Thread: Comparison of SR to (Nasty) 5-Blade Cartridge

A lot of us used a cartridge razor or DE to "clean up" when first starting out. Keep working on effective lathering, beard prep, and angles; I remember one of my moments was when I eased off the pressure and let the blade do the work. Keep fighting the good fight and have fun!

Originally Posted by MBR1965

A lot of us used a cartridge razor or DE to "clean up" when first starting out. Keep working on effective lathering, beard prep, and angles; I remember one of my moments was when I eased off the pressure and let the blade do the work. Keep fighting the good fight and have fun!

This was the biggest one for me as well. Buffing strokes, the right angle, and easing off the pressure have made my face much happier.

To the OP, like everyone else said, you just gotta keep at it. No matter what anyone would have you believe, shaving with a cutthroat is HARD, and learning to do it takes time, patience, and persistence. The gentlemen here will do whatever they can to get you there as painlessly as possible, and when you finally have it down, you can hold your head high knowing you have a skill that few people can boast, and you'll be ready to share your stories and experience with the future newbies that pop up.

Like everyone else said best thing to do is stick with it and it will get better as you go. I also use to have some problem areas in the neck that I can never seem to get a good shave until one day had kind of "ah ha" moment and finally figured out what I needed to do to clean up the problem areas. It can really be any number of little things such as your angle is quite right or your shave direction isn't what you thought or even that you aren't quite getting the stretch done well enough. Stick with it and hopefully it will come to you sooner than later.

This is not intended to be patronising, but have you mapped your growth? Neck and chin hair grows in all sorts of weird directions, no scratch that, my whole beard grows in weird directions. It has taken me about 3 months to get reasonable shaves, though it still takes me a while.
Also your mach 5 is doing 5 passes at an angle set by Gillette, as oposed to one pass at an angle set by you, don't give up, but don't practice your face raw either. I found a mentor, described exactly what I was doing to him, and with a bit of messaging my shaves improved no end. Not that forum posts are a bad way to go I just got overwhelmed by the volume of responses to some of my queries.
Good luck, don't panic, and remember you can always have another try tomorrow.

Stick with it. It takes a while, but its worth it. Every 5-10 shaves you will gain insight to the straight experience.

As far as I can tell thee are three things to getting a stellar shave. Assuming the blade is sharp.
1-lather
2-streatching
and for the money
3-pressure ( too much = mince. Too little = shaggy. )

I love this site but often times it seems to me folks over think the process.

During my early days I had similar issues. Your comment "it's very difficult to get started, almost like the razor is hanging onto the hairs rather than cutting them" indicates your angle may be too aggressive. Start with the razor flat on your skin then as you start to move it lift the spine off your skin no more than 1 spine thickness (2 at most). If this works you can then increase the angle until you find the balance between angle, smooth movement & actual whisker removal. If this doesn't work the edge may need a touch up.

Originally Posted by Brenngun

Start with the razor flat on your skin then as you start to move it lift the spine off your skin no more than 1 spine thickness (2 at most).

+1 on this suggestion. As a fellow newbie, this technique works like a charm. Real feedback from the blade and skin when you hold the razor properly.

Originally Posted by Cooldude9210

So, I was a Gillette Mach 5 Man before I entered the cutthroat (no pun intended) world of the Straight Edge. I love the practice, love the endeavor, but I'm getting concerned I'm not doing something right.

I shave on my cheek and it's BBS. I shave anywhere else (lips, chin, undersides) and it's worse than my 5-Cartridge shave! I went for one section, and my wife said it looked as though I was trying a new style of beard! I bought the Razor from SRD, so I'm not doubting it's the sharpness, as I strop with almost NO pressure, and do about 20 round trips per side. But when I went to the trouble area my wife mentioned with my 5-Blade, it's BBS compared to the areas I got with my SR! And the 5-Blade is almost 3 months old, ready to be tossed!!!

My question is, is my angle off, am I just going the wrong direction, or is my razor actually dull already? I should mention when I do undersides, it's very difficult to get started, almost like the razor is hanging onto the hairs rather than cutting them.

I will also mention this is still my first week of shaving.

Does the tip of the Mach 5 carry a head blade like this?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ning-tool.html

Might be useful in learning...