Thread: First shave

First shave went well got through almost all my face. went with a kit from SRD recommend from here.but feels like my razor is not sharp enough?dose the angle of the razor make a difference.just feels like it was pulling some hairs.but definitely love how smooth my face is.I will try to do some stroping hopefully I don't make it worse.will be getting another razor so I have at least two.

Congrats on the first shave!

If the razor came from SRD and you didn't strop it before using it the first time, then yes it is more than sharp enough.
If you did strop it before using it the first time, then you could have rolled the edge with a stropping motion.

Angle does make a difference in comfort. I use about 2 spine thicknesses off of the face for the WTG, 1 spine thickness off the face for XTG, and the spine almost on the skin for ATG. A high angle will causing tugging, razor burn, and bleeding.

I think you probably answered your own question with angle. A bad angle can make even the sharpest blade not seem sharp enough. Remember to start with blade and spine on the face and slowly lift it as you move till it glides smoothly. Once you find that take not and that is the angle you want to use. The trick is learning how to maintain that angle all over your face.

On the hollow grind blades if the angle is to much some times the blade feels like it's skipping and that can cause a rash and a cut. one the extra hollow grind blades they can flex. the angle is the secret even with a well hone blade.

What has already been said and also what is your shave prep routine look like? Angle is really important but I feel a proper prep and lather is a close second. Assuming you got SRD's soap you may find something else works better. I couldn't get as good a larger with it as I had hoped, ymmv. Skin stretching and short confident strokes help too.

With stropping you want to make sure you hold it taut but not tight and use really light even pressure making sure not to torque the edge into the strop.

In addition to the great notes above - Skin tension/stretching....
If you don't have the beard "standing still/firm" the blade will tug/pull.

Out of the box from SRD your edge was shave ready, trust us.

Hang in there, check out the wiki / library this comes together with practice...

To put it bluntly SRD equals a shave ready razor. Newb equals lack of technique and a poor shave. Pressure, angle and stretching are the areas to look at and keep going. It will only come with practice. Good luck

Originally Posted by eddy79

To put it bluntly SRD equals a shave ready razor. Newb equals lack of technique and a poor shave. Pressure, angle and stretching are the areas to look at and keep going. It will only come with practice. Good luck

Yup, it is a reoccurring question posted here from newbs with shave ready blades. The answer is always the same, lack of technique.

Bob

I just straight Razored for the first time also today!, only one cut! tip of the blade got me! everything else went O.K., between the advice here and my brother things went well, thing is GO SLOW.