Thread: Newbie Problems

Originally Posted by EasyE

Thanks! That's a heck of a lesson. I might have to institute a no girlfriend policy in the bathroom during shaves.

Another tip: if you have a large dog, keep him/her out of the bathroom too during shaves. My sister's BIG half-wolf dog was lying at my feet under the sink when someone rang the doorbell. Having a large beast go from 0-60 at your feet while you have a very sharp hunk of steel near your face is not a very comfortable situation.

Should have not stropped before shaving. That topic is well covered here so I take full responsibility for that gaffe.

So, do I just keep stropping/shaving with the blade as-is for a while and focus on prep and technique? Anyone think sandpaper is worth taking to the strop, or that the "slight rough" feeling on the up pass (like a couple tiny grains of sand) will screw up the blade?

I think spending $25 for a honing would serve you better.

Even though I am very careful stropping, never caught an edge as far as I know, and only shaved once?

Or are you saying there is no way to tell if I really need it until I shave with it shave-ready and see if there is a difference?

Too much pressure while stropping will roll the edge, it's not just about catching an edge.

I would want to start from a fresh staring point.

Few suggestions...

If you have a free hone from SRD (I did with mine), you could take advantage of that.

Another option is to pick up a low cost "shave ready" blade to use, while you try to work on the first one (or while it is a away being honed).

Search the forums for links on how to examine your blade. If you have a 30-60x magnifying glass and a bright light, there are several things you can look for. Even with naked eye and a bright light you can look directly at the edge and see if any shiny spot (ding). Another is to use a pin and gently run from spine to edge, to see if it catches on the edge (rolled). Do this on each side and along the length of the edge.

I had dinged my blade early on, used these methods to detect, got some jones to work out the ding, and got another blade to use while I worked on the first one.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out!

I would pick up another strop. The Whipped Dogs inexpensive strops may work and you can get the inexpensive strop and one of his shave ready razors for not much $$. I got a razor honed by Lynn and just cleaned off the oil and shaved with it. Worked great. My hair is very thick, used to stall hair clippers (and still does occasionally!), so a HHT doesn't work too well. When I stropped the blade after the shave, I put the strop down on the counter so it was more like a paddle strop with less chance of rounding the edge. Seemed to make the blade even sharper and now tree tops arm hair with ease!

You've gotten some sound advice especially from Mentors and those that have been doing this for awhile.

Yes, you can mess up an edge right off the bat. If I may, I'll re-hone your razor for you N/C, just PM me for details. If you need references I'll be glad to oblige.

This age old art has a huge learning curve. But once semi mastered it's very rewarding.

It's a long strange trip but it's well worth the journey.

Hang in there, it'll come, just give it time. Be patient and you will be rewarded many times over.

Best welcome I've ever had from an internet community. cudarunner: what an offer. I'll send you a PM. Thanks to all.

Originally Posted by EasyE

After a clownish beginning (cheap made in china ebay purchase, honed by a knife sharpener), I forked out the cash for a restored dubl duck from vintage blades shave-ready and honed by Lynn Abrams.

My first shave with the new blade still felt fairly rough, but I may just not be used to the way a straight shaves and need to work on my shave technique, pre-shave routine, lathering, etc. But, the new blade still doesn't pass the supposed hanging hair test (it only cuts a hair that's taught but doesn't cut a loose hair), even after 100 passes on the strop.

1. Could it be a dull blade despite its reputable origins?

2. My strop is a faux-leather from a company on Etsy called Roosevelt Grooming. On the up pass, the stropping surface doesn't seem as perfectly smooth as it feels on the down pass. Could my strop be screwing up my new blade? Should I try to sand it down with sandpaper?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post!

I got into straight razor shaving because the typical drug store and department store fare never worked for me. My face was always irritated. It wasn't the prices, it was the discomfort.

Straight shaving for a beginner carries a lot of variables. The odds are that the Dubl Duck is shave ready. The strop is probably good because I have been pleased with things purchased from Etsy. So I would watch YouTube videos of people shaving themselves and practice with what you have for a while. My problem with strops, which took a long time to correct, was cutting up the strop, not ruining the edge.