How painful should it be ?

Hello everyone,

I just had my second try on shaving with my new Thiers razor and I am writing this message with small pieces of bloody toilet paper in my face and a rough skin. I am not discouraged but a little frustrated.

I got the razor from classicshaving.com and asked for their sharpening service since I wanted to have a reference for ''shave readiness''. Unfortunately, the razor only seem to pull hair, take off the shaving cream and cause a very irritating feeling. The only place I got some succes is under the nose.

I heard that the razor should cut a hanging hair. It doesn't. I can cut the fine hair of my arm and leg quite easily with the razor but not the beard.

Anyone has an idea that can help?

Thanks a lot,

Al

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Originally Posted by Al_72

Hello everyone,

I just had my second try on shaving with my new Thiers razor and I am writing this message with small pieces of bloody toilet paper in my face and a rough skin. I am not discouraged but a little frustrated.

I got the razor from classicshaving.com and asked for their sharpening service since I wanted to have a reference for ''shave readiness''. Unfortunately, the razor only seem to pull hair, take off the shaving cream and cause a very irritating feeling. The only place I got some succes is under the nose.

I heard that the razor should cut a hanging hair. It doesn't. I can cut the fine hair of my arm and leg quite easily with the razor but not the beard.

Anyone has an idea that can help?

Thanks a lot,

Al

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Welcome to SRP.

I shall start by saying it is probably your technique and angles. But what you need to be aware of is that very few ever get the perfect shave after just 2 attempts, it usually takes a few weeks to adjust your technique. You are at a whole new level of shaving which must not be compared to your old style.

Some razors do not pass the HHT but still shave perfectly well.
If you have not done so already, I highly recommend you purchase Lynn's DVD "The world of straight razor shaving" it costs only $20 and is a great resource to own. I would like to point out a small note though. You may watch this DVD 100 times, but again, that perfect shave will not necessarily come without the practice.

If you bought it with a shave ready edge hair pulling should be minimal or nonexistent. Most likely your angles are off. The correct angle (spine about two spine-widths off of your skin) shouldn't pull at all. Also, practice on your cheeks for a bit before tackling the chin. Chins are a hard shape to shave. Don't give up yet, but do give your face a chance to heal before trying again. :)

+1 on Old School's response. Its very common for your first few (dozen?) shaves to be less than perfect. My razors don't cut hanging hair - my wife's hair is very fine, and mine's too short. I use leg hair as my test and if it cuts that above the skin, it’s usually about ready to shave. It does take practice. You might want to try just shaving your cheeks and the area under your sideburns until you get the angle down. Also, be careful stropping. Sometimes new shavers roll the edge on the strop. Keep at it and be patient. It will come with a little perseverance. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Enjoy the process - its part of the fun.

Jordan

How painful should it be? Not painful at all.

However, the road to the pain-free shave needs patience. It took me about 3 months to get a consistently pain-free shave. That seems quite long compared to others, but what can I say? It just took me that long.

In addition to others' advice, I'd say do not fixate on getting as close a shave as possible. To begin with, you should focus on the technique, the pre-shave preparation (for face, beard and razor) and take it easy. Practice, practice, practice. I found the main source of discomfort for a long time was trying to obtain a BBS shave straight off.

Cheers
M.

Lynn's dvd is great, but for something to read while you are waiting for it to arrive, you could download the Art of the straight razor shave by Dr. Chris Moss here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/compo...d,20/Itemid,3/ It's at the bottom of that page.

I've found this book quite helpful when I first started out and it's a bit more convenient to have it by the sink if you print it out, rather than running back to the computer room to check something when your in the middle of trying to shave! :D

For the record, the hanging hair test is an indication but not proof that a razor is shave ready. The test is far too dependent on the actual hair used and many razors can pass that test and NOT be shave ready, just as others may NOT pass the HHT and yet shave very nicely... mine tend to be of the latter.... A sharp *smooth* edge such as what you often get when using a coticule stone as a finish stone may not do as well as a harshly sharp razor off a diamond pasted strop used for the finish on the HHT, but I for one prefer the smoothness of the coticule edge in my shave. If your skin is getting roughed up it sounds like the angle might be off, perhaps too much pressure and or insufficient prep.... Dr. Moss's book does a good job of covering all the bases without overly complicating things.

Regards

Christian

My first shave went pretty close to this. I think the angle of my dangle was way off. I was coming in too steep and tore my face up. Keep at it, just like any other skill it will take time to master.

I would have to describe every step of straight shaving with only one word . . . delicate.


Give your face a day to rest. Then return. Strop lightly, keeping the blade flat, strop taut.

Use a good lather and let it soak in for a while, then reapply.

Let your goatee area grow, just work on your cheeks.

Use a low angle on the first pass.

A slightly higher angle on the second pass after adding lather again.

Then do one final pass at a very high 30 degrees, with the spine two widths away from the skin. So the highest the spine ever goes over your face is about 1/2 an inch.

Use no pressure into your skin. There should only be a slight pulling sensation (mostly because your holding the razor lightly ((but securely) in your fingers).

The razor needs to be sharp to shave with. You may have dulled it already (if not from stropping, just by shaving).

Thanks for the tips. I get the wise words:

''If it was easy, everyone would do it''

I'll be working on angles...

Al

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Use a good lather and let it soak in for a while, then reapply.

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I'm in the habit of lathering before stropping.

You should feel no pain. It has been about a month and a half and I am getting good shaves. The test is Bay Rum splash. If it doesn't burn, you are good to go. The DVD is invaluable.

1. When starting out only do one pass. Not the greatest shave, live with it. Get use to the touch and feel for a week or so. I started with a 7/8 and it is harder to maneuver but smoother and easier to get it going,as it were
2. A dull razor is your enemy. You will develop bad habits. You can still shave with a dull razor but when you finally do get a sharp razor you will make your face raw because you will be using to much pressure. Besides a dull razor will shave you but it will leave a lot behind.
3. The angle is very important. The flatter the blade is against your face and still shave the easier it is on you face.
4. Shaving with a sharp razor is easy and it will glide over your face and takes a fairly light touch.

I am new at this also but I have made every mistake in the book and there are some of the top on my list of mistakes.


Well guys where did I go wrong? I know these because they were the mistakes that I made and was to shy to ask about.

Take Care,
Richard

Don't try to take on the entire face until you master the razor. Just start from the sideburn down to the jaw on one said and shave that for a couple of days. Then move over to the cheek. Do the one side of the face then for a couple of days and move on the the other side, neck and chin in progression. As you go, you'll get more comfortable with the razor and the angles until you build up the the entire face. After you have this down, then you can try working cross grain.

Keep us posted,

Lynn

It took my skin a while to get used to a straight razor. I suffered some irritation on my neck when I first started but now have no problems. Also, try a preshave oil or lotion. I find a preshave oil to give me just the right amount of lubrication to allow for a smooth glide of the blade across the skin. Some would say a preshave is not necessary but it works well for me.

Kyle

Everything everyone else said, but also don't shave over the same areas a lot. You can overshave and severely irritate your skin.

Welcome to SRP!

Al, I'm pretty new to this too, my first shave pulled a lot and it was partly my technique and partly a non-shave ready blade. I've sent off the blade, and another new one for Lynn to hone, and I practiced on a Dovo Bismarck that I kept with me on my Belgian yellow stone and Heirloom strop. I must either have been luck, or done a good job with my Bismarck because the shave's have been doing with it over the past three days have all been nice, with minimal pull, and I'm feeling a rapid (steep learning curve) increase in confidence and quality of my passes. I have a very thick and strong beard so I know my hair is a challenge, but I'm patient and I know it's going to be close to a year before I'm "really good" at doing this.

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Originally Posted by trewornan

I'm in the habit of lathering before stropping.

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+1 on the lathering first. It was probably the single biggest difference next to learning to stretch the skin properly that made the difference in my shave.

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Originally Posted by Brad

+1 on the lathering first. It was probably the single biggest difference next to learning to stretch the skin properly that made the difference in my shave.

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another one for lathering first, then strop and relather, this really made the difference for me