First shave with a real straight this morning. Eh.......

Greetings All,

Had my first shave with a "real" straight this morning. I've been shaving with a Feather Artist Club Non Folding for the last 2 weeks and doing pretty good. This morning it was time to try out my new Ralf Aust 5/8 and Latigo Strop combo purchased from Straight Razor Designs. I think I need a lot more work in the stropping dept. There was a lot of pulling but I made it through the entire shave without any cuts or weepers. Not the cleanest shave but it was a shave none the less.

I gave it about 40-50 laps on the leather side before the shave. Should I have used the webbing first? Should I have done more than 40-50 laps?

Any help would be great!

Thanks,

Eric

Most do around 25-30 laps on the linen or webbing before going to the leather but the actual numbers come around to preference or experience.

Also keep in mind that the blade angle you use with a straight as opposed to the feather will be different, so that may be the culprit when it come s to the pulling you felt. Play around with the blade angle and see if that helps you :)

OK, webbing then leather. I'll try that.

Should I be concentrating on more (spine further away from your face) or less (spine closer to your face) of an angle?

Thank You!
Eric

What I did when I first started was to lay the blade flat on my face and then bring the spine about 2 spine widths away. That should give you the approx. angle you're going for.

Just to be sure I have this right, on your first shave with a new razor from SRD you stropped the razor first? I think it would have been better to omit the stropping on the first shave as the razor comes shave ready from SRD and by stropping it you could have done some damage to the edge. By not stropping first you know what a sharp edge should feel like and on the second use after stropping if it feels different, duller/pulling, then you know your stropping possibly needs works. That said it could also be your shaving technique being your first go at SR shaving.

Bob

Mer, Welcome to the Forum.

I have the same SRD combo and have been very pleased. In regards to stropping, I have been watching videos from the Stroptober thread and learning much. I have the basics down and use the videos to refine my technique. Same goes for shaving strokes and blade angle.

Here is a link to the Stroptober thread.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...st-2012-a.html

So what you're saying Bob is that I should get another razor (from Straight Razor Designs) and use it without stropping for reference. "Hey Hon, Bob from the forums said I need to buy another razor!" Thanks man! :rofl2:

Thanks everyone for the tips. Something else that was interesting, I'm left handed (no that's not the interesting part) but my right hand shaved smoother than my dominant left. I think I was trying to use too much finesse with the left and not just dive in like my right hand did. I'll post an update tomorrow and let you know how that shave went.

Talk to you soon!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mer

So what you're saying Bob is that I should get another razor (from Straight Razor Designs) and use it without stropping for reference. "Hey Hon, Bob from the forums said I need to buy another razor!" Thanks man! :rofl2:

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No, that would be a suggestion if you ever get another shave ready razor and to point out that your stropping may have adversely affected your shave ready edge. That is if you are really looking for answers. Add that to what others have said about the technique difference between SR shaving and using a shavette and you have a couple of possible causes to as to why you experienced pulling. I see your join date is Feb 2011 and there are plenty of threads on here concerning proper stropping routines and advice not to strop a shave ready razor before the first use particularly if it is your first straight. :rofl2:

Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mer

Greetings All,

Had my first shave with a "real" straight this morning. I've been shaving with a Feather Artist Club Non Folding for the last 2 weeks and doing pretty good. This morning it was time to try out my new Ralf Aust 5/8 and Latigo Strop combo purchased from Straight Razor Designs. I think I need a lot more work in the stropping dept. There was a lot of pulling but I made it through the entire shave without any cuts or weepers. Not the cleanest shave but it was a shave none the less.

I gave it about 40-50 laps on the leather side before the shave. Should I have used the webbing first? Should I have done more than 40-50 laps?

Any help would be great!

Thanks,

Eric

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You shouldn't second guess a great first effort. Some people don't use the webbing at all, and some don't use the webbing unless they have just honed the razor to remove any debris.

Personally, I do 30 laps on the webbing and 60 laps on the leather, both before and after the shave to make sure there isn't any soap or water residue on the razor and it is dry. But this is just what I do. Others who don't get great shaves.

Stropping is the part of straight shaving that has taken me the longest, longer than shaving and honing. You have excellent equipment. Just keep practicing and you will eventually get the kind of shaves you want.

It helped me to watch videos of others shaving, honing, and stropping. What I found is that at first I couldn't do everything the shaver was doing but eventually I could.

Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!

Thanks Cajun!

I've been watching videos probably for about a year now and everyone has a little different technique. Add them all up and do what works for you.

I actually purchased my Feather about a year ago. Shaved with it once, cut myself, put it away and went back to my DE safe zone for the next 11 months or so. Decided to try it again and really liked it so I purchased the Ralf Aust.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

Eric

If you really want to eliminate the question of whether your stropping is an issue, a way to do this would be to get the razor rehoned, but after one shave I think you would be close to winning the fastest turnaround prize. Certainly a lot cheaper than buying another razor, yes I know you were joking.

Thank You Ed,

I'm going to think positive and say it's my technique. We'll find out as the week goes on. The razor having a different/better feel with my right non dominant hand makes me think that's it.

I am a lefty too, I really struggle to do much with my right hand effectively, except stopping stuff in the vicinity of my right wrist from falling on the floor, I've been using a straight for about 5 weeks of shaving time, 8 or so weeks actual time.
I used my right hand for half of my right cheek yesterday for the first time, I was a bit nervous as my hand doesn't go where my eyes think it should be, will have to practice doing stuff with it in a mirror. So I did take more care and got a good result, but I didn't enjoy it, I was waiting for the blood to appear. Anyway I will stop waffling, patience is the key. I still dont have the corect angles everywhere, partly because I have a week off straights every 3rd week, and last time was Longer as I was waiting for my razor to come back from the Sharpenists. Take your time, if the spine is too close to your face all you will do is remove your lather, but if its too far away you will remove your comfort, I am slowly learning this, I can get smooth, but the comfort is somewhat lacking some.days.

Yea, it is mostly in the angles and next to no pressure for the shaving part. Another thing that can make a big difference is having a good lather going. I am guessing that since you have good results from the shavette the lather and pressure part are taken care of already.

Bob

Success!

It was all me luckily. I'm thinking that I was just being too light handed and not guiding the razor enough so it was skipping which I interpreted as pulling. Once I gave it a little more pressure it cut no problem. I stropped the night before, 20 on the webbing and 50 on the leather.

Thanks everyone for your guidance and encouragement!

Eric

Congratulations. Well on the way now

Mer

I purchased a Ralf Aust from Straight Razor Design and had to give it a real good strop. Somewhere between -100-150 passes. If you look at the edge with a magnifier you will see that it was honed but is still rough. After a good strop you will then see a good polished smooth edge. The shave will be totally different.

Yea, congrats on figuring out it was your technique and dodging the stropping bullet. It will only get better from here on out over time.

Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mer

Success!

It was all me luckily. I'm thinking that I was just being too light handed and not guiding the razor enough so it was skipping which I interpreted as pulling. Once I gave it a little more pressure it cut no problem. I stropped the night before, 20 on the webbing and 50 on the leather.

Thanks everyone for your guidance and encouragement!

Eric

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Nice. Once again technique wins out! Great job!