Comparison of SR to (Nasty) 5-Blade Cartridge

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.

You have probably already seen this but just in case:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ead-first.html

If it is your first week it may be a bit early to be working through a full shave. Did you try shaving with your razor before attempting any stropping? From SRD it should have been good to go right out of the box. Try to catch/cut arm hair with the razor pulling down your arm toward your hand and with the blade off the skin hovering at about mid-hair level... If the blade catches and pops/cuts hair this way at the toe, the heel and mid-blade then it is most likely plenty sharp enough to shave so that leaves you with angle and technique.

Read through Lynn's post above if you haven't and try to follow as closely as possible and work from there.

Hang in there... It definitely gets better! :)


Shawn
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Well, I've definitely read through that multiple times, and I can DEFINITELY tell that it's cutting hair. I have tried multiple times to get that "popping hair" (both just down the arm as well as dropping a hair on an upturned blade) and have never attained it. So is it "sharp enough" that it's doing something but not sharp enough to get a BBS shave? I don't feel scared at all about shaving under there, I feel confident in my ability to shave there, I'm just wondering why it's not getting it as smooth as my ol' cartridge did.

Stick with it,
I can almost guarantee your angle, pressure, and stropping are off a bit.
Start small (I took the bull by the horns and paid for it, but I got there)
Move at a pace that keeps you happy, if that is fighting it so be it.
It will come for you, some get it quick some take time.
I have been at it a while and I still play with one area on my neck,
smooth 2 and 1/2 directions but not quite bbs unless I irritate it.
It grows W to E across my Adams apple, I am thin and cannot make it flat even with stretching.
The rest of my shave far exceeds what I could get with a cartridge.
Put it out here we are here to help.
After all it is obvious we are here to try and corrupt the masses :p

Give it some time friend. Using a straight takes a little skill you will learn. going against the grain will always give a little more resisitance to the blade I have found. I bet the Mach 5 does the same if you pay attention.

Hmmm... Yeah, you are definitely on the right track! So, you get the stubbly thing after multiple passes? Some people do 3, others 2. I still have a bit of stubbly feel after my first pass when I go from chin to chest but when I reverse going chest to chin during my second XTG pass I get the smoothness I'm looking for.

Not sure about the trouble with getting hairs to catch... When I've honed properly and I do that either the hairs just burst as the blade comes in contact and the end goes flying away... Or, if the hair is thicker sometimes I feel the edge catch the hair and then pop and rarely, for whatever reason, the hair will split with one part remaining attached and the other coming off like a fillet.

Either way, if the hair pops or catches mid-hair then you are set. If you are using a hair held by your hand make sure to really choke up on it... Hold about 5mm or so away from where you want to cut and as you do pull the razor up and away slightly from the hand holding the hair. It should catch/pop.

Play with blade angle by laying the blade flat against your skin prior to your stroke then raise the spine up off your skin very slightly and try a pass... Repeat that over the same trouble spot until you get the angle/feel to come together at the same time you are getting the shave you want.

But, it just takes time and you shouldn't push it if it is getting frustrating. When I started I did what I could with my SR then finished with Mach III (I was never cool enough to go beyond 3! ;-) ) and just walked away.

I wonder if there is a way to mass-Skype so someone can point the phone at the mirror and a bunch of Members can shout out ideas like on The Price Is Right? That wouldn't be intimidating or distracting, nah! ;)

You are WAY getting there if you are working this far into a shave in a week... Hang in there!

Shawn
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Folks who use straight razors are on a very thin line between getting good shaves and terrible one. With more time you will start recognizing what is causing the bad shaves. Your technique will improve. However, technique can only take you so far. If you rig is under performing you have a problem. Meaning, if the edge is a little dull or your lather is not great you will not get there. You can get those great shaves to distinguish from the bad ones. Though the bad ones are serve you in there on way. I wish you well on this journey. Peace and love.

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 :idea: moments was when I eased off the pressure and let the blade do the work. Keep fighting the good fight and have fun!

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.