Thread: My First Shave....Ow!!

Hey
I finally got down to it and honed my razor and started shaving after a shower. I clearly did a horrible job on honing it. It pulled the hair on every stroke, and I'm sure my technique is terrible as well. BUT.... I love it! I am sure I will get better.
I have a used shave ready comming in the mail and should be here in a week, I can't wait to see how it is compared to my razer.
I had to finish my shave with my mach 3, I hope it is the last time I need to look at that thing :0)
It was my first time with a shave brush and soap, and I love that too!

So, should I just hone it again? I did a 3-3, 1-5, 1-7 pyramid on my Norton 4000/8000.
then stropped 30 times.
I tried my best to keep the razor even on the stone without lifting or tiping it to one side or the other, but who knows, it was my first time :0)
Still lovin it, even with a sore face!

If your looking for advice you should wait for your shave ready to arrive. Not only are you completely unqualified to hone your razor but its actually dangerous to shave with an improperly honed blade. Buuuuuut, if your going to do anything to it the only alternative is to hone it some more. It doesn't really matter how many strokes or pyramids you do. I don't care how many times newbies ask how many strokes to do and how many times we try to avoid the question; we just don't know the answer.

Hone until it shaves good.

I would stop honing after two full aggresive pyramids. If you look in the archives you'll find examples of what an aggresive pyramid scheme is. My point is that honing past that point and your almost certainly doing damage to the razor by removing metal unnecessarily.


After one full pyramid I would stop to reevaluate what your doing, maybe post again. Some guys have ripped a blade to shreds with a Norton.

If its not getting any sharper, stop all together if the razor has any financial value at all.

The shave ready razor and a microscope are well worth waiting for and you probably have a little more research to do, don't you?

Just a suggestion but in your case when the shave ready razor comes use it without stropping that way you won't ruin it with the strop. After you use it then strop and compare.

brave brave you are... to continue shaving when every stroke is pulling at your hair rather than slicing through it... I would've stopped at the first pull for fear of cutting myself....

I agree with thebigspendur, wait til your "shave ready" razor comes, shave without stropping and then that's what you strive for when honing. Might I ask the source of the "shave ready" razor? The sourve of the shave ready razor is important too.

Josh Earl is sending it, its a 13/16 full hollow Sheffield. I guess the only way I will learn to hone, is to keep at it and heep trying.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Just a suggestion but in your case when the shave ready razor comes use it without stropping that way you won't ruin it with the strop. After you use it then strop and compare.

That's good to know. I would not have thought of that. Thanks to Alan, I'll have a "shave ready" before too long, and will definitely use this advice.

First, I wholehartedly agree with what everyone else said. Wait for the shave ready razor. Otherwise you don't really know what shave ready feels like.

Second, your first few shaves might not be that great, even with a shave ready razor. On my first two or three shaves, with a shave ready razor from JoshEarl, I experienced quite a bit of pulling. I was sure I had smegged up my razor's edge with poor stropping. Part of my "problem" was just getting used of a much wider blade than I had been using. Part of it was poor stropping technique, but apparently I hadn't actually damaged my blade. I was trying to be so careful to not use too much pressure the ferst few times I stropped my razor that I was actually not stropping enough. And part was poor shaving technique. Since then each shave has been getting better and better.

Try shaving with a shave ready razor and take it slow. Once things are going well with a razor you know to be shave ready you will be able to do a much better job of evaluating the blade on the razor you're trying to hone.

If this is a new Norton - you can get a head start by lapping it so that it's ready for action.

I wouldn't use a razor without stropping and have never managed to screw up an edge by stropping as a newbie. On the other hand, I hear many people do manage this, so I guess you really have to make the decision yourself.

One thing is certain - there are so many variables, even with a shave-ready, you can still experience a sub-par shave due to inappropriate angle, preparation, etc.

Good luck!
Ivo

I did lap my Norton before I honed the blade. I think taking a close look at the new blade before I shave with it and get an idea of how the edge should look might help. Of course then there is the issue of making it look like that on my hone, hahaha.
But It will come in time.

I honed my own Solingen, and then received a shave-ready dovo which I proceeded to wreck with bad honing.

Then I saw these pictures and started honing correctly. My razors were sharp but still pulled and made my face extremely sore. Then I finally saw the accompanying "Cut Stroke" picture, and when I started making this motion (with a properly honed and stropped razor), the pain went away, and so did the beard.

Look at the "Cut Stroke" picture, try to do what it shows, and DON"T press harder if it's not cutting beard. It will only injure you. Lower your angle and work on this motion. I start with the straight down, and then gradually add the forward motion. This does cut hair. Short strokes are also easier for me.

If the motion doesn't work, go back to your honing and be sure to use this honing movement--you need to create the teeth in the magnified picture. Once you get those teeth, strop them, and get the cut stroke working, you should be shaving.

It's actually not that difficult.

Paul