Discouraged- need pep talk

I haven't been able to get more than one really good shave with my straight razor in the year I've had it and tried to learn to shave with it. The times that I've been able to get a close shave, the result is usually that my face feels totally punished afterwards- nicked up, irritated, dried out, red. I know that I need to try to use it more and practice, but I get frustrated with it. I can shave the side of my face with it just fine, but when it comes to the chin and upper lip area, I just can't seem to get acceptable results. I try to go with the grain first, but it seems to just snag and catch. Slightly ATG causes more irritation. A light touch doesn't cut the hair, and more pressure seems to nick and irritate. Maybe I just need to find that sweet spot. I don't know that my hair is any more coarse or thick than average, but I haven't been able to get really good results on that area. When I watch the how to videos it looks so easy; the blade just glides over or down the chin and the hair disappears like magic. Am I missing something?
Matt

What razor are you using?
Did you buy it shave ready?
How good at stropping are you?

From your description, the first things that come to mind are my questions.

The hobby takes time to learn, but it will require regular practice otherwise there is danged of not getting the hang of it for a long time if ever.
I'd not try ATG before proper WTG technique is acquired and you learn your beard well.

Matt,

The straight razor demands effort and patience. And the desire, of course. You seem to have the desire, but you're not willing to put in the time and the effort to embrace the whole ritual. Until you resolve this issue, I advise against taking up the straight razor. Should you decide to give the straight razor your full effort, then begin studying the wealth of information here, and watch as many quality shaving videos as possible. Ask questions. Then decide that you will do it — and do it. Then we can discuss what type of a razor you should start with.

Sounds like the razor may not be sharp enough. Stropping may be the issue or it may have never been completely shave ready. Also skin stretching is very important. Especially if you are an older gentleman.

Its tough to get the technique down if you take time off in between shaves. Extended breaks between use does not allow muscle memory to kick in and you are pretty much starting from the beginning each time. Stick with it for a solid month and even though you wont be perfect you should see a great deal of improvement.

My first guess would be that the razor isn't shave ready of you might have accidentally killed the edge while stropping, also angle and pressure could be off.

Try and find someone local to help you out, post your location, I'm sure you will find some fairly close

Matt,

Am pretty new to the straight razor myself but I have been doing a lot of reading and watching of videos also asking questions of the wonderful folks here. A few things come to mind would be is the razor "shave ready" is it truly up to the task? The next one is pre-shave prep? How are you prepping your beard / face for said shave? Are you doing anything to prep? I have recently tried using a hot towel, letting it sit against my face, this also softens the skin and hydrates the whiskers making them softer and easier to shave. I have seen a good deal of improvement over the last couple shaves doing this. Of course everyones face is different.. Hope it helps ! Take care Matt.

Adam

It's easy to get discouraged and with all the information on straight shaving it's easy to get confused. Have you thought about just going to the local barber shop and treating yourself to a shave? This would at least give you a base line on what a true BBS feels like and something to strive for on your own shaves with your own razor. You could even strike up a conversation with the barber, tell him why you are there and maybe he could give you some pointers.

looking at your post from last year at this time

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ml#post1129191


It looks like you have at least one quality razor, what have you done to keep them maintained over the last year assuming they were shave ready to start

I don't think you will be able to work on your technique until you send out the razor to be professionally honed. Be picky about where you send it. When you get it back from being honed do not strop it. Shave with it so you have a benchmark for what the razor should feel like while in use. When you notice you are putting pressure into the razor to shave, it's tugging, the razor needs to be honed. With proper stropping you should be able to keep it shaving for months. If the edge has deteriorated faster then you may need to work on your stropping technique

Take a very deep breath and really listen to and answer the questions asked in the previous posts. Personally I think you are trying to use a dull razor because you say it won't cut without applying pressure to the blade. Too much pressure, a bad angle coupled with a dull blade is a good recipe for razor burn, cuts and nicks. Lather is important too. Have you used a brush and soap/cream before and can you raise a good lather? If at all possible find a mentor in your area for some one on one mentoring. Maybe start from square one, send your razor out to be professionally honed and when you get it back do NOT strop it before first use.

Bob

Thanks for all of the quick feedback everybody. I didn't mention before but I have 4 different straights. I started buying them just out of lusting after them as works of art to display with my shaving goodies but wanted to learn how to use them as well. I have a Dovo Carre (and another almost identical but without any markings, etc, made for another online shaving store by Dovo), a Hart Steele "Not a Replica", and a Boker King Cutter (That's the one I bought to learn with). I should probably stick with one but I've been trying them all at different times. I sent them all in to the big guy himself at the store associated with this site so I know they were all shave ready and in good shape. My big fear is that I've dulled them by stropping incorrectly. I don't have anyone in proximity that I know of that can show me in person; but I've watched a lot of videos and also bought the straight razor shaving DVD as well. A lot of people have mentioned to keep with it and practice more. That's an obvious answer but what I needed to hear to reinforce the point, so I appreciate it.

Forgot to mention too; I've been wet shaving with a DE for a couple of years so I'm proficient with the creams, soaps, brush, etc. The stropping I'm definitely not so confident with and I am thinking I may have dulled my blades by doing it incorrectly. Maybe I'll send one in to have it honed and stick with only it for a while. And I'll use it first without trying to strop it as suggested above as well. Thanks a lot.

Just a suggestion but if you send two out you can shave with one a have one as a benchmark. You can practice stropping with only blade weight for pressure with a butter knife on anything. Once you get the hang of going easy and slow on the flip and not using any pressure but still making contact with the edge you will see an improvement in shaves. This shaving with a straight takes time and practice. You will achieve what you try to achieve.

Here is a list of mentors SRP Staff - Straight Razor Place Forum you might find one near you. If you put your location in your profile there might be someone near you that could assist also.

Bob

Another factor to think about is the grind of the razors you are using in your rotation. Different blade grinds will give differing "feedbacks" and thus change the feel of the shave. An example of this would be a full grind blade will give much more feedback than a quarter grind or wedge blade. This can affect the learning curve if you are using different grind or blade styles each time you shave. My suggestion is that you pick two of your razors of matching or most similar grind and style to send out to be honed. When you get them back use only those two razors until you get comfortable and proficient with strokes, angles etc.

My second piece of advise is to not rush things. I see a lot of threads here where newbies ask about how long it takes to shave. Do not worry about your speed, take the time to enjoy the process. Speed and efficiency will come with experience. Most of my nicks, scrapes and razor burn are a result of getting in a hurry or getting distracted and careless.

Stick with it and don't give up. Enjoy the experience.

Let people know where are you located Matt
There maybe someone close by who can give some face to face instruction or check your equipment and use of it

Checked earlier posts Houston

OP check your PMs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Substance

Let people know where are you located Matt
There maybe someone close by who can give some face to face instruction or check your equipment and use of it

Checked earlier posts Houston

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If you are in Texas there are a few members locally.

Firstly I would say that sticking with one razor for a while will be advantageous, something that I did was to send my razor back after about a month or so of daily use and ask the honer to give me some feedback on my edge care, if it goes back to the same person they should be able to see what the edge looks like compared to what they sent you and let you know how you are going.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DustySuds

Another factor to think about is the grind of the razors you are using in your rotation. Different blade grinds will give differing "feedbacks" and thus change the feel of the shave. An example of this would be a full grind blade will give much more feedback than a quarter grind or wedge blade. This can affect the learning curve if you are using different grind or blade styles each time you shave. My suggestion is that you pick two of your razors of matching or most similar grind and style to send out to be honed. When you get them back use only those two razors until you get comfortable and proficient with strokes, angles etc.

My second piece of advise is to not rush things. I see a lot of threads here where newbies ask about how long it takes to shave. Do not worry about your speed, take the time to enjoy the process. Speed and efficiency will come with experience. Most of my nicks, scrapes and razor burn are a result of getting in a hurry or getting distracted and careless.

Stick with it and don't give up. Enjoy the experience.

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I agree with the grinds of your razor you said you have 4 i'd pick 2 with the same grind and same size(example: 5/8 full hollow grind) if you can and send them both back to lynn for honing when you get them back pick one to use as your daily shaving razor that way you can learn how it feels on your face. Also let your whiskers grow out for a while so you can accurately map their direction. when you feel that tugging as your razor cut through your beard it's time to switch to the other honed razor and send the first back. If it is of the same grind there shouldn't be much adjustment needed between the razors. i think that will help you in the long run to practice with two razors of the same grind and size.
My opinion that 2 razors are better than one so you can switch when one needs honing not before.
learn to use one.. first then once you know you can shave with it the way you like your shaves you can experiment with other grinds and sizes..

If you did not shave daily with straights in this last year, I suggest you consider doing so.
I believe that shaving with a straight only occasionally (e.g. on weekends) is not the best way to develop the necessary technique and will hamper your progress.

A widely accepted opinion is that it takes about 100 shaves to become proficient.
When I switched from safety razor to straight, I went "cold turkey" and shaved almost exclusively with straights for one year and managed to achieve the elusive BBS shave in less than 100 shaves, but I still keep discovering small nuances that improve my shave.
Even if I had to plan an additional 20 minutes every morning; to me it was worth it.

I started with a single pass; progressed fairly quickly to three passes, but kept the safety razor for the last pass for the first few weeks. After that I only used the safety razor for an occasional control shave on one side of my face to have something to compare the other half of my face against that I shaved with a straight.

It is easy for a beginner to blunt a shave-ready edge, so it may be advisable to send the razors to be honed again.

Otherwise, and as it is less important for a DE shaver; I would stick to a meticulous prep with warm water and soap to soften the beard, make sure the skin is stretched correctly, and keep variables (soap/cream, razor ) to a minimum as this will make it easier to detect mistakes in technique.


And I do admit there were moments in-between when I had a disappointing shave and was wondering whether it was all worth it, but the next morning I reached for my straight nevertheless and ultimately persevered.


Good luck.


B.

Hi everybody, thanks again for all of the good feedback. I found it very encouraging. Some people advised to post my location so I updated my profile with it. I'm in Pflugerville, TX just outside of Austin.

I've had what I think is a positive development with my journey. As I was reading the replies I really began to come to the conclusion that my blades weren't sharp and that I'd in all likelihood dulled them using my horrible stropping technique. That would explain why I only got a couple of good shaves early on when they were freshly honed then it all went down hill. So thinking if I could take that part out of the equation and just concentrate on technique with a blade I knew was always sharp and shave ready it would help. So, I bought a Feather Artist Club DX straight handle kamisori style razor and some pro blades. It's ridiculously expensive but I had read that its experience was most like a traditional straight. So I just received it and gave it try this week, and all I have to say is WOW. It was an amazing experience. I was very careful after reading how unforgiving it could be, but holy cow, that thing licked the hair off my face so easily I scarcely even felt the blade. A couple of weepers and a tiny cut after it was all said and done, but the shave was so good overall I didn't even need to finish up with the DE to be presentable. I was so excited. I felt like a success. I felt like a man! haha. I had always dismissed shavette style razors in the past because I wanted to be a total purist, but I am SO glad I finally gave it a try. That thing is amazing and like nothing I've ever tried before. My confidence and enthusiasm has instantly skyrocketed after using it. So I'm planning to use it every day I can and track my progress though a hundred shaves and stay committed. Should be a lot easier since there's no real maintenance involved. I also picked up a folding SS model on ebay for $55 brand new so I could try the same form factor as my real straights as well. In the meantime, I'll get my real straights re-honed or touched up and work on my stropping technique more deliberately and mindfully. Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for the encouraging words and advice.
Matt

Yes, I too like the Feather Artist Club DX.

I own three, one resin folding handle for travelling that I bought first; and I liked it so much that I bought another resin folding handle for home and added later a teakwood folding handle for home too. For whatever reason, I was never itempted enough to try the kamisori style.

I use normally the Professional blades, but have also a cache of Pro Super blades.
The difference in shave between the two is fairly small and I have no pronounced preference between the blades - if anything, I lean more towards the Professional.

I did notice that the Feather AC blades are initially harsh and need a shave or two to mellow and reach peak performance.
I get approximately 10 shaves out of them, about three more than I get out of good DE blades, which I rarely use any longer.


It's all in the name: Feather - they work best with a feather-light touch and slightly shallower angle than a traditional straight.
Conversely, you will pay the price for much pressure or a too steep angle.

They are good razors and I believe that unlike light-weight Dovo-style shavettes the transition from a Feather DX to a traditional straight razor will be very easy.


Good luck on your journey.


B.