will scrape along the hairs. Alternatively, if you are too shallow, the blade may be slightly off the skin. This could happen more with the SS version, which type do you have?
Have the blade moving as it contacts skin.

Is your lather up to snuff? I tend to use a slightly thinner lather for straights. Slick is the key, rather than volume. Is your lather stable? If you rub it between your fingertips does it remain slick, or does it crumble?

Good luck!

This.

BigFoot · Feb 11, 2016

I am about a month in with the Feather. I am still using the Pro Guard blades and would recommend you stick with them. Those blades are still wicked sharp but will cut down on the weepers as you build your technique. Patience is a huge virtue with this guy.

Lmarkow · Feb 11, 2016

Hi and welcome! If a new feather blade is "pulling" you are using it wrong. Is your lather too dry? Or perhaps your shaving angle is too steep. But rest assured, unless the blade was corked, brand new it is plenty sharp to shave any guy's whiskers.

gvw755 · Feb 11, 2016

Welcome to this section. Which Feather razor did you get? The SS or DX? They are different and the technique that goes along with it will be different. First of all, the Pro blades are a good place to start. Great general purpose blade and gives good shaves. If you have a pulling thing, it is probably your angle, although as some folks pointed out, you should be using a slick soap. The shaving angle will be different for a SS and a DX with the side of the DX blade almost riding on your face. The SS will be a little further from your face, and some have said to treat it almost like a DE. Best thing to do is to play with the angles a little and go slow with shorter strokes and see what pulls and what does not.

Kentos · Feb 11, 2016

You also need to have some momentum in your pass. Aslow deliberate stroke can pull as it catches and pops each whisker.

Parjay · Feb 11, 2016

Call me crazy, but I felt the same way with the pros. I switched to supers and got better shaves straightaway.

Getting weepers? Shave reasonably close?

Dngolden · Feb 11, 2016

lmarkow said:
Hi and welcome! If a new feather blade is "pulling" you are using it wrong. Is your lather too dry? Or perhaps your shaving angle is too steep. But rest assured, unless the blade was corked, brand new it is plenty sharp to shave any guy's whiskers.

+1 on this advice. When I first started with the feathers AC they did not feel smooth. But with proper tech they cut through anything with ease. In addition to LMARKOS advice make sure your stretching the skin- much more important with the straight than DE

Poflynn · Feb 12, 2016

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. I have been trying different angles and am still learning so hopefully this will pass soon. My lather is pretty slick I believe but I will try a different soap tonight just to see. I did achieve a pretty close shave for a first attempt, just had to do a little clean up with my de as I was nervous about getting too comfortable with it and taking pieces off my face. I did get one nick but it was when my wife distracted me. Well that's the excuse I'm sticking with. Oh and I'm using an SS with the single piece handle. I chose this as a stepping stone to hopefully getting myself into a proper straight razor with strops hones and all the manliness that comes with sharpening your own blade.

Poflynn · Feb 12, 2016

That's what I was thinking about doing but didn't want to end up looking like I had an argument with a lawnmower if I went straight on to supers. I did get a close shave with one nick but I was aiming to build technique rather than get a bbs shave first time.

Poflynn · Feb 13, 2016

Parjay said:
Call me crazy, but I felt the same way with the pros. I switched to supers and got better shaves straightaway.

Getting weepers? Shave reasonably close?

That's what I was thinking about doing but didn't want to end up looking like I had an argument with a lawnmower if I went straight on to supers. I did get a close shave with one nick but I was aiming to build technique rather than get a bbs shave first time.

Poflynn · Feb 13, 2016

Haggises said:
Welcome aboard!
That Award thread has a lot of tips, if you're tugging on the first swipe with a Feather Pro then it could be a couple of things.

Angle could be wrong - if you are too steep, high angle to the skin, then blade will scrape along the hairs. Alternatively, if you are too shallow, the blade may be slightly off the skin. This could happen more with the SS version, which type do you have?
Have the blade moving as it contacts skin.

Is your lather up to snuff? I tend to use a slightly thinner lather for straights. Slick is the key, rather than volume. Is your lather stable? If you rub it between your fingertips does it remain slick, or does it crumble?

Good luck!

Ok so I shaved again this morning, (was away for a few days and I dont travel with my DE or SE razors) with my AP, and already im seeing a huge improvement. Like you all said there was no problem with the blades, just the user, I greatly lowerd my angle and tried some different soap. Fantastic advice by all. just need to practice a lot to perfect. Thanks guys. :thumbup1:

bdbrick · Mar 7, 2016

I just ordered the ss last night and can't wait to try it..I was looking at the mongoose but because they are out of stock I would try this. I have dabbled with straight razors in the past but with little success. I think it was the maintenance of the razor. I love to hear how it's still going for you.

lightfoot · Mar 12, 2016

Some have likely mentioned lathering by now as another point of consideration. And on that note my boar brush finally bit the dust and I replaced it with a badger hair brush and it changed the lather A LOT! I think the boar hair was more my thing. It's just odd how variables that may be easily overlooked can potentially influence the outcome. Hope your shave are going well with the Feather.

Search

First shave with a feather artist club

Poflynn

Haggises

ackvil

August West

BigFoot

I wanna be sedated!

Lmarkow

gvw755

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.

Parjay

Dngolden

Poflynn

Poflynn

Poflynn

Poflynn

bdbrick

lightfoot

Similar threads