Chatter and Grab

Hi all,

When i shave i am getting a lot of chatter and grab and a shave that seems to be sub par in closeness (single pass is not anywhere near as close as My DE) I am just doing my cheeks at the moment as I'm still very new to the Straight razor.

The razor is freshly honed and sharpened (this was the first shave after having OZ hone it for me) so i did not need to strop it as directed by oz

What could i be doing wrong?????

My Prep is a hot shower making sure i get lots of soap and hot water on the face

I then use a hot towel on face after my shower followed by some floids pre shave oil about 6 drops. working the oil into my beard.

I then lather up with either Col Conks amber soap or Trufitt and hills sandalwood shave cream

Then Shave

I feel like i am using very little pressure (DE shaving has taught me to let the blade do the work)

I am Stretching my skin up when making a pass and using an angle that is about 2 spine widths from my skin.

Why am i not getting smooth passes? it feels like i am shaving with a lawn mower blade.

The blade is taking off hair as i can see the whiskers in the lather when i wipe off the blade. (AM I EXPECTING TOO MUCH BY COMPARING TO A DE RAZOR).

THANKS FOR THE HELP

Have you tried different angles? When I started using straights I used really aggressive angles for my first few attempts. The proper angle felt like the razor was laying too flat, but it was smooth shaves after that. Just keep experimenting, you'll get it.

Hi silver,The first thing i can think of is that your lather might be too dry, give wetter lather a go and see what happens, sorry i am not really on the ball today, i am just about to go to bed after nightshift

Quote:

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

Hi silver,The first thing i can think of is that your lather might be too dry, give wetter lather a go and see what happens, sorry i am not really on the ball today, i am just about to go to bed after nightshift

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You could be right the lather was maybe a bit dry by the time i got to the second cheek
Could the Oil be affecting the lather?

I am not sure on the oil, i only used oil a few times and really didn't like it. All you can do is experiment. Try wetter lather first, then try leaving out the oil or vice versa. Don't do both or you won't know which is the problem.

I'd agree with Ed that it could be your lather is too dry which can cause a sharp blade to act and feel like it is dull. You could also try lathering just the part of your face you intend to do immediately and then lather the next bit as you go.

I don't use a pre shave oil but I have read that some say that it can have an adverse effect on the lather.

Try a wetter lather and see if that works and if it does not drop the pre shave but stay with the wetter lather next.
Only change one thing at a time so you can isolate what the problem is.

Bob

Thanks bob

Will try that,

it would seem that maybe the oil is affecting the lather and causing it to break down and dry out, as i have come across numerous posts that others dropped the oil because it was affecting the lather. When thinking about it some soaps are designed to remove oil from the skin maybe just maybe this is what is happening and is causing the problem.
I think i will try a nice wet lather without the oil and see what that is like

Be sure and let us know how that works out.

Bob

So you are seeing a number of things need to be right for it to come together & lather is VIP.

I'll post my email reply to you here so others with the same problem may have some more input also.

"I don’t like oil as it mats down the cuticles of the hair but if it makes no difference to the DE it should make no diff to a SR.
Are you shaving with the blade flat on your face or is the angle raised. The optimal is somewhere close to dead flat.
Try that first. Pressure must be confident but not heavy. Stretching is of course crucial."

Just to re-confirm a raised angle will not only degrade the edge over time but can also cause the chattering you describe as the action will scrape rather than cut the hair. The rule of thumb many quote is 30º but don't forget the razors inbuilt angle is already near 16º lying flat.

i use preshave oil for my straight shaves and no oil for DE shaves. i think it may dry out the soap faster but it really doesn't affect the shave for me. Since you already use a DE for shaving, i don't think the problem is the lather or the oil (unless you only just starting using oil for the straight shave). Creating a lather for straight shaving is the same as for DE shaving.

Your issue should be technique. I had the exact same problem you had when i first started using straights (i did not use oil when i started). I could not cut anything and my razor was honed by Lynn. Like you all i managed to do was scrape skin until it was raw. It was my angle that was wrong (too wide). Start with the blade laying flat against your skin and raise the angle a little with each cut until it just cuts hair. Don't expect BBS right away. it takes time to get it right.

Well i dropped the use of the pre shave oil and made a slightly wetter lather and did a lot better at getting a much closer pass. I also used a much finer angle. So i am not quite sure what the answer to my problem of chattering was, but i get the feeling it was mainly my angle of the blade with a little bit of help from the oil. Now i just need to learn to navigate around my face without cutting and nicking myself, i dare say i am still using too much pressure and pushing to hard and my ability to stretch probably needs work, but i am now seeing just how sharp these razors are. I feel like i have a long way to go before i get a shave as comfortable and close as my DE, but it will come, just not as easily as i thought it would

Thank you all for your input and advice

Well if you are seeing improvement thats great, you can always reintroduce the oil if you really want to, i would be more inclined not to, it is just another thing to have to buy. You can play around with lather consistency too, i find that if it is looking a bit wet some additional whisking sorts it out, or in the worst cases, add some extra soap or start again (never had to do the latter).
And you can also experement with angles too, different parts of my face get slightly different blade angles.
Keep us updated SB

I'm pretty new so just notes from another experimenter on the pre-shave oil . . . I've been face lathering with and without the pre-shave oil and the results have been a bit inconsistent on the quality of the lather I get. I had basically decided that it probably was my technique on face lathering and until that was consistent, I'm not sure I can judge the pre-shave oil. Well, that might be true, but I picked up a mug yesterday (from Starbucks, ceramic - clearance - $3.99) and decided to try lathering the soap in the mug. After loading the brush, I worked up a great lather in the bowl and used it on top of my pre-shave oil. Worked pretty well. Going to try again tomorrow or Saturday without the oil and see if I notice a difference, but I think maybe the oil was making my face-lathering a bit more complex than I am ready for yet. Just my two cents . . .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Just to re-confirm a raised angle will not only degrade the edge over time but can also cause the chattering you describe as the action will scrape rather than cut the hair. The rule of thumb many quote is 30º but don't forget the razors inbuilt angle is already near 16º lying flat.

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This advice right here helped me out so much, I had a rough guess of what 30 degrees was but always thought I was too flat on my face for 30. Makes my shave so much closer and cleaner!

Before I got to Oz's post blade angle was one of the things I was thinking. Sounds like you're getting better results now that you've addressed that. Takes some practice and don't forget stretching the skin. One of the most important aspects IME.

I actually rub some of my wife's conditioner into my beard during my shower. ;-) Then I just leave it in and lather on top of the conditioner. Makes for a nice shave. :-)

Well I'm ecstatic guys!!!!

Two days ago i murdered my face with nicks and slices, i was dejected and ready to put my gear on ebay and go back to the safety of my DE razor, but tonight with courage i picked up the Ralp Aust again because I'm not one to easily quit!

What can i say except for WOW!!!

Now i can see why this can become a joy and an obsession

I gotta say dropping the oil may be part of it, a wetter thinner lather may be part of it.

BUT

The angle is everything!!! Once oz pointed out in his above post that the angle of the blade is naturally already at 16 deg i adjusted my angle to almost flat and i mean 1/2 a spine from flat, the blade seemed to just come to life under my hand. (the right feeling and sound)

It felt effortless and easy. It became obvious immediately that my angle had been wrong the minute i found the right one!

So much so that i was able to complete a full face shave (with only one Weeper and no sting from the alum block apart from it, anywhere). The trick was pulling different faces and staying constantly aware of BLADE ANGLE! I can see now it takes many aspects to be right in order to navigate the terrain. Angle first!!! head tilt, and definitely stretching along with a healthy dose of patience.

Speed is also important too, and more importantly a slow speed compared to that of of DE shaving was key for me.

What can i say but

I am hooked!!!

It is a special feeling to achieve a close smooth shave with a straight. It is comparable to getting behind a steering wheel for the first time, Effing scary but at the same time exhilarating when it goes smoothly.

The love affair begins

Thank you to oz, edhewitt and those who gave their advice at this crucial point! Indebted!!!!

And to top it all off i have a second razor (my grandfathers) on its way back from Oz after a restore and rehone.

If you can't tell i'm one happy man (even if it was only one full face WTG shave)

:beer1:

:tu

Love a happy beginning, congratulations on succeeding.

Bob

Congrats! No trip to the ER and less whiskers . . . sounds like a successful day!

Well thats great to hear, much as we may have guided you to a greater or lesser degree, you were the one who did it.
Keep focused and dont become complacent and you will be fine, once you feel comfortable with where you are at, then look at the subtleties of the shave and you will find more pleasure and reward :)
I have just started trying to introduce my right hand into my routine, its like starting again to a degree, particularly in regard to translating what i am seeing in the mirror to what my hand is actually doing.

Glad it's coming together for you. It's gonna keep getting better as you get more comfortable and dial in the details.

Well i have had a number of good full face shaves now and the angles are getting better all the time, my ability on the flat parts of my face is getting better with each shave (more confident and purposeful movements). However, the area down on my neck either side of the adams apple but back laterally (right over the top of the jugular!!)is not real good. Have been working on different directions of attack but no matter how i stretch or turn my head i cannot seem to get past the hollows the only thing that gets these spots is to stretch my skin right up over the jawline and even still i cannot get it all and certainly not with a confident stroke!!, in fact most of the lower neck is a stumbling block!! Is this normal?? I thought the hard part was going to be my upper lip and chin but with careful attention to angle i seem to get a fairly decent pass over these areas. SO what can i do, i realise i need to keep working at it each day but are there any other clips i can watch apart from Lynn's and the Chimensch's 30th anniversary shave that might be of use.