Simple objectives and Simple Corrections
I've been wanting to make a post about some objectives and corrections in shaving with a straight. These may run a little counter to what you do but try to accept that these are just my thoughts and what I do, not gospel in any way, nor any thought on being perfect. But they do work.
1) Hone the razor until it cuts hair. If it doesn't cut hair in some fashion, either by test or otherwise shaving; just hone the thing some more.
-- A light touch and the right stroke are important but the most important correction I make is to simply hone more, technically I don't see many other options here
-- I recommend slow hones and high grit, it will certainly take longer but whats the hurry?
-- If it won't cut a hair, someway, somehow, I just won't deal with it until it does. Stropping is a great "sharpener", but seriously, its not magic.
2) Polish the edge
-- I suggest polishing the edge on as high a grit as you can find (don't go out buying stuff, just have a high grit hone around) until the edge is black under a microscope or highly reflective under bright light when you move the blade, it may not be smooth enough for your face.
-- You want that edge to be smooth on your skin and cut the hair. Don't fail in considering the needs of both your hair and your skin.
3) Get good with your lather and prep
-- Create a dry lather with little water and add water progressively as you work the lather, when you see it explode into cream you've arrived at a pretty good standard. This might seem like a simple approach and technically it is. Yes it takes an extra minute, but in the beginning its a worthy correction
4) Strop until the blade doesn't feel scratchy
-- If your razor feels scratchy re-examine your stropping
-- I will correct a scratchy feeling razor by using a light touch on the strop and adding a slight bit of deflection, not sagging, but deflection
-- Yes, this will slightly dull the blade but smooth cutting will still be achievable and a scratchy harsh razor is no friend to your face
-- A smooth shaving blade will be much nicer to shave with
-- If this doesn't fix the problem, don't try to add "sag" to the strop (you'll quickly learn the difference between "deflection" and "sag") go back to step 1) Honing, or 2) Polishing
-- If you add too much deflection and dull the edge to where its pulling you can correct this by using a very taut strop and stropping with a little added pressure
-- Keep all these corrections very mild as your best bet remains with a taut strop and light pressure
5) Treat your face with respect.
-- Once you follow the above advice and corrections, you'll probably be blown away by how easy shaving with a straight really is, but don't forget to treat your face appropriately with a straight blade.
-- Keep the objective in mind of treating your face well when shaving, despite the smoothness and sharpness of a straight, worked as I describe above, its still a razor. Don't get sloppy with it on your face.
-- At this point if the blade does not feel "like a razor" its not set right. Shaving with a straight is not some pulling, swiping affair of skill because it shaves differently than a DE or Mach 3. It should feel like a razors edge, one that creates a sense of respect in its sharpness
6) Maintain the correct angle
-- If you get a bad shave at this point its likely a bad angle; correct it
-- Lower the angle to get a smoother shave
-- Raise the angle for greater cutting power
-- Try to stay below about 60 degrees or you'll dull the edge and you'll be back to step 1), technically not a big deal though.
-- At first you may need to hold the blade firmly to maintain the correct angle, straights are big and wide and they can twist and torque against the whisker (especially at higher angles) and this twisting creates angular havok on your face; to correct, hold the blade firmly, but do not press it into your face.
This covers the simple objectives and my corrections for obtaining mind blowing straight shaves. Again, I apologize if this is a little outside the box or simple, but this is what I typically do.
Questions?
