Thread: Brand New Razor, Worst Shave ever!

My vote is for shaving technique, not stropping. If Lynn or any of the other honemeisters here sharpened it, it should work fine right out of the package for the first shave at least.

When I started I too had the pulling and tugging issue. It went away with time as I found the correct shaving angle. As to stropping, I usually confine myself to 25-30 strokes on my Tony Miller strop. Every couple of months they get the same number of strokes on a chromium paddle. This seems to work fine for me.

Keep at it, and good luck.

To check out the barbering manuals in the Library section.

There are some helpful hints about the basics of the cutting stroke.

Turned me into a shaver.

Paul

hard to add anything that hasn't been said already....
it's extremely unlikely the problem is with the razor. it is a learning curve and my first shave did have significant pulling. i had stropped the razor, but i think not knowing anything I was overparanoid about using too much pressure on the strop and probably didn't really strop the razor properly. The second shave was much better. there also is a learning curve, believe it or not. It doesn't seem like you're doing things any differently, but you probably build fine muscle memory or something and things do get better.

So, do as Alan suggested and strop on jeans and a flat leather belt. Shave only your cheeks. Don't try to make it perfect. Be happy with just presentable. If you can give your skin some rest between shaves (shave on the weekend if you have to).

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I do not consider a factory edge to be shave ready. I hear your kind of story all the time from people! The new razor needs to be finish honed and stropped. I also recommend you leave your stubble long and not pre-shave with an electric. Consider that you may not be doing anything wrong so much as just not doing the right things yet! Give me a call during the week 8am - 5pm eastern at 508-842-7132 if you want me to talk you through all this. Don't give up! Shaving this way is just another skill to acquire.

Since you indicate that your problem is with a SHAVE READY razor sharpened at ClassicShaving.com---

Then you should contact THEM first.

Ask them if the razor was stropped. They will know.

If it was stropped, then you should be able to shave with it out of the return package. If you can't, it is more likely your technique.

While I have seen it bandied about here that razors can get dull during shipping, I don't believe it. If the razor was dry when shipped, and especially if it had an oil film, it should not corrode at all--unless it sat in a warehouse for a year in Cambodia. Now I could be wrong, but we are talking about what is LIKELY here.

I have purchased razors from Ebay that have been sitting long enough that a small part of the bevel developed some corrosion, but the REST of the edge shaved without needing to be stropped.

So, contact ClassicShaving and make sure.

When you strop, remember the following:

1. Light pressure. I have removed 1/4 of the bevel in places on a razor by stropping too hard. If you press hard, you can chip the edge, fold it, do all kinds of nasty things to it.

2. Pull on the strop good and hard to make it straight.

3. Prep the strop by cleaning it and rubbing it down really good. You can use your fingers, but I find a small pickle jar rubbed up and down the strop 20-30 times really gives it a nice smooth finish. Make sure it is dry before you rub it.

4. Be sure to do the X pattern.

5. 25 - 30 strokes (Each stroke is an X pattern, out and back).

Then, prep and shave. The best stroke is either straight down with the blade exactly perpendicular to the motion, or the toe can be a little ahead of the heel to give the "cutting stroke" mentioned in the barber manuals.

Get your cheeks shaving first, don't worry about chin, mustache, etc., until you get the feel of shaving and cutting. Then the others will come naturally with a little study.


By the way, a razor that has been properly honed but not stropped will usually shave, it is just a rough, irritating shave and a newbie can easily cut himself on it. The stropping smooths out the edges of the teeth and makes the razor glide more easily.

Hope this helps.

Paul

I've read that a razor can be dulled if it is knocked jarred and so perhaps it could lose it's edge in transit; but probably this doesn't happen often, if ever. If a new razor that's been honed ready-to-shave isn't giving a good shave, it's probably not the razor that's at fault. Keep trying and it'll get better at each attempt, as you become better at it.