Need Your 2 Cents

I used my Wapi for the first time last night since I had to wait on the TM Strop. There's definitely no turning back, not even a hint of irritation which for me is incredible.

Only thing I am wondering about. Is the razor sharp enough?

I have been using a DE with feather blades and that is like butter across my face. This Wapi was from ruprazor and I did not strop it out of the box since I didn't want to damage the edge, it's been sitting for about a week. Other than that though I used it how it came and used Tabac like I always do.

It took me a good 45 min to do two passes both of which sort of felt like shaving without any cream at all (if anyone else here has ever done that). Second pass went really well but still sort of had that feeling like the razor wasn't really gliding. I was using short choppy strokes as that seemed to work best. Normally with a DE I would do about two strokes down my cheek, still fairly short though I guess but nothing like I was having to do with the SE.

The razor was very catchy and didn't seem to slice smoothly. Do I need to work on my angle/technique or does it sound like a slightly dull razor. I really don't want to have to send it back to get rehoned as I'll be waiting on the mail till I can use it again. I know its hard without having the blade in your hands but what would be your guess?

Bad technique or slightly dull razor?

Thx,
D

If it's your first str8 shave I'd say it's down to technique. It gets easier as you learn the angles, grips, pressure (very little to none) and which parts of the blade to use for different areas of face. I lightly strop before going for the second pass on the chin and that helps a lot.
I was very tentative at first with that edge against my skin but once you get a feel for it and relax a little the skipping will stop and it'll fall into place. Makes a great sound don't you think?! Always reminds me of 'The Shave' Laurel and Hardy..

Straight razors will never be as sharp as a DE. I have 2 razors that approach DE sharpness: a Friodur and a Carl Schlieper and I have to apply less pressure than I do with my other straights or I get skin irritation. With good technique and good stubble prep you will get a BBS shave sooner or later. Pactice makes perfect.

Keep in mind that I'm new at straight shaving too so take my 2 cents with a grain of salt. Of all the great advice, the one thing that benefitted me the most was the comment from professorchaos to have confident strokes. Each time I cut myself, I was tentative in my stroke. Also, the approach or first contact with each stroke seems critical. It seems to take a feel that you develop. I have found that it takes some getting used to with the different angles and positions of using a straight. There's nothing else we rub across our faces in the same manner so there's no "muscle memory", to borrow a phrase.

You are right, there's no going back.

I have bought a razor from Ken at ruprazor it was scary sharp I don't have any doubt it was your technique and not the razor, but look on the positive you did it and survived it without any major blood loss, if it took you that long to shave your lather may have been drying out on your face if so rewet it for a smooth glide dry lather will also contribute to blade skipping and or sticking, now that you have your first shave down you need to strop the razor before evey shave proper stropping can make a difference in smoothness of the shave, keep at it and pay attention to your blade angle, it takes a lot longer to learn a straight then a DE but it is much more fun

I have the same razor and just started using it this past week. Good job on making the jump to a straight! I hope it goes well for us.


I have been improving my technique and this morning I got a pretty good shave out of the wapi. Before today I thought there was NO WAY the razor was "shave ready" It felt dull and stuck to my face a lot. I was actually dissapointed and I was thinking about sending it back for a look through and touch up honing.

I haven't received my strop from Ken YET but I am looking foward to it. For now I use an X pattern on my of my belts plus some newpaper stropping and it seems to improve the shave a lot.

When going against the grain and across the grain (which I just started to do) I've found using a lower angle than I would WTG help a lot this morning. I just realized I was scrapping more than shaving on previous days, using a way too high of an angle on XTG and ATG passes.


I think once the strop comes the razor will preform even better. Straights feel totally different than the DE razor type and it's just very strange adapting to the razor and how it feels.

Thanks for the comments, all very helpful. I was definitely needing to keep adding fresh lather. Never had it dry out before. I have to say it was a really good shave. At least as good as an average DE and for my first time that impresses me. Could be beginers luck who knows. The only complaint I had was about the sticking. The advice has all been helpful and from what I was able to read today maybe also too steep of a blade angle. At least one site I caught (knife site) mentioned starting at 90 then working back. Not sure if thats good advice. I'm certainly not going to take it but maybe try a little less severe of an angle next time. Also picked up some cheap Torreys from the bay. Shady pictures but they were cheap so it was worth the gamble and seemed more like people that had no clue or a camera than scammers...

Also, shaving with a straight is pretty BA. But using a belt as a strop, that is sick! I like it. Good luck to you also. Advice from a fellow noob was v helpful.

It can take a while to get your technique where you want it. Sometimes your skin will also need a short period to adjust to straight razors. Kenrup is known for sharp razors, so I'd rate that as less likely. The more you use a straight, the better it'll get.

I use my belt to strop and it works well. This wasn't an attempt at machismo, circumstances found me without one. I will get round to getting one.

I would imagine the razor came with an excellent edge, Ken's edges are quite reputable.

When I first started the #1 problem was I was trying to keep the fabled "30 degree" angle of blade to face. In reality, trying to shoot for that will most likely result in too steep of an angle.

A better guide is to have the spine of th erazor off of your face by only one width of the spine. Keep it really flat against your face. It should feel alot smoother liek that.

In my opinion, it will never feel as smooth and friction free as a Feather, there is more resistance due to the larger cutting length, and no teflon coatings.

But you will eventually get a quite smooth shave, that will be closer and longer lasting than you can achieve with a DE.

Plus it is a lot more fun!

Seraphim said:

I would imagine the razor came with an excellent edge, Ken's edges are quite reputable.

When I first started the #1 problem was I was trying to keep the fabled "30 degree" angle of blade to face. In reality, trying to shoot for that will most likely result in too steep of an angle.

A better guide is to have the spine of th erazor off of your face by only one width of the spine. Keep it really flat against your face. It should feel alot smoother liek that.

In my opinion, it will never feel as smooth and friction free as a Feather, there is more resistance due to the larger cutting length, and no teflon coatings.

But you will eventually get a quite smooth shave, that will be closer and longer lasting than you can achieve with a DE.

Plus it is a lot more fun!

Click to expand...

All truth, but the bold parts really helped me when I was starting out.
angle,angle,angle

Congratulations on your first str8 shave! It sounds like your strop will make a big difference.

Thanks guys. I definitely still need some work on the angle but I am shaving in a more reasonable amount of time. I don't think I used a DE long enough to truly get a good shave so I am on par or ahead with the straight and it definitely does last longer. I am sticking with everyother day at the moment. Plus with the DE it was really hit or miss whether I would get irritation or not. I haven't experienced that with the straight. Plus as mentioned it is more fun.

To be honest I got the Wapi to use maybe on the weekends or when I have time but I haven't used my DE since... this forum needs to be above safety razor. I was on here a while and eventually I was like what's this straight razor talk business near the bottom...? My only worry now is I've "ruined" the edge with sloppy stropping