Thread: Almost ready to give it up

Hi. My name is Bruce. Have had a couple of posts here and wanted to thank everybody. I've been using a straight for about two months now. Though I've gotten better and enjoy the process it seems like I hit a brick wall. Still can't get a shave as decent as my DE. So I say to myself a lot lately, why bother. There are so many factors that go into the process, I'm not sure where my problem is. Angle, lather, Stropping, who knows. I do know my Stropping needs improvement. Seen dozens of videos, but it's not like anyone can watch me. I'm trying to modify my technique, using less pressure, showing down, etc. But I'm pretty sure I'm not helping my edge. my cheeks come out fine but with under the nose and chin, no matter what I do, I get stubble. My question is, is such frustration common? How do I overcome it? Someone should open a school where you can learn this stuff LOL. That's for your help.

I was in your spot a couple years ago, and actually did walk away for awhile. However, I knew that it was something I wanted to master so I came back when I had a few days off in a row to "hone my skills"
When it came to stropping, I bought myself a bench strop and set aside the hanging one until I was ready. This helped me learn to strop without destroying my strop and helped me not roll my edges.
As for shaving, I got a wedge and hollow both honed by a pro (to make sure I took out bad edge related problems) and just relearned! I went very slow and changed angles within the same shave to pinpoint my issues. I got some razor burn as a result, but it was worth it to see what angles my face liked best.
By no means am I an expert, but I can now get a nice close shave with no irritation in only a few minutes. Just keep at it and ask lots of questions!!
Oh and I almost forgot- I leave near Houston and there is a place where you can go get a straight razor shave. I did that and it was a help as well, you might want to give it a go if you live where that is an option.

Well Bruce, it is very common. Have you considered a shavette? You use a DE blade which eliminates the honing, stropping, ect. And let's you focus on other parts while enjoying the sharpness of a DE blade. Just a thought.

Just remember why you started in the first place. For me it was new, fun, challenging, relaxing at times when I wasn't shearing an ear from my head....

If you're not nicking your self or getting razor burn and your blade is sharp look at your expectations. I recently started with a de and the shaves are almost as close as with a shave and after only 5 shaves. I've been shaving exclusively with a straight for a year and it it took me six months to get as proficient as I am now with closeness of shaves. For me the de doesn't hold my attention or interest at near a level as a straight and I almost always have a CCS from a straight and I look forward to it more than ever but like I said it took 6 months to get to a place like that. The pay off is worth it, it just is not as quickly gratifying in the quality of shave as quickly as using a de, for me.

Keep trudging, sir, it's worth it.

Do a member search maybe you can find someone in your state that can hold your so to speak. And is your razor even sharp enough to shave with now? , if not your not going to make any progress,, but o e on one help is a great way to shorten the learning curve. Tc

Such frustration was certainly common for me when I started straight shaving in the 80's & advice was thin on the ground.
So 2 months is hardly a tribulation IME.
Is there any problem with finishing your shave with a DE until you learn from your mistakes ?

You can practice your stropping on a sigle sheet of newspaper suspended from a clip & you can use a pencil or toothbrush to practice the flip.
I bet you could have it perfect in 2 hours.

To confirm tc's advice above, it might be an idea to get the razor honed if you suspect your stropping is doing damage.

You can also put up a youtube video for critique of your stropping & maybe hunt down a mentor in your area ?

Don't beat yourself up about not getting perfect results. Your still new in the game and trust me on this that it will get better. Definitely find a mentor to help you if possible this will be the greatest thing you can do. You will need some one on one feedback on how your equipment is functioning and to evaluate your stropping and techniques. This is one of those things that when it finally comes together your pleasure and enthusiasm will go way up. After a few short years speaking for myself I have become very comfortable with SR Shaving, its a part of me and I look forward to every shave. I am glad I stuck out the rough spots in the learning curve and finally got it to where I am happy with the results. My first time around with SR shaving in the 80's ended in disaster because of no guidance and understanding of the equipment and lack of information on the subject. Nothing could of been more unpopular or more ridiculous than a straight razor in the 80's. I probably could of collected a basket of em back then not even the barbers wanted them much anymore. The art has been resurrected and couldn't be in a better state considering the equipment and guidance available these days for someone to take it up and succeed. Hang in there bro we'll get you there.

I started shaving with straight razors I bought from pro barbers in the mid 1980s. Got to the place where you are at and said the hell with it. Came back to it in 2007 through a friend who became enthusiastic about it. It took me months before I finally got a straight razor shave equal to a DE with a Feather. For some years now equal to DE, or better, is routine.

I jumped in with both feet and had some pro honed blades, some not. What had thwarted my 1980s attempt was the inability to hone. So this time around I worked on that continuously until I could.

If your able to shave the cheeks with no problem, but the neck, chin, jawline are the problem I would bet your razor isn't 'ready.' If you have a few shave ready in a rotation that is the best bet. Whether you learn to maintain them, or send them out, that is the ideal situation IME.

Seems that with the NY guys on here there should be a Mentor not too far from you BSANDY, both for shaving and Honing.

All of it depends on your level of commitment, lots of ways to go at this stage. Best and Happy Holidays.

oh I hear you all the way...I have the same problem areas as well. What I do now is this. I like using a DE but with a 24 hour old beard it pulls and is not the most comfy thing to shave with in the morning as you may well know. On my work days I don't have time for SR shave. What I do is this. I do a with the grain pass with the SR in the morning and don't worry about it being perfect. Then when I am done I go over it with the DE. The more you do something the better it will get down the road.