Thread: Frustrated

About 5 months ago I decided to get away from cartridge razors and pressurized goo for shaving. I bought a Thiers-Issard Spartacus razor, Edwin Jagger pure badger brush, a variety pack of Col Conk's soaps. Over the last few months, I thought I would have this down by now. I realized the soaps weren't working too well so I switch to Taylor of Old Bond St soap and then the cream by them as well. I even got a nice dovo 3" strop for Christmas to replace the one I got from Vintage Blades.

Well, I am about to have a meltdown. I feel like I am getting no glide from my lather no matter what I do. I have tried distilled water, watched every YouTube video that has been recommended to me and talked with a few friends who do wet shave and nothing helps.

Recently, I have started to wonder if the razor I purchased was not honed prior to using it. When I purchased the razor from Vintage Blades, there was a guarantee that the razor would be honed prior to shipment. The razor shipped almost immediately after I ordered it which made me wonder. Plus, in hindsight, when I opened the packaging, it was in what appeared to be unaltered OEM packaging. I chalked it up to "it's a nice razor and came shave ready." I have done some further research and am seriously wondering if it wasn't honed before it was shipped. Another reason I fell that it doesn't have a good edge on it is that I can use my old cartridge razor and sliced through my beard without any issues compared to my Spartacus, even after 80 passes on the strop beforehand.

If this is the case, should I try to hone it myself? Should I send it off to hone it or should I try a few rounds with a pasted strop? Or am I screwing my lather and prep up and is that what is causing me to have such issues? I do have a pretty heavy and thick beard when I get even a few days grown on it. My wife and my mom have both said my chin could pass for a Brillo pad after 3 days without shaving.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Traj

Dudes that don't use pre-shave oil will disagree with me, however, while you may have blade issues, I highly suggest lubing up that beard with some oil. I use Stirling Soaps pre-shave oil, but you can make your own for super cheap.

When I first geared up to shave with a straight, I didn't buy pre-shave oil because I thought it was nonsense. 300 shaves into my journey, I use it before all three passes. Might be worth a try.

When starting it is quite common to use a bit too much pressure when stropping which damages the edge. This is one possibility. So even if the razor came fully shave ready, it may not be anymore. We have most of us done this starting out. I would suggest either ordering a second shave ready razor so you always have one to compare to (a whipped dog unseen would be an inexpensive option) or send yours out for honing to a pro. After five months of a tough beard it would probably need a touch up anyway.

On the lather front maybe try mixing soap and cream to make an uberlather. I still do this because it makes it easier with hard water.

Depending where you are you could check of a member is close enough for you to drop by so he could check your razor and lather technique.

Hope this helps,
Dmnc

Before you toss in the towel & call it quits,,,get your razor honed by one of the members here in the vendors section that advertises honing.
When it get back to you, don't strop it with 80 laps,,, don't strop it at all that first time. use your TOBS cream after a shower for prep,,, forget oils for now & take that newly honed razor to the sides of your face & see if you can tell a difference.

Your whiskers will have little influence on a properly honed T&I straight razor.

Don't jump into honing with pastes,,, see if razor shaves comfortably after it returns. Then really study the stropping videos.

When your ready to start touching up the razor, come back here with that step & we will get you going.

When in doubt, it's always good to try a hanging-hair test as a ballpark reference. If it doesn't pass, then yeah, maybe send it out to be re-honed. A lot also has to do with one's stropping. Stirling soaps lathered properly provide decent glide for a decent price from my experience. Hang in there, it takes a while.

If you are not 100% certain that the razor is shave ready get it honed. Vintage Blades LLC was purchased by another online retail vendor. When it was owned by Jim (I think that is his name), Lynn Abrams was listed as the person who honed the razors. I do not think that relationship exists anymore since the buyout. Someone correct me if I am wrong. You could go through the trouble of sending it out just to make sure. You could hone it yourself but you would incur the expense of buying the stones. Plus, it might be a better idea to practice on another razor before taking your TI to some stones. As far as your other concerns, such as lather and prep, you will not really know until you are certain the razor is a best as it can be. I have had shaves with very little prep. I just splashed some warm water on my face and lathered up. The razor did the work just fine. A good lather will help you get great shaves, but it cannot make up for a poor edge or poor technique. When I first started out I had a terrible time and on occasions still get a bad shave from a straight. The bad shaves could have been the result of any number of things and with time ( not just a few months) you can start to recognize some of the issues.

I would say don't rely on pro honing to be 100 percent all the time. Even if they say "well it passed the HHT"

I have had 4 pro honed razors from 2 respected honers that tugged n pulled.

Now I hone myself and it's all good.

I don't have anything to add other than to say, the beauty of straight razor shaving, and the reason I never get tired of it is due to the variables involved, and the superior results when you master it. All the advice offered is valid.

I had every problem you had, tried everything, and nothing worked. Then gradually the same things that didn't work before started working.

I can promise you that you'll master it if you keep trying.

The difference between a cart and a straight is like the difference between instant coffee and gourmet coffee.

at 5 months ago Vintage Blades LLC might have been in their transition period

If the TI box was sealed the Razor it was NOT honed

If the seal was broken It might have been honed, but at that time frame there is no way of knowing by who

Regardless after all that after 5 months and succesive bad shaves it ain't shave ready any longer

You need to get it honed, of course learning to hone is another option and a different skill set to learn which the difficulty is multiplied since you don't even know how to SR shave yet

Try watching this vid too, it is a good primer for what to expect and to take things slow after you get the razor back

http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...-test-vid.html

If possible post a picture of the blade.

As others have said I would guess the blade needs honing