Thread: Pull is a trap command

I don't think I would lead with the toe. I have mostly square points and I can see myself poking the point of the razor into my neck. I always lead with the heal much like honing on my waterstone.

bj

Many thanks for all the feedback.

I had a much better shave this morning, and I determined that the pulling issue stemmed from my angle of attack: I was way too steep. I significantly lessened the angle, and things went much more smoothly. I still have a number of bugs to work out, particularly around my mouth and chin, but I'm still pretty green.

Thanks again,
Trent

Ther you go trent Practice and paitence, keep at it. You are still in the lower part of the learning curve, you'll get there. Every one has a bit of trouble now and then. it may be with a particular razor, soap, cream, What ever, just go slow and you'll get ther. Heck I am having trouble with using creams right now, never used them befor, always used soap, but I have heard about the great shave they give. I got ahold of Collien, Got the basics and three small creams, and I am working at it.

Phil

Even with a square point you can lead with the toe.

You don't push the razor forward, you simply angle it so the toe is always ahead of the heel.

Ex. For a down stroke, you push the razor down. But, you start with the toe a little lower than the heel. This will give you the angle such that the back edge of the teeth slice through the beard.

Don't ever push the razor forward because a deliberate horizontal motion is hard to control and you will get cut.

I got crappy, uncomfortable shaves until I figured this out. Once I got this, shaving is a breeze--in fact, I find now that I can get a decent shave with a slightly dull razor--though it is not comfortable and I prefer a sharp one.


Hope this helps.

Paul

Two things come to mind. First off, it does take some time for your skin to get used to a straight razor blade; so if you skin feels irritated then give your skin a break for a day. After two weeks if should get much better. The second thing is that a properly stropped edge will shave much more comfortably than an edge that has not been properly stropped. I stropped the TI razor properly before I sent it back to you and you said that your first shave was the best, so maybe your shave would benefit is you spent some more time on the strop. I would recommend about 50 light passes on the bare leather. It sounds like you are off to a really good start, just keep practicing (take a break if your skin needs it) and the good shaves will get much more common.

I've shaved with both the TI and the razor that Kenrup sold me, and since I've figured out the angle thing, both have given great shaves. Granted, I'm still on the steep edge of the learning curve, but I'm getting it.

I spent quite a bit of time with the TI last night stropping it, and going slowly and deliberately, I went 50 laps. The shave this morning was superb, and I received three nicks only on the second pass when I got cocky and careless. A reminder that I'm still pretty green. I think I have the strop thing down so long as I take my time...unless I'm getting cocky about that, too.

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that it takes your skin time to get used to a str8. I suspect this being reposted as fact when it really is an unverified speculation.

Here is my reason:

This AM I decided, on a lark, to shave my left side with my Gillette Mach III Turbo. I shaved my right side with my new Pierce Chemical Str8.

Then, I splashed on my Bay Rum aftershave, as I always have since starting to shave str8.

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

OHMYGOD, Talk about burning, my left side burned like it was on fire. I was hopping around from one foot to the other. It has *never* stung like this on skin that was shaved with a str8.

So, it is obvious that the Mach III Turbo did way more damage to my skin than my str8 did.

In fact, now that I think about it, I *never* used aftershave when I was shaving with my Mach III (the last 6 years). Maybe now I know why.

Another way to test this: Grow a beard and then shave it off. Any toughening or callusing of the skin will go away completely within 3 weeks of not shaving.

I bet an experienced str8 shaver will have no trouble shaving afterward and will have no irritation.

Anyone game to try?

( I can't, I am still practicing honing so I shave twice a day )

When I first read your post 3 things came to mind...

1. Angle of the blade - the rule of thumb is that the spine is 2 spine widths away from the face, approx 30 degree angle

2. Pressure - the mistake most newbs make is to try and remove all of the whisker with the first stroke and that leads them to press to hard. Think in terms of "beard reduction" with each pass. It is much gentler on your skin.

3. Stropping - perform this just before each shave, not the nite before. The reason has to do with the memory of steel, oxidation and other things..

Hope this helps,

Great advice everyone...thanks.

Randy, thanks for the "two spine width" rule. That's a lot easier to envision than a vague idea of what thirty degrees looks like.

Most of the issue has been angle in addition to me being new, and once I figured the angle thing out, I was doing a lot better. So far, every shave has gotten better. I did 30 passes on canvas and 30 on leather this morning with the TI before the shave and had a great shave.

Originally Posted by toolarts

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that it takes your skin time to get used to a str8. I suspect this being reposted as fact when it really is an unverified speculation.

Actually it is based on my experiences. I used to wear a gotee and when I decided to shave it off a while back my skin became irritated in only this area (even though I used the same blade/technique) for several shaves; the skin on the rest of my face was fine. After my skin got used to the blade the irritation in this area completely went away.