Thread: Stubble

I’ve been straight razor shaving for thirty days now. I strop 25x on the canvas and 60x on leather before every shave. I do 1 pass WTG and 2 1/2 passes ATG When I’m done I can still feel some stubble on certain areas of my face. Is this normal or isn’t my razor sharp enough?

It is normal for my face. With the direction of growth of my whiskers and the fact that I am not a contortionist, there are some spots that I can feel a little left less than a perfect smooth shave. The areas are quite small, and cannot be seen. Seeing as there are only two people that ever stroke my face, I’m ok with it looking perfect. I can get those two spots, however there is a risk of creating skin irritation, and that is visible by everyone. If my razors is properly tuned the above is true. If my razor needs a wee touch up those two spots can be more easily felt, but are still invisible. Skin stretching and holding with a very low blade angle help me a lot.

I still have problem patches that are hard to get totally smooth: a patch on my jawline and areas on my lower neck. The issue is changing hair directions where my regular two pass shave with a WTG and a XTG pass don't adequately cut all of the hairs there. I can usually get a totally smooth shave with a three pass and touch but that usually leads to irritation. I've come to accept not having a perfect shave every time. Mileage may vary. So, to answer your question, your stubble issue may not be due to your razor's sharpness. If you are getting a smooth shave on the majority of your face I would think the razor is sharp enough.

I get some patches too, but I don't really chase a BBS anyway. I just go for comfort and enjoyment more than anything else.

Additionally you are only 30 shaves in and whilst it may seem that you have it all down you will still learn as you go for a good few months yet. My main problem at first was due to using too much pressure. Now even my patches that still feel rough if I search for them are much smoother than they were even 100 shaves in.

At 30 shaves I felt quite confident, the razor felt natural and I was not getting any nicks or cuts. The improvements weren't as drastic as when I first started out but they were still there. Even now I read something on here and go and give it a try, sometimes it works sometimes not so much.

You will discover exactly how far you can chase the BBS but you might have to settle for less. I am not sure that everyone can achieve a truly smooth face. I find that no matter how smooth things feel after I have shaved, within a couple of hours I can feel things starting to get rough again. Yet I have a friend who can get a BBS and it lasts him for a day and a half. That's the thing with this hobby no two are exactly alike.

Good luck, but so long as you are enjoying it don't worry too much.

I have found that while my face is warm and wet even after several passes i still feel a wee bit of stubble. But (and there is always a BUT) when the face cools off and dries up it feels a lot better or smoother.. Not to say they're be a small spot or two and these show up in different places . I would say if you shave and get a respectable shave that'll be OK because tomorrow or the next day you'll do the same thing again. It's a vicious circle.

It pains me to say this, but the truth is, even after shaving with a straight razor
for a long time, I still don't get a perfect shave every day. In fact, the truly BBS
is elusive, and I often settle for "good enough."

There is one spot on my neck that regularly disappoints me: its just a tough
swirl of razor-defying whiskers. Sometimes I end up having to use a DE to
get it done.

When my shave is less than perfect, its usually because I didn't strop the razor
properly or enough. This is particularly evident when I use a 5/8 blade. Its just
easier for me to strop a larger razor. And sometimes the razor could actually
benefit from a few laps on a hone, but that's for tomorrow.

Sometimes I probably don't spend enough time and effort lathering up. Maybe I'm just too lazy to bother with making some good lather in a bowl, and instead
resort to a quick face lathering.

More and more often these days, at 72 years of age, my right hand just doesn't
want to do what I want. So I can't quite get the right grip, or the blade angle
might be a bit off, or I just couldn't reach that spot, or I was simply a little
ham-handed.

Sometimes, I'm in too much of a hurry or, worse than that, just not paying
enough attention. In any case, the end result is just OK....nothing to brag about.

However, there are times when everything does come together and all is well.
On those days, I smile and thank the lord for the opportunity.

Thanks for your help

It seems to me that the consensus is that for most days, "good enough" is just that. One of our guys has an especially coarse beard and only shaves WTG, since shaving ATG seems to cause ingrown hairs on certain parts of his face. When he does decide to risk it and go for BBS, he'll spend an extra 20-30 minutes hydrating and softening the beard before shaving, and then really take his time during the shave, being hyper-vigilant to only shave where there is lather. Even for him, BBS is possible, it just takes time.

Different parts of the face sometimes shave better with different blade angles, so play around with that a little bit (while accepting that this might cause more irritation than usual for a shave or two).

In short: it's possible, but it takes patience.

What does BBS stand for?

Originally Posted by alschepis

What does BBS stand for?

baby butt smoooooooooth

i agree with everyone here. I have to take great care to evaluate differing beard growth directions and shave accordingly to get the ideal shave. most days i just dont have the time. beard prep is absolutely key with Every shave though.