Newbie in need of technique advice- under the jaw
Hello All!
I am new to SRP and I've been shaving with a straight for about a month now- Really enjoy the experience! I'd like to think that I did my homework: watched Lynn Abrams shave on YouTube, bought and watched the World of Straight Razor Shaving DVD, slowly shaved my face one section at a time, getting confident in that section before moving to the next section, try to get a good pre-shave down (hot shower or towel, clean face, SRD soap with badger brush). I purchased a 5/8 Dovo Best from SRD (didn't want to go crazy for my first razor, plus that's pretty much all that was available), so I know it was honed and shave-ready. I also have the SRD paddle strop, which a take my time using- trying really hard not to kill the edge. I did feel some tugging after the first week or so, so I did refresh with the 0.5 diamond on canvas and noticed some improvement, so I was satisfied with that. I'm sure my stellar rookie moves had to do with the premature wear.
Where I am looking for some advice is shaving under the jaw. I can get the cheeks, neck and chin pretty well- even on a first WTG pass with a little clean up here and there. Took a nice gouge out of my upper lip- that's going to need some (okay, a lot of) practice. I've found that the first WTG pass under the jaw seems to leave a lot of visible stubble. I figured after a few times of going WTG without hurting myself, but still leaving the stubble I may need to go ATG on a second pass. I instantly feel the blade tug and want to stop- so I stop. I've tried angles from the recommended 30 deg, to the spine almost flat against the skin and I am not making much progress- still tug and stop. I also try to be very aware that I'm using light-to-almost no pressure on the blade- although I do catch myself pushing at times. I do make sure that I have a good warm lather. I know that I have a pretty course and stiff beard- even the barber that I went to have a couple of SR shaves with said my beard was killing the shavette blades.
My question is, is this normal and I just need to let time and experience prevail or is there some adjustment to my technique that I can try? Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide some answers to the common questions I see asked of a lot of newbies before they are asked. Thanks for the input!
Mike
P.S. I may have a little pressure to make SR shaving successful- my wife thinks this is the one of the dumbest things I've done and swears she'll find me in the bathroom with my head in the sink… and the rest of my body on the floor. I'd really like to prove her wrong… just one time:y