Dear Diary: Shave number 4

I recently purchased the Ralf Aust 5/8 strop combo from SRD. I'm now four shaves in and so far No problems with the sideburns or cheeks. I'm sure I'll have the neck figured out soon. Although I can no longer claim no nicks because I drew first blood this morning.

The problem I'm running into though, and I'm sure I'm not the first nor am I the last, is the chin and upper/lower lip. I tend to snag it on those coarser hairs and feel like I'll cut myself if I try to go harder. I'm used to my Merkur 34C which weighs a lot and gravity does all the work for me. I also know it's not the blade since it's only had two shaves and I bought it from Lynn already honed. So it's gotta be my technique. Anyone else have this issue and if so how did you overcome it? Do I need to find a heavier blade or one that isn't a full hollow? Perhaps there's something out there thinner than a 5/8 that would work better? Also my soap seems to dry out by the time I get there and I don't have the benefit of my sopping wet Merkur to keep everything moist. Is lathering as I go an answer? Or am I just shaving too slow. Thanks!

Starting out my shaves took too long and my lather dried out. Something I did, which I still resort to on occasion, was touch up the dry spots with brush. I think your issues with the chin and skip area will lessen as your technique improves.

Stretching and blade angle will help with the snagging feeling. Its a matter of practice till your technique improves. Lathering areas as you go or touching up dry spots is common while learning as it takes longer to shave. Good luck

Blade angle and skin stretching. I skip north to south on my chin and just nose to ear, going xtg is easier for me to stretch and also gives a close shave. You'll get better with every shave.

The chin is where your going to learn slicing , guillotine, and all sorts of off angle moves. More pressure is not the answer unless you want less chin :<0)

I go WTG first pass. The big move for me is XTG but from the bottom up at an angle. Sort of like a cross between ATG and XTG and with a slight slice down.

You may also want to try one of the creams, like Proraso red or TOBS. These are much easier to lather and don't dry out as quickly as some soaps. These creams seem to take as much water as you want to add; as long as you do it slightly and slowly.

If my soap on my face does get dry, I will quickly pass the lathered brush under running water and do a quick re-lather on the area I'm about to shave.

Chin and lips? Light touch and practice, practice, practice. I just do one XTG pass there and call it done...

it gets easier after about 100 or so shaves , don't think youll master this in a couple of shaves,, is the razor as sharp now as the first time you used it? if not then your stropping is maybe not up to par ,, most don't get that few a few weeks either . that is whats good about SRD you get a rehone later hang in there and don't add pressure if the blade isn't cutting then technique needs work tc

Dave, already with you on the cream. Started wet shaving a couple years ago and got discouraged on the soaps right away since I was expecting a super thick lather like my old can of Barbasol gave me (I've since learned better) so I switched to creams since those were easier for me to get the lather I was expecting and now I just prefer them over the soaps for whatever reason. Started out with AoS now I'm trying TOBS. Seems like not being stingy on relathering is the answer for me there.

tcrideshd (or anyone else), about the stropping. Only a couple hundred passes or so on my strop so this question may answer itself over time but it seems like my strop is showing wear and getting smooth along the edges but the center inch or so still looks pretty new. Is that an indication that I'm doing something wrong and that could be hurting my edge or is this just normal break-in? It's a 3in English bridle from SRD. I know, went all in on a first strop but I figured I wouldn't put cheap tires on a corvette knowing I'll probably burn them up right away. So far no nicks I can't live without, only a couple of really light scratches towards the ends.