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hello I just completed my first straight shave and while it was better than I expected and I did not cut myself at all I definitaly felt the blade was pulling ie not cutting smootly. The razor is a dovo mop 5/8 that I just had honed by Chris Ellison. Is this just due to my new technique or do you think the blade could not be sharp enough?
Thank you
That is a good question and I'm not that familiar with Chris. I find that most blades need a few shaves to get smooth. The shaving and the compounded stroping over 3-4 shaves helps things smooth out a bit. Technique is important too ofcourse.
I'd give it another 2-3 goes. Instead of sending it back buy something for razor upkeep and hone it a little with that. See how it goes. If all that fails, ask if you can send it back.
If he won't fix it you can send it to me. I'm low on pro bono work at the moment. :)
Thanks for the response Alan,
I do not think there is a defect in the blade and from what I hear Chris is quite good at honing (Tony Miller recommended him). I do have a pasted strop and a traditional strop to use in the meantime, but I am going to hold off on the pasted until I use the razor more. My initial stropping today was not perfect and that could have been a problem in addition to my blade angle. I guess all I can do at this point is shave more with it and work on my stropping as I understand that helps with smoothness.
-Pete
Oh, EL. Yea, I think that is the best plan. You can probably send the blade back if you eventually feel the need. It takes practice to get things going well.
I think I my make a sticky out of this some time.
Usually when a honemeister hones up a razor and tests it, it is ready to go. New guys generally have the most problem with pulling and scraping because of technique. I understand how anxious they are and how the expectation of the perfect shave is a real driver, but we really need to stress that for the first few shaves a person should just shave from the sideburn to the jaw until they get used to the cutting angle and the feel of the razor. Then progressively move over to the cheek, the other side of the face, the neck and eventually across the grain. Yes sometimes poor stropping can be the problem and yes even sometimes a razor may need to be rehoned. I have rehoned them even when they shaved fine for me when testing and that is never a problem from any honemeister that I know of. The most important thing is to get the new person to success in shaving with a straight razor.
I have to watch myself sometimes when shaving still as I have a real tendency to flatten out the angle of the blade on the chin and jaw and even cross grain which will defintely cause a razor to pull and scratch.
It also takes the face a few days to get used to a straight razor as well. Proper preparation can't be overlooked either.
Take your time, stick with it and after a few tries at flattening out the angle a little, contact whoever honed the razor and I'm sure you won't have a problem getting it touched up if needed.
Have fun,
Lynn
Yup, Lynn rehoned one of mine for the exact same reason. The first time I shaved with my brand new Lynn honed beauty, I thought, if this is what its about, I've had enough. Then I briefly thought, the old man must be crazy... :thinking: But after months of trial and error I finally had a good shave and realized that my previous poor experiences were 100% MY FAULT.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynn
Probably, nearly everybody gets Lynns video watches it a few (hundred) times and then starts stropping. They swear they are doing it EXACTLY like Lynn did on the video and its just not working, so it must be the razor, since obviously, they have eliminated ALL the other variables. The problem is, at that point, you dont even know what the variables are, let alone know how to recognize and correct them. You cant make a decent determination on how hard, or more accurately how lightly lynn is pressing that razor to his face, you cant see the true angle of the blade and you certainly cant see the fine nuances that he does to make his shaves comfortable for his face. The other thing is that Lynn did not really do a throrough prep, he did a sufficient one, but I think that a lot of guys see that and think that, thats all they need to do to get that perfect shave. Even though Lynn says he normally shaves out of the shower... There is just too many variables involved, but its just our nature to blame anything, ANYTHING but ourselves...
The same thing happend to me on my first shave but I had my third today and it was considerably better with much less pulling. Theres hope out there yet.:D
Lynn,Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun
If you do make a sticky along these lines, I nominate Shaun's post to be a part of it. I think he summed it up perfectly.
I will second that motion :) . All in favor .....Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
Thanks for the advice guys... You really prove how valuable of a resource this place is.
I hope I do not need the blade to be re-honed but I am pretty sure it is me that needs the work... Your tips make perfect sense and since I shaved, I have been thinking about all the corrections I will try out tomarrow.
Thanks again
Pete
Well yesterday I had my second straight shave and I am getting pretty sure that the blade is not sharp enough...yesterday the irritation was INSANE! For about an hour after the shave my face looked unbelievably bad, no cuts or blood, just irritation. I literally would try to get every possible angle with different amounts of pressure but the blade did not want to slice like it should.
Now I know you are all saying that I do not yet know what a sharp razor is but after one use, this freshly honed blade should cleanly slice through hairs, correct? Although my angle is not perfect, I am confident that this is not due just to my technique.
I ordered a Wapi 5/8 shave ready from someone here but I do not know when it is comming....My question at this point is do you think I should try my hand with this on the pasted strop, wait to get the Wapi and compare the two, or send the razor back for re-honing today?
Thanks!
I can almost guarantee that the pressure you've mentioned is the culprit. Even a sharp razor won't slice through hair if it's not at the correct angle, and extra pressure won't make up the difference. I had the same problem before I figured it out and still have it on occasion when I get sloppy. There's only one correct amount of pressure and that's none. You won't get a smooth face on one pass, and if you try by pressing too hard, your face will feel like it's on fire afterward (as you've discovered). Sweeping strokes with the blade just barely touching your skin is what you need. At this point, you also need to let your face heal for at least a day if not three before you try again. If you're still having trouble with irritation, an alum block may help, it worked for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by ps49556n
You might want to take a fews days off from the straight and give your skin a chance to recover. Then when you start again, try doing just your cheek WTG as Lynn suggests. That way you can dial in your angle on the most forgiving part of your face.
Hang in there. It's worth it.
Through my first couple shaves, I also had a problem with irritation. However, I shaved two days in a row. After the second, my face was on fire. I've started waiting 2-3 days between, and have no problem with skin irritation. Plus, I barely have a shadow between shaves, because of the closeness of the straight.
It does get better, I can vouch for that!
I think (although I'm still new) it would be a good idea to get your Wapi and compare the two. Then you will be sure as to whether it's technique or the blade.
+1 on what Lynn said. Honemeisters won't send back an edge which is not 100% satisfactory to their own standards. Most of them test shave aswell.
You'll find it more the other variables which are the cause and not the edge at all. Prep, Strop, Technique need to be good before any complaints re the edge are fed back (esp in a thread)
Out of the honemeisters I know, their edges are all A1. The problem lies when the razor is sent back and not used in a day or two and the recipient shaves without a stropping, then complains that the razor is pulling etc.. Else they ruin the edge with poor strop technique.
A honemeisters work is never done lol
Great thread.. has given me a few things to think about with my technique.
I'm echoing some of whats already been stated, but it really can't be stressed enough. I though the same thing about my blade, come to find out it was me. I ended up feeling like a jerk afterwards.
Preperation + Technique=Great Shave. Try a slicker cream, shave after a shower, apply a hot towel for prep, try a pre shave oil, add some other things to your routine to see if its you or the blade. Spend some extra time on your prep. As far as technique make sure your stretching your skin and find the angle. I'm still new at it and take my time, so I relather areas I haven't shaved yet if they dry up a bit.
I'm no pro, but I did learn a few quick lessons with the help of this board and a fellow member here.
It has been said before, but I will say it again. ANGLE if your angle is to steep(spine to far away from your skin) it will pull hair and irritate the skin. Spine should be one maybe two spine widths above the skin. when first starting it is better to err on the side of being to shallow then to steep.
+1, but I''d like to change the if to when for full agreement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
If you'd rather not have it stickied under your name let me know I'll make a post and you can sticky that.
Just completed my third straight shave and what a difference. While the shave was great (more on that later), I carelessly bumped my razor on the faucet so now I will have to send the razor out to be fixed. Besides that, the shave was great. After one pass I could have rinsed and walked away but I went for two passes and got a great shave. I decided to use my paddle strop (only 1 micron, .5 micron sides) and did 30 passes on the latigo before the first and second passes.
Just to make sure I wasn't at fault, I used some canned gel which actually worked very well. Don't get me wrong I love making lather from soaps and creams but in an effort to eliminate as many variables as possible I decided to try the gel. I will say that a few things helped me out specifically this time around...
-Really being conscious about the pressure.
-I seem to have locked into the correct angle....seems before I was not lifting the spine enough off the face.
-I find that using the scything motion really helps me get the correct feel and allows me to slice hairs smoothly.
-My stropping skills are really improving
Other than the dinged blade (which really frustrates me), I am very satisfied with today and would like to thank all of you for the advice. I look forward to improving.
One quick question...when using the pasted strop, a fair amount of the actual pastes would be scraped off by the spine....this does not seem normal....should I just buy some more paste and reapply or is this normal?
Thanks!
Not very normal at all. Are you allowing the paste to dry completely?
Yes, the paddle arrived pasted and was completely dry...
The excess should rub off for a little bit then eventually stop.