Thread: Shave Ready?

Hi Guys,

Received my Straight yesterday night but I didn't shave with it until about an hour ago.

I was thinking that I should wait until I bought a strop (waiting to see what T. Miller is releasing!) but then got to thinking/assuming that if it was honed by Lynn it should've been stropped right? After thinking about for a nano second away we went!

Did the hot shower and towel thing, got the lather as good as I could get it (being my first time and all) but come time to shave instead of it just gliding all it did was pull and tug? Tried a few different cutting angles/pulling my skin taught but no matter, still had to fight with it.

So, am I wrong about it have being stropped or is something drastically amiss here?

And I might proudly add that I didn't even so much as *knock on wood* nick myself!

Been around sharp pointy things for most of my adult life so pretty secure around live blades and such...

you are a lucky gent. assuming that your prep was a good one, yes not stropping is the problem. A razor should always in my opinion be whetted (stroped) be for shaving. I use a Tony red lattigo strop, (Can you love a strop?) for my daily strop. 20 on the linen and 40 on the leather works for me.

Phil

You know I love these posts.......especially since I shave with every razor before it goes out. My recommendation is use a 30 degree angle and just try from the sideburn to the jaw on one side until you get used to the razor. The last guy I watched shave who posted something like this was holding the razor at 90 degrees and scraping himself silly explaining to me what a perfect angle he had. But, not to worry as I am always happy to re-hone a razor for some one. I think knitting will be my next hobby and I will only do stuff for me.........hahahahahahaha. Stopping does make a huge difference, but you should not have to strop the first time unless the razor sat around for a while.

Lynn

I think that I am going to have to take Lynn's side on this one lol.

I used to make one error I haven't seen mentioned anywhere on this site, at least not that I can remember that causes exactly this type of problem.

When I first started straight shaving I had the right angle but I didn't have a firm enough hold on the blade. This was with a shavette so I know it was sharp and then a Honemeister sharpened blade as well. You have to hold the razor firmly but allow it to glide with little to no pressure on your cheek. Without a firm enough hold the blade is deflected by the hair it kind of skips along pulling like crazy.

I think this problem is why some beginners have faster success with the larger heavier blades they stay firmer just because of the weight.

stropping the blade will improve the smoothness of the shade but if it is well honed it won't pull given good technique but it will be harsh on your skin, not the ideal we hope for.

From watching the "Lynn Abrams World of Straight Shaving DVD" and from what's being said in St/R circles one gets the impression that Lynn knows his stuff so I was more concerned about what I was doing wrong, never for one second doubted Mr. Abrams abilities... just mine.

And seeing as I'm a newbie on this I'm going to exercise a little common sense and also side with Lynn... gotta be the angle. Now this is where that ole' adage "practice makes perfect" comes in. Can hardly wait till I can give 'er another go!

Thanks for the impute guys!

BTW I'll be ordering a strop from Mr. Miller within the next couple of days.

And Phil, do you mind if I ask you why you went with the red lattigo strop? Been floundering between the Heirloom Artisan myself...

You might also want to try to give the blade a little momentum before it hits the hair instead of starting your stroke inside a patch of hair. Start your stroke a little above where the hair grows or where you have already shaved so that the blade is already moving before it hits the hair. There is more "feedback" when you are using a straight razor than when you are using a DE blade, so you could confuse this with the blade being dull at first. Also, if the blade starts to pull then it probably could benefit from a few passes on the leather. Have fun.

Originally Posted by Sannosuke

And Phil, do you mind if I ask you why you went with the red lattigo strop? Been floundering between the Heirloom Artisan myself...

I'm not Phil, but this thread touches on the various finishes of Tony's strops:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=14162

Cheers

Coming in late (since I live in a different time zone to you guys), I just thought I'd add my observations.

When I received my first straight razor from a member of this forum, I didn't strop it since I didn't have a strop (still don't, I use a piece of leather from a recycled knife sheath glued to a strip of balsa wood as a sort of foot long semi paddle strop thingie). I shaved with it anyway, since it was said to be "shave ready", and I was amazed at how good the shave was, even though I didn't get anywhere near baby butt smooth. However, I had done some serious reading up on the blade angle to use (lift the spine about a spine's width off your face to get about a 30 degree angle), watched what videos of straight razor shaving I could find on YouTube, and I had been shaving with a DE prior to buying the straight razor, so I think that helped some.

If you don't have a strop, but have a smooth leather belt, you can use that to strop the razor until you get a proper strop. I have also seen people recommending a paddle strop before getting a hanging strop, since it is easier to put a bend in the hanging strop and screw up your stropping that way. Since I use my home-made paddle stroppy thing, and keep it flat on a bench when I strop, I wouldn't know if this is indeed a problem or not.

Anyway, those were just my rambling thoughts. Hang in there, strop that razor and have fun getting the technique down!

/Nicholas

I'm with Lynn on this as well. Yes, stropping is a good idea but his razors (and mine) are ready to go when they arrive. 9 times out of 10 it is technique and angle that gives a poor shave for newbies when they start.

I know everyone is expecting the whiskes to simply slide off the face when the take up a straight razor but it is technique as much as the sharpness that makes this happen.

Tony