Thread: Back from vacation...shave report.

Have been shaving for the past two weeks with the 5/8 round point and 6/8 spike that I bought from other members. In general, I'm enjoying the process, but...

I get a lot of pulling regardless of blade angle - is this normal? I get a bit of pulling even with a DE and Feather, so I guess I must have a pretty tough beard, but this was close to being painful. It took a lot of pressure to cut the beard, and also took several passes to get a close (not BBS) shave. This is in no way a 'slam' on the people who sold me the razors - I understand that an edge that works well for one person may not work for the next.

I'm considering picking up a pre-honed razor from Classic Shaving and using my paddle strop to practice touching up the edge on the existing razors once it arrives - I'm just having trouble deciding between the Dovo and TI razors!

I've also found that I'm NOT ambidextrous - I tried shaving the left side of my neck and face using my right hand - maybe more time and practice is needed, but I felt like I was going to slip and cut myself the whole time.

How many times have you tried with your right? The first few times are going to be very awkward and feel almost deadly. Just take it slow and let your right hand get used to the action. I would say that until you're used to your right hand, just shave your cheek areas. Once you're comfortable there, move on to your neck. Patience+time=ambidextrous shaving

You may have some stropping issues. I know back when I first started, I wasn't stropping very well or enough. I could shave, but I got a lot of pulling like you describe. Once I learned how to strop better and strop more than a few times, the razor was plinking through my stubble easily.

For me as well on the strop... Also if you have harder wiskers maybe a preshave that would attemt to soften them up?

+1 to the stropping advice. It is very important. You might also want to try using conditioner on your beard when you are in the shower to soften it up before the shave. I know a few people with tough beards that absolutely swear by the pre-shave oil (Musgo Real); however, it never really made much of a difference for me. Keep at it.

Thanks, all, for the advice!

I'll give the right hand a few more tries...but I swear I feel like I'm going to drop the razor or cut myself the whole time!!

I didn't get my paddle strop until a few days after I'd gotten the razor. I've done 60 passes slowly and carefully on the strop with no change - hopefully it's not the stropping technique, or I'm pretty sure I've ruined the edge with all the stropping! I've not been able to pass a HHT whether stropped or un-stropped.

I usually shave after my shower, but I use the same preshave routine that I use for a DE shaves whether I've showered or not - Proraso pre-post cream and a hot towel, then lather and a hot towel, then shave. I've been able to get a decent shave (in regards to closeness), but it took twice the number of passes that my DE shaves do along with the pulling issues. I may try sorting out the edge on the pasted strop and see if I can improve it any - I'm worried that I may teach myself bad habits (pulling and too much force on the blade) by trying to shave with a dull edge.

Mike, you should also be aware that two to three passes are almost always necessary for a good straight shave. Try less pressure on your first pass and just try removing what beard you can without causing excessive pulling. Do the same on your second pass. You might even require a third pass if your beard is really tough. This is called beard reduction. Very few can get a good one-pass shave. Proper prep is essential. Your beard must be well-hydrated to get a comfortable shave. When stropping, make sure to use light pressure and keep the spine and edge on the strop all through the stroke. Never let the edge alone contact the strop. Good luck!

Mike, I live in Skopje, Macedonia, couple of hours drive from Kosovo. If you are traveling here for work or else, bring your razors with you, I'll be happy to take a look at them for you...

cheers,
Nenad

Originally Posted by Kyle76

Mike, you should also be aware that two to three passes are almost always necessary for a good straight shave.

I don't think that is true. When I started shaving with straight razor, I used two passes, but after a year or so, I cut down the second pass, and I am managing to get a nice close shave using only one pass with the grain...

Nenad

Originally Posted by superfly

Mike, I live in Skopje, Macedonia, couple of hours drive from Kosovo. If you are traveling here for work or else, bring your razors with you, I'll be happy to take a look at them for you...

cheers,
Nenad

Hi Nenad -

I noted in the Google map that you were just an hour down the road - I may just take you up on that offer, some weekend. If so, I'll pm you to set up a meeting.

One of my co-workers has a Swaty - I've been running a few pyramids and have the razor where it's starting to "grab" at the hair on my arm, so it's better than it was - I still have the other razor at the room that I can use, even if it takes several passes.

Kyle - I appreciate the advice, thank you. I've been a DE shaver for a bit over a year and regularly (before trying the straight razors) use a Feather/Slant Bar for my shaves, so I'm familiar with reduction - it just seemed that 5-6 passes was a bit much after seeing people talk about 2-3 pass BBS shaves.

Originally Posted by mnealtx

Hi Nenad -

I noted in the Google map that you were just an hour down the road - I may just take you up on that offer, some weekend. If so, I'll pm you to set up a meeting.

Sure, anytime. Just bring your strop, friend's Swaty, or other hone you might have, and the razors, and I'll give you a quick run through the routines. PM me when ready,

cheers,
Nenad