Chatter and Grab

[SilverBuddha]

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

[BeJay]

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.

[edhewitt]

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

[Shaotzu]

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 . . .

[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

[SilverBuddha]

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?

[BobH]

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

[SilverBuddha]

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

[BobH]

Be sure and let us know how that works out.

Bob

[onimaru55]

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.