Shave to Straight Razor

I have been using a shave for a while, but I have been disappointed with the performance and want to elicit some feedback here. First, how close is the shave experience to the straight razor experience? I find that even with a great prep, no pressure, and a great post-shave treatment, my skin always feels irritated and burning after my shave shave. I'm using a Magic shave with Derby blades:
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I am not sure what else to do to get a more pleasant experience. I do not apply pressure, and it's still worse than my Gillette disposable shave, not better. When I watch straight razor shaves, the razors seem to effortlessly remove the hair with no noticeable irritation. It seems smooth and clean. I'm not having that experience yet. Is the razor the blades? I'm certain my pre, lather, and post are fine, as only the shave gives me discomfort, not my disposables.

Also, any advice on how to shave the chin? This is hardest for me, and my hair is like copper wire there as well.

Thanks for the feedback!

Poetman,

The only way you will experience the pleasure of shaving with the traditional straight razor is to learn to shave with one. It will take a little time to hone your skill with it, but it is worth it. What you have now is a straight razor with replaceable blades, an unforgiving shaving tool devoid of the colorful ritual traditional straight razor shaving embraces. Your blade is deadly sharp, but it lacks the silk the traditional straight razor's edge can have. If I may suggest, get yourself a quality and shave ready straight razor, a good strop and embark on a great journey.

Can you describe your pre and post shave routine. What products are you using. Sometimes less is more. Are you rinsing in warm or cold water.

I have not shaved with a shavette but I have shaved with a DE and for my face the DE razor blades are much more harsh than a straight. I'm guessing that the edge on that blade doesn't leave much margin for error so any pressure at all will result in irritation. Straights for me are a lot more forgiving.

I'd try a different blade, but my face isn't a fan of Derby blades.
You can order a sampler pack of blades from Maggards Razors and try a bunch of different blades pretty cheaply.

You may also want to change the blade after every shave until you learn now to use it.

Try another blades. IMHO Astra and Gillette are much better options.

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Originally Posted by Obie

Poetman,

The only way you will experience the pleasure of shaving with the traditional straight razor is to learn to shave with one. It will take a little time to hone your skill with it, but it is worth it. What you have now is a straight razor with replaceable blades, an unforgiving shaving tool devoid of the colorful ritual traditional straight razor shaving embraces. Your blade is deadly sharp, but it lacks the silk the traditional straight razor's edge can have. If I may suggest, get yourself a quality and shave ready straight razor, a good strop and embark on a great journey.

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Darn near poetry.

Agree with Chris toss the blade every use...shavette has a different angle its Verrrry unforgiving and an uncomfortable shave with more then one pass still have mine and use it rarely....

Thank you all for the feedback. I am certain I was not applying pressure. I kept my wrist locked and just moved it up and down. I wondered if the blades were to blame because I remember using Wilkinson blades a while ago and being more fond of them then these current Derbys.

My routine is generally: shower, soak my brush in warm/hot water, wash my face with warm/hot water again, use a best badger to apply water only, then, a few dabs of pre-shave oil, then a dab of Proraso on the brush, lather on the face. WTG & XTG with my shave at first. I was certainly removing hair and got a clean shave with the need for usual ATG pass, but my face was on fire most of the day. I can't remember the last time I had such pain.

When I see straight razor shave videos on youtube, many of them look as if the blade removes the hair with no pressure or irritation. What's interesting is that many videos show straight razor shaves of full beards. These guys don't reduce the growth with clippers. They just remove with the blade, and the razor just slices through. You could NEVER do this with a disposable because the blade is not good (strong? sharp?) enough! Since my shave shave was not this good, I am wondering if a straight razor shave is an improvement from or, at least, different than a shavette experience, and how.

It is different waaay different ... first off the angle of attack is lower..( 20 degrees or close to it) meaning less drag from the edge...as long as the edge is kept keen it slices through the beards with no issues or pressure skin stretching is just as important for a close comfortable shave also

Another thing to watch out for is the lather. Proraso tends to be a little thirsty and needs a fair amount of water to get just right. Dry lather can definitely cause razor burn.

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Originally Posted by coryschmidt

Another thing to watch out for is the lather. Proraso tends to be a little thirsty and needs a fair amount of water to get just right. Dry lather can definitely cause razor burn.

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Thanks for this note. I shaved again and had a better experience--not acceptable, but definitely better. I noticed two things: the pre-shave oil is good for a DE or disposable razor, but with my shavette it produces to much drag and actually causes the blade to catch my hairs. Secondly, I needed to use MUCH less pressure. I didn't realize how easy it was to apply pressure---even when you didn't think you were! Finally, STRETCH the skin! This made a HUGE difference for me. I stretched a lot more and noticed that I got a closer shave with WTG & XTG passes alone. I still got bad burn and irritation, but it wasn't as terrible as before. I just want to know that if I invest in a real straight razor, my shaves will be better than they currently are--as it's a nice investment.

Get a straight shave from a place like Tomy Gunns if u like the shave do the straight razor.

I'm glad you made some progress. No pressure really means NO PRESSURE! The lightest touch possible. I still think a straight blade will be more forgiving than a shavette and that you'll have more success. There are a few good buys in the classifieds right now. You'll have to buy a strop so there is a little more overhead but if you don't like the razor you can always resell it. The market is pretty good right now. :-)

I just need to know that the straight razor shave would be different than the shavers shave, which has been poor to mediocre at best. I imagine the straight razor to be sharper and to be less forgiving based on videos I've seen, but if my shave the used broken DE blades, does that mean that a straight razor is more forgiving than a DE as well?

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Originally Posted by coryschmidt

I'm glad you made some progress. No pressure really means NO PRESSURE! The lightest touch possible. I still think a straight blade will be more forgiving than a shavette and that you'll have more success. There are a few good buys in the classifieds right now. You'll have to buy a strop so there is a little more overhead but if you don't like the razor you can always resell it. The market is pretty good right now. :-)

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I have shaved with a DE (the same blades that are used in a shavette) and for me a straight razor is more forgiving. I have less irritation after a straight razor shave than I do after a DE shave. But that's just my experience.

So many variables......... I finally tried cold water shaving and what a difference it makes. I use a DE primarily and it really changes the irritation level. I can get extra passes and any thoughts I had, (negative), were unfounded. My face definitely appreciated the change. Another thing I started doing was rinsing and re-wetting my face between passes. This solved the issue I was having with water loving soaps. I also started making my lather a bit "wetter" which works better for me. Good luck finding the right combination, it is a journey but the adventure is always the trip between point A and point B. G

A traditional straight will be a bit more forgiving. I think the main issue here is that you are just starting out and this is a skill that takes time and repetition to develope. I have a couple shavettes and I can get a close comfortable shave with both of them. Angle is also very important when it comes to irritation. Play with different angles until you find that sweet spot. Most people start off with an overly aggressive angle and need to flaten the blade a bit for a milder angle. While you're starting out you shouldn't focus on getting a really really close shave. Instead try for an acceptable shave and focus on comfort.