Thread: 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

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

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.