Thread: Waiting on my razor

Welcome. to borrow a Tom Petty line "the waiting is the hardest part". Once you get it enjoy the fun. Just remember do not strop your newly honed blade before your first shave.

I also bought another shaving brush and some more soap. She doesn't think I need 4 shaving brushes, 2 DE razors, a straight razor, strop,and several soaps and creams. What she doesn't know is I'm already planning to buy a new straight razor, strop, and some hones if I like the straight razor shaving.

I received my razor last Monday. It looks nice for a sight unseen razor. So my thanks to Larry at whipped dog. I haven't got use it yet as I just got back from vacation. I will get to use it today. I will post my results.

wouldn't dare. can't say i'm hen pecked just hen house ways. besides I just retired and she's the one buying my toys.

Welcome to SRP turkeyman.

Remember...Straight razors are a lot like Lay's Potato Chips. Nobody can own just one.

Well, I did my first straight razor shave today. I ended up with a lot of razor burn. I am pretty sure it was due to too much pressure. My face feels like it did when I switched from cartridge to DE. You would think I would remember to use light pressure after using a DE for so long. Oh well. I'll chalk it up to the learning process. I did 2 straight down passes with the straight then did a cleanup with my DE. The shave itself is pretty smooth.

Best advise I got pressure wise is don't shave just wipe the lather off.there is no need for pressure.

Pressure and too high an angle are usually the culprits when razor burn happens.

Originally Posted by turkeyman79

Well, I did my first straight razor shave today. I ended up with a lot of razor burn. I am pretty sure it was due to too much pressure. My face feels like it did when I switched from cartridge to DE. You would think I would remember to use light pressure after using a DE for so long. Oh well. I'll chalk it up to the learning process. I did 2 straight down passes with the straight then did a cleanup with my DE. The shave itself is pretty smooth.

I bet its your shave angle. Start out with the razor completely flat against your face. Now rotate the spine out away from the face so that the gap between spine and face is equal to the spine thickness. That's a pretty good basic shave angle. More outward makes the shave more aggressive. Too much and you are just scraping and not truly shaving. More inward makes the shave more gentle. Too much, and you might lose cutting power, though I find that a really sharp edge will shave okay even when the spine is nearly touching.

Stretch your skin, too. Tight skin resists cuts and abrasion. Plus the whiskers pop out better, if you are stretching it back up against the grain.

I was advised to start out with two WTG passes, and that has worked nice for me so far. I am trying to get it down to one WTG pass and I am getting there, still with pretty good shaves. Are you going ATG? If so, you need a REALLY flat shave angle, and a couple of good clean WTG/XTG passes first.

A good slick lather is important, just like it is for DE shaving, but most guys like the lather for straight shaving to be just a little wetter. YMMV.

+1 for what TulaneBoy said.

Good luck for the next shave.