First Shave - Please check out videos - Please help I am doing something wrong.

I have taken my first shave today and then had a go at stropping a razor. I have only shaved my sideburns and cheeks and the razor did take of some hair but only really tiny pieces. The good news is I have survived the ordeal and don't appeared to have lost any of the red stuff. I have read loads on this fantastic forum, but am I actually doing any of this straight shaving correctly. I wouldn't call the shave I got from the straight close at all. I went over my whole face again with my DE razor. Using the straight for the first time feels like a massive releif and can't wait to have another go tomorrow. I have added a pic of the gear I used, a video of my shave and a video of my stropping. I am sure I have done everything wrong except cut my carotid artery, i'll try shaving my neck later :)

Picture of gear

Attachment 162567

Video of Stropping - oops I noticed i said honing in video - sorry nervous

http://youtu.be/MOqlFLBIubU

Video of First Shave

http://youtu.be/JUym5knMa3Q

I am guessing there is something I am doing wrong for the razor not to shave close. The razor has been honed by Lynn and so is bound to be sharp enough. The blade also feels fragile when shaving. I know they are thin but when I am passing the razor over my face it feels like I am going to break the edge. I know thats ridiculous but it may give a clue to what I am doing wrong.

It looks like you are doing everything essentially correct. Sounds like you have a full hollow which is why it is singing. With a little more practice you will become more comfortable with angle and pressure. I saw nothing amiss with your stropping video. How many laps on the strop are you planning moving forward. Most people here recommend 40-100 light.

I'm pretty sure you won't break the edge on your face. I think your face will break first. The good thing is you started with a razor you know is optimally honed by Lynn. Now you will learn to keep it that way.

Nicest new guy post I have seen.

I can't really tell from the video but make sure that you are not using pressure to make to blade cut the hairs. It should just glide over your skin very lightly. also i am guessing you are still getting used to using your left hand so pay extra attention to pressure and angle on that side. I would also recommend using shorter strokes to start out and re-position your face stretching hand once you have cleared the top part of your cheek to get a better stretch on the lower cheek.

KG

thanks guys I think I will start up at the high numbers of strops i don't want to damage the razor's edge it came a long way to get to me. thanks also for the reassurance that I will not break the edge. The left handed this is bizarre i had a go with a butter knife first in fact it helps to close my eyes and go by feel. Looking in the mirror the hand is moving in the opposite way to the brain.

You're stropping technique looks fine to me, I saw nothing wrong. And as for your shaving, I saw very confident, short and deliberate strokes there. You have done much better than I did when I first started not too long ago.

Keep up the good work, you're farther ahead than you may realize.

Frank

Welcome to the brotherhood!

Great post. The stropping looks ok. Just remember, slow is absolutely fine. Almost no pressure laps at slow speed.

I'd be interested to hear more about your pre-shave prep.

Also, it seems that you passed the shave-ready razor test easily with the swipes from the hairline down to the jaw. It always feels a bit nervy the first time. I think I broke into a sweat.

Regards,

Simon

ps-nice equipment, btw.

Hi there.
Way too much wrist in your stropping. You need to practice rolling a pencil or your razor in your hand but use all your fingers to get the 180º rotation.
Your shave seemed to go quite well. :)

Good stropping vids here:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/conte...pping-video-8/

The only mistake I noticed was not giving yourself a pat on the back. Looks good!

Sink dings suck; hit a faucet handle or spout (or sink) and you can break or chip a blade. Many wipe lather from blades on a sponge sitting in/on the sink or, in my case, a damp washcloth doubled and draped over the front rim of the sink.

Consider lathering with a little more enthusiasm; I'll massage soap on my face with a brush vigorously for at least a minute.

You seem to have a very sure hand for your first go. Nice.

Your stropping is going to kill your edge,You have the spine of the razor far to elevated,spine should lay flat on the strop.
The sound of the stropping is a dead givaway,your just hitting the egde,which will soon be toast,JMO

If your first shave had been perfect we would be asking you for advise :D My opinion your shave went very well. As for the shave not being as close as maybe you expected, that comes with time and practice. You will have spots that need more attention than others and as you shave more and more those spots will disappear. Keep at it you are doing fine.

Impressive on the left handed go! Im right handed and my left hand chickened out on my first few (well, more than few) SR shaves. Did you try an ATG off camera?

I watched the stropping vid 3 times. I have to agree with Oz you are flipping and leading the stroke with the thumb putting the pressure on the edge. I do a bit of the same thing but I torque lightly toward the spine. This is a bad habit I picked up early on. The camera angle was not great but it looks like a bit of dialog in on the angle will help. For a first run I think you did phenomenal.

Watch your angles to as you shave next time. It almost looked like you were a little too vertical with the spine almost touching your face on the left side.

Nice job for first time out.

Have fun.

Just to add my 2 cents here. You have been given some great advice from some pro's here and along with that advice remember that you are also doing remarkably well for your first time (or two). The razor is not going to give you a baby butt smooth shave with one pass going with the grain. All I would be looking for on a first pass down the cheek is shave readiness which is pain free pass with hair removal. That blade looked and sounded REALLY sharp in your video. I mean, if it wasn't sharp you would have made it half way down your cheek and been howling from the razor yanking the hair outta your face. That razor seemed to sing right on through the hair smooth as butter. As you get better you can add an across the grain pass and then finally an against the grain pass and your shaves will be much smoother by then. All in all it looks like a huge success plus you got some great advice on how to move forward and improve your stropping and your angles shaving. The less pressure you use on your face, I have noticed, the closer the razor seems to cut the hairs.

thanks for the advise will look at stropping videos again and try to get this down. A thread said the sound of the blade stropping was a give away what should it sound like. again thanks guys for all the massive help

When stropping, you might give the hardware on the near end of the strop a little more leeway. You don't want to run your edge over it or collide with it. Great start!

No I did dry and an against this morning only on my right side and it hurt like hell! going to leave that for a while.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Hi there.
Way too much wrist in your stropping. You need to practice rolling a pencil or your razor in your hand but use all your fingers to get the 180º rotation.
Your shave seemed to go quite well. :)

Good stropping vids here:
Straight Razor Place - Stropping Video

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Interestingly enough, if one compares Mr. Davis's stropping video to the vast majority of those in the Stroptober thread it becomes clear that 90% of stroppers are using the wrist to turn the blade and not the fingers. The fingers can do a better job because they are more precise than wrist movements are and because less pressure is naturally applied.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JFriendly123

thanks for the advise will look at stropping videos again and try to get this down. A thread said the sound of the blade stropping was a give away what should it sound like. again thanks guys for all the massive help

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I think you will find sound varies from different strops. Just concentarate on contact IMHO.

I looked at the stropping video again. It might be the camera angle but it appears that the strop is mounted very low. If so you will wear out your back and arms. I think anything waste to sternum works. Below or above that back or arms suffer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Siguy

Welcome to the brotherhood!

Great post. The stropping looks ok. Just remember, slow is absolutely fine. Almost no pressure laps at slow speed.

I'd be interested to hear more about your pre-shave prep.

Also, it seems that you passed the shave-ready razor test easily with the swipes from the hairline down to the jaw. It always feels a bit nervy the first time. I think I broke into a sweat.

Regards,

Simon

ps-nice equipment, btw.

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I am new here and new to straight razors. Using it since a month and ... After the very first days ... Fantastic! Anyway, regarding pre shave treatment I have discovered a old bottle of Argan Oil I bought in Morocco last year. It makes a great difference, don't know if better then other but a film of oil is helping a lot. Btw I use a Bismarck 6/8 and a Livi 7/8 (have put it aside for now, too large for beginners ;) ) best to all you

Well done! Stretching and grip looks great, nothing that practice won't make even better. Make sure you're stropping properly, and get 50 shaves under your belt and you'll see a vast improvement, then when you hit the 100 shave milestone, you won't remember shaving any other way!

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the video!

Interesting last couple of days. The second shave was absolute misery hurt like hell and back, no real blood n guts but bad razor burn. So i took a look at the stropping videos and watched them several times. I thought I have have destroyed my edge with poor stropping technique. after the members here had commented on the video it was obvious there was may to much pressure on the edge. I will put another video up on thursday when i have time so that hopefully you guys can check my stropping style again, thanks in advance. The technique i now use is to put my thumb under the blade and imagine pulling the blade towards me, then rotate and repeat this time with fingers underneath. This pulling rather than pressing seams to have made a massive difference to the edge. I used the canvas for 6 passes the 50 on the leather and the shave was much improved. I am now 4 shaves in and using the straight for my whole shave. although I must admit the area under my chin is carnage. The rest of my face is really smooth and a much better shave than my first effort. Another thing i have noticed is blade angle. I have just given up worrying about it. It seams if I set the blade angle by looking at it the angle is too steep. If I judge the angle by feel the blade seams to somehow go the the easiest angle? weird? I am enjoying shaving a lot with the straight although the wife hates all the gear around me. However as we all know boys never grow up their toys just more expensive and dangerous. I have a chin with a real recess under it not quite peter griffin but it is pronounced and very hard to get around without cutting oneself. Never mind more skin stretching awaits and pulling funny faces in the mirror. Perhaps we should load up a gallery of the most ridiculous faces we pull when shaving ;-)

Thanks again for all the advice its priceless and has reduced the amount of red soap considerably. Without the forum I would never have had the courage to get started and with the advice its really not that bad to get going, even when you do nick yourself these blades are so sharp its doesn't hurt. That is until I put the alum and aftershave on !!!!!

My first days briefly. Lots of videos then finally to the shop. I bought a 5/8 Dovo and started. The first day some nicks, couple of light cuts and a very very lousy shave. Slightly better the third or fourth day. But I made the mistake to over strop with a bad bad technique so the razor went back to the shop (and already with rust) . I did not give up, bought a second razor . A Bismark Dovo 6/8 and a new start. No over stropping, did not touch the stone and was very careful. Result: excellent shaves. Then full of enthusiasm I have found a Maestro Livi 7/8'custom in Milan and that was the real mistake. Too large, over sharp with a pointed square blade. One shave only and I have put it away for better times. So, I am very happy with my results after 30days. I just do it and every day I learn something new. I do not see cons (but the learning curve perhaps) and Pro are no irritations anymore, a shave lasts a good day long and fun! I don't think I will go back to my safety razor.