Really dumb question and behavior

Hi guys so I got myself the very basics...and Edwin Jagger 89 safety razor which came with 5 feather blades, a sample pack of blades from connaught, a WS brush, palmolive soap stick and a WS lather bowl.

I have watched a few lather tutorials and can get that going well enough I think, but, because of my job I need a very close shave and on the first pass I just wasn't getting that close at all, so because I was in a bit of a rush I resorted back to my gillette sensor excell just to get it done quickly.

The next night, and here's the dumb part, I tried to shave by removing the base part of the safety razor so that I was shaving with the full blade, but obviously because it was not designed for this it was quite unstable I couldn't get a good shave so again I resorted back to the sensor excell just for quickness.

So, obviously I know I'm going wrong somewhere, but is it the fact that a safety razor is designed not to give such a close shave and I'll need one that exposes the face to all of the blade? Do I maybe need to do several more passes? Is it just my technique and angle I'm holding it at? Or something I've missed?

Thanks in advance for replies.

Hello and welcome. Great to have you here on B&B.

Replace the baseplate on your razor and practice. To work correctly, the blade has to be rigid and that is accomplished by having it sandwiched between the top cap and the baseplate.

The only part of the blade that needs to be exposed to your face is the edge.

While you are learning, why not give yourself a pass with the DE razor and complete the shave with your Sensor.

Good luck!

If you want a close shave with a DE you'll generally need to do multiple passes. Have you looked at the wiki?

Most of my DE shaves are 3 passes or 3 passes with a touch up. WTG, XTG, and then ATG. The Feather blades should be plenty sharp enough to give a close shave. Just remember to pay attention to angle and sound. When you have the razor at a good angle you should be able to hear it cut.

You could look at getting a Devette razor, that exposes the most blade and has no guard, however you still need 2-3 passes [emoji1303]

Welcome to B&B. You've already been given great advice, so I have nothing further to add.

Welcome. I can't add anything more than above. I just wanted to say that I'm the only one around here allowed to do dumb things. As a matter of fact if I have trained them right it should be expected of me by now.

I don't think you should be trying to learn DE shaving when you're in a rush, otherwise there will be blood. If you can, make the extra time during the working week; and if that's not possible, focus your learning on the weekends until you're confident enough with your technique to shave for work. But bear in mind that even an experienced shaver will take longer with a DE than with a cart, because the latter are designed for speed (but not necessarily comfort). Good luck!

A DE razor is designed to reduce the length of the stubble with each pass - almost taking slices off the stubble like salami
The 3rd pass should be enough to render the stubble almost invisible, if necessary, buffing will leave your face feeling smooth
If WTG, XTG, ATG is a bit ambitious, try doing WTG followed by 2 XTG passes

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard. You might consider shaving at night, just before going to bed. You can then take as much time as you want without being rushed in the morning.

ciderguy said:

If you want a close shave with a DE you'll generally need to do multiple passes. Have you looked at the wiki?

Most of my DE shaves are 3 passes or 3 passes with a touch up. WTG, XTG, and then ATG. The Feather blades should be plenty sharp enough to give a close shave. Just remember to pay attention to angle and sound. When you have the razor at a good angle you should be able to hear it cut.

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I can get a perfectly acceptable shave with two passes..... But it took months of learning and practice to get to that point.

Hi guys thanks for all the replies, good advice and the warm welcome. I'm gonna spend a lot of time reading your posts and watching tutorials and also practice this sort of shaving. Hopefully it won't be too long til I'm up and running and can contribute in a meaningful way! Either that or continue to make myself look daft! I'm good with both😃

Go West Young Man said:

I can get a perfectly acceptable shave with two passes..... But it took months of learning and practice to get to that point.

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Me too

xxvaleria said:

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard. You might consider shaving at night, just before going to bed. You can then take as much time as you want without being rushed in the morning.

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Why do you always have such great answers? lol. That's what I do.

Go West Young Man said:

I can get a perfectly acceptable shave with two passes..... But it took months of learning and practice to get to that point.

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+1, or is it 2? I'm not good with math, Alex!

adamchur said:

A DE razor is designed to reduce the length of the stubble with each pass - almost taking slices off the stubble like salami
The 3rd pass should be enough to render the stubble almost invisible, if necessary, buffing will leave your face feeling smooth
If WTG, XTG, ATG is a bit ambitious, try doing WTG followed by 2 XTG passes

Click to expand...

Great advice.

Learning DE shaving takes practice and patience, and it is important to take your time (not always easy, I know), in the beginning. I found that sticking with the same tools, i.e. razor, blade type, soap etc. helped me to develop my technique early on. Persistence pays off...good luck, you'll do fine.

[MENTION=112881]Marky[/MENTION]

Welcome to B&B!!

Please don't take the baseplate off anymore!!! I had to read over that twice... you can seriously hurt yourself doing that!!!

Like most other posters before me mentioned, you need time. Train on the weekend or in the evening with the DE. In the morning use your Palmolive and the Sensor for a quick touch-up shave to look spiffy at work. Once you have your technique down solid that it will work in the mornings... you'll still need more time than with the Sensor. If I wanted to I think the fastest I could do is 10 minutes... but who wants to do that???

I enjoy my shaves... they are like tai chi with aroma therapy. Thats why I shave after work when I come home. To relax. When I did need to shave in the morning because of work (usually not a requirement except when some big wig walzes through) I have an Injector ready and waiting... and yes, if need be a cartridge razor. No shame in that.

Try to enjoy your shaves... for me its not a chore anymore, its a hobby!!

Welcome, Marky:

Shaving with a DE-razor just takes some time to master. Being a recent convert to this form of shaving myself, it's not really anything like using a cartridge-razor.

A blade sample-pack may be an alternative to try, but you will benefit quite a bit by just developing the techniques needed to get the most from what you already have. It's not quite like trying to kick water uphill, but it seems that way in the beginning.

For me, I just began using very small strokes to get accustomed to the angle of the razor on my face. Going WTG, (With The Grain), is much easier to work with because it's a more natural movement. (Moving your arm downward... following the same direction as gravity is taking it. You know, the path of least resistence?) The angle of approach is key. You've just got to find the perfect angle that works on "your" face to accomplish the goal of removing the whiskers as close as possible... without irritating your face. And, since your face isn't the shape of a cinder-block - you've got to develop consistency with that angle and motion to follow the natural contours of your face.

XTG, (Across The Grain), and ATG, (Against The Grain), is where you will accomplish a smoother face after your shave. This is where technique and consistency really come into play. Too aggressive, and you'll be in pain. Not enough, and you may as well be trying to shave with a toothbrush. During these passes on your face, your body is trying to work against you. (Moving your arm upward... going against the direction of gravity.) Add in trying to keep a consistent angle of the razor on your face and your hand holding it in reverse - it's an odd feeling while learning this technique. It's just a motion you have to learn and commit to muscle-memory. It will happen. Just takes some time.

Dfoulk's - Causes of Razorburn and How to Shave helped me a lot. I'd developed a little bit of tecchnique, but it wasn't quite right. After reading that and a few other posts... combined with some more time behind the razor... things just started to come together. It's still not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's to the point of not being a "bad" shave. Having the neccessary time to commit to it will help a lot.

Some days you will have a great shave with an extremely smooth face. Other days, you won't... but, you will be professionally presentable. It's really what you put into it that adds up to learning the techniques and angles needed. And, it will happen. You can only get better with the more practice and time you invest into it.

Wish you all the luck in the world, because it definitely "will" get sorted out... and, you will develop what works best for you.

adamchur said:

A DE razor is designed to reduce the length of the stubble with each pass - almost taking slices off the stubble like salami

Click to expand...

Like a DEli razor. I couldn't pass it up.