Thread: It shaves but it pulls a little too much

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

How long have you been shaving with a straight? Tc

5 months now. Tried also two other razors, same thing.

Well, you got a razor from SRD who have a reputation of supplying shave ready razors and have had it rehoned by SRD but still have the same problem. If the other two razors you have were supplied shave ready and you had the same problem with them, I think it might be something you are doing then.

That puts it back to possibly wrong angle on the blade, poor stropping or something else. When you got your razor back from rehoning did you strop it before first use? It is suggested that you shave with a shave ready razor without stropping it first use to see/feel what the original edge was like. Then strop it before the second use and if it then feels duller you know your stropping is faulty.

There is a list of mentors and where they live on the forum. Look it up and see if one is in your area. If there is one in your area contact them by PM to see if they can help you in person. That is probably your best option at this point.

Bob

One thing that helped me was that I would often vary my angle as I was shaving different areas of my face. Now I did not vary the angle mid-stroke mind you. But if you watch a lot of SR shaving videos, you'll see the person go back over a section that was previously shaved while they shave a new section. That is when I varied my angle. That allowed me to find the best angle. And on my 5/8" razor, that turned out to be absolutely no more than 1 spine width off the skin.

Which leads me to this. How many spine widths off the face is your angle? I know 2 is the most for a WTG pass but on a 5/8, that does not leave much wiggle room before you get too steep.

Whatever you do, keep in mind YOU WILL GET THIS. If you seem to be hitting a wall, stop, put the razor away, and do not touch it for a few weeks. Then when you are ready, go back to it. I suspect you will do better that way.

I had some issues with stropping where I dulled, but thankfully did not roll the edge due to improper stropping techniques. By the time I got my stropping downpat, the edge still was not good. I took a 15x loupe to examine the edge as well as doing the pin test to determine my edge was not rolled. The pin test is where you take a straight pin or a very fine sewing needle, gently draw it at a 90 degree angle from the spine to the edge. If the edge is rolled, the pin will hang. But I set my razor aside for 3 weeks. Now I did take a chance with CrOX paste since my edge was not rolled. After watching Lynn's Refreshing a Straight Razor video which demonstrated CrOX, I did it and voila! A wonderfully shaving razor was in my possession.

So again, keep at it! Take a break if need be. But it will come to you. Those that have learned how to drive a manual transmission surely did not get it overnight.

Ya you need some one on one help , cause it's you my friend, technique is seething comes with time and experience, but some just can't get it, so get some face time with an experienced shaver, at one time I thought that the straight just wouldn't cut my beard, but it does now, Tc

No stropping. Just used the razor how it came. So probably nothing wrong with my stropping.
I talked about it with my father just this morning and he said he had the same problem and he stated that it is our beard and there is nothing wrong with the razor. Also he told me that even the barbers when he was younger told him the same thing. Bad beard on sensitive and delicate skin.
Just matter to get the habit probably.