Thread: Help with steel whiskers that grow against the skin

Time for an update...

First, a big thanks to shooter74743. It is a great feeling to come to an Internet forum, get expert help, have someone personally help you, and have the trust with a stranger. Shooter was kind enough to inspect my razor, give it a hone, and offer some advice.

Some razor history:
1) Purchased a vintage razor from a person with presumed honing knowledge (they specialize in honing). I talked with the gentleman on the phone, and they gave me a good education on honing and razors.
2) It was originally honed at 30,000 grit.
3) I used it a few times, then got discouraged, then gave it a try again much later.

Here's the razor inspection:
1) There were chips in the edge, possibly from the 30K hone.
2) Bevel wasn't fully set.
3) Rust pits. Maybe because it was a vintage razor, or my lack of care. But when I what Shooter did to my razor, he must have polished it up because it looks a lot better than when I first got it.
4) Shooter re-honed the razor.

Some of this surprises me because I thought I was buying a professional honed used razor. After reading the forum for a while, there does appear to be a variety of expert opinions. Perhaps the variety I got didn't work.

So how about the shave?
I was both excited and a bit nervous. There's a lot riding on the first shave, and I didn't want to lose my inspiration by another poor performing shave. I have years of experience with a DE, so I have a good understanding of proper wet shaving.

The first shave with a proper razor....fantastic! The main problem and obstacle was definitely the razor. This newly honed razor now knocks off hair without a problem. This is what I really wanted to prove in my first shave. Now that I eliminated the tool as my obstacle, I can now focus on two areas: my technique and maintaining the tool.

I continued with my shave on my entire face. I did several passes at different angles of attack on the hair. I know we're told just to do one side, but I though I wouldn't learn anything if I stopped before the challenge, so I continued.

Here's what I noticed:
1) Worked in small patches. Wish my blade length was maybe 3/4". I have no idea why the blades are as long as they are, and the extra length sure gets in the way.
2) Beard reduction definitely works. The first pass will knock off some hair, then the second, and so on. By the time I went ATG, there was less hair to stop my blade.
3) Face/skin stretching is necessary.
4) Blade is very sharp and I got a cut. This is what happens when you don't pay attention and use a steep angle. Hopefully it won't scar.
5) Having a blade with a pointy tip makes for a challenge to not cut yourself, but makes it easier to shave around the nose.
6) Shaving with a straight takes a long time. It wore me out. The back of my legs leaning into the mirror are feeling it.
7) Some parts of the shave are left nice and smooth, some spots are rough. I have some nicks, and some redness, but not as bad as my first month of DE shaving.
8) Haven't used my left hand yet. Maybe this will help.

At this point I know I need to work on my technique to get the other spots smooth. I'm hoping with better proficiency my speed will improve.

Areas of concern...maintenance. I'm concerned that my stropping technique isn't going to keep this blade sharp. I'm also concerned that I might roll the edge (not sure how easy that is to do). Right now I'm stropping very lightly, maybe too lightly. There's no way for me to really know if my stropping is helping or hurting. But my goal right now is to get SR shaves as good as my DE, so I might have to send my razor out for hones more frequently.

Again, thanks to Shooter for getting me over this obstacle and back on track.

I'm off now to learn more about properly maintaining the razor, so it will be shave ready the next time.

Jake

Don't worry, as your shave technique improves your shave times will naturally decrease, don't try to force it. So long as the spine and bevel keep constant contact with the strop a light touch is all you need while stropping. Concentrate on improving your stropping technique and don't be concerned with being fast. Speed kills both the edge and the strop if you mess up trying to go faster. Like with shaving it will come naturally on it's own. You are now off to a good start, take your time and enjoy it.

Bob

For maintaining your blade a naniwa 12k or quality barber hone is a great starting point. For the most comprehensive barber hone information I know of visit http://www.razorandstone.com - The Front Page

Watched "A Team" the other day...

I love it when a plan comes together!

Have a few barber hones and the Naniwa 12k. My suggestion would be the 12k. Great smooth edges. Good luck

Originally Posted by snakyjake

I need help with steel like whiskers that grow against the skin. What is happening is the razor mostly skims over the whiskers without a cut when WTG (or even a slight angle). If I go ATG, the razor just stops. Going faster or harder ATG just causes irritation.

I've attempted to remedy this by shaving smaller areas, but I'm still getting stumped. Raking and slamming the blade into the hair isn't helping either.

Advice? Techniques?
Or is this the end of the road for straight razor shaving for me?

The quality blade is professionally honed. My shaves are every morning, so the hair is not long. I take a hot shower before my shaves, and use a quality cream and brush. I typically shave with a slant safety razor that cuts easily.

Thanks,
Jake

Glad you've solved your problem. For future reference "Harder" is the worst thing you can do with a SR, placing your face and the blade at risk. IMO, your face is the most critical, since razors can be re-honed.

Also may help to get a mirror that extends from the wall like this one. http://www.amazon.com/Ikea-Extending.../dp/B001PCU4SKI got one and it greatly helped my viewing ability for angle/growth pattern.

Update:

It has been a week since I started.

I can get average shaves, but I'm still nicking myself. I cannot get BBS shaves.

I can shave up, down, and ATG on my cheeks and mouth area. I cannot completely shave ATG on my neck.

It is taking me about 30 minutes for a shave.

Had lots of nicks, but less towards the end of the week. I'm sure people at work are having questions about this, but haven't asked.

Still have a week old scar that I hope goes away.

Still find the blade and handles getting in the way. I think having a shorter blade wouldn't get in the way as much. But I'm learning how to shave either with the tip or the heel.

I'm having great difficulty getting a smooth shave around my neck. My hair grows from the laryngeal prominence to the outside. I don't have a flat neck area to make ATG passes from left to center, and the blade's length means I'm too deep on the tip/heel, or too shallow in the middle. I'm trying real hard to stretch that area out as flat as I can, and maybe I need to stretch even harder! I'm still working on this great and frustrating challenge.

Here are some videos I'm using to show me stretches and techniques. The last one describes my problem quite well around the neck area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsTnSfaB0Ss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI7-n5hB52k

Jake