Thread: Newbi, worst shave of my life

Jeff, I admire your spirit. You should find many friends here. If you are going to learn the art of honing, it will be a great benefit to have/experience a blade that you can use as a benchmark for your efforts. A pro-honed blade will make a lot of things clear like: what a proper Thumb pad test passing feels like, the Hanging Hair test is a little contested but if you are able to get it to work you will know what that feels like or if it is even the right test for you, and most importantly, what a shave feels like with a proper edge. Don't look at it as cheating, look at it as preparing your mind for better honing.

Again, good luck.

Originally Posted by jeff

I feel that having some one sharpen my razor is "cheating". But I might just have to "cheat". Real men should know how to shave.cook.change the oil..................
thanks to all

And for that, please accept this hearty gut-laugh

Ahem. I can shave, cook, and change the oil, but it takes me twice as long to do it half as well as a pro. I'd suggest to at least obtain another blade that has already been sharpened leaving you alone with your other blade to hone your sharpening skills with. Just because you can do it yourself doesn't mean you should have to suffer all the time!

Originally Posted by jeff

I feel that having some one sharpen my razor is "cheating". But I might just have to "cheat". Real men should know how to shave.cook.change the oil..................
thanks to all

Well, just cheat a little... Get someone to hone up one of your razors so that you know what a properly honed razor should feel like. As always, you will still need to strop. Also, keep in mind that you can ruin a good hone by stropping improperly. You can roll the edge if you use too much pressure and you will need to take it back to the hone to fix it.

To all the advice and posts prior I agree 100%, I am fairly new at this too, I got lucky though my first razor was shave ready by a pro and it although wasn't the best shave I ever had it wasn't as bad as yours. Having a razor honed is as said earlier not cheating but provides a benchmark so you know what it feels like. Also to get good at honing you have to have a lot of practice and patience. So much can change in just one pass of a good hone. Also the blade isn't the only variable. Shaving cream/ soap is a major contributor as well. Not to mention brush, angle, technique, pressure, grip. These are all variables that effect the ending outcome of burned skin or smooth skin. Good luck, and keep trying.

Do bear in mind though that it's not always lack of sharpness that's a problem. My razor has never had a dull edge and it's torn up my face quite brutally on a few occasions. Granted "brutally" is relative, since for me, it refers to burn that lasts more than 2-3 hours, with some weepers and occasional tiny nicks.

However, it's a good idea to get a professionally honed job anyway, so you can be sure it's eliminated from the suspects list.

There can be a bit of a learning curve to this whole thing...very subtle angle and pressure variations can make big differences in the quality of the shave. Getting it just right so you don't have to apply much pressure but still cut the hair effectively seems simple enough, but can be quite difficult to nail consistently. This is one reason why people say you can start with areas like sideburns/cheeks, which are easier to experiment and also get your "best" results on. Jawline, chin, nose, and neck hollows can be very tricky, and it's often tempting to bear down (even just a little bit) on the blade to make it scrape the base of the hair.

Don't be too quick to judge the basic method if results are to be found through nuance. I personally don't put straight shaving on an extremely high pedestal, and have yet to have a completely satisfying shave with one. The potential for better results is there, but buying a straight razor does not mean better results up-front. I guess it does for some, but it certainly has not for many.

Originally Posted by jeff

I got some "shave ready razors" off e bay. I finaly go the nerve to try a straight razor shave today.

Welcome, Jeff. Maybe red ink wasn't the most appropriate color for me to write my response given the bad experience with your first shave.. Who was the Ebay seller who sold you a "shave ready" razor? I'd like to know the name as I'm sure others would as well. Can you help us out on that?

Originally Posted by honedright

This is why I don't sell my razors on eBay as "shave ready." Shave ready is too subjective. It's like giving a guy who's never played golf a top of the line set of clubs and then expecting him to win a tournament his first time playing just because the clubs are "golf ready." Or putting a non racer behind the wheel of the same car that won the Indy 500 and expecting him to do the same because the car is "race ready."

Even though you have the best tools, it takes time to learn to use them to their potential.


Scott

(Edit: In addition to the above, I think the term "shave ready" is somewhat misleading as evidenced by the experience of this OP and several other new posters/ SR users. Somehow, shave ready implies that the razor can just be picked up and deliver, at least, a good shave. But, as of late, and maybe even further back, I've read many posts by guys who have purchased a shave ready razor only to report "the worst shave of my life", or "worst shave ever", etc.

So, I will hone and strop a new razor for a customer, if requested. But I always advise that it will take considerable practice to get that best shave experience.)

Scott, I couldn't agree more. By no means am I a "honemeister". I have and can hone my own razors sharper than I'd ever need. I have not however decided to ask for my hat to be thrown in the honemeister ring due to exactly what you assert: "shave ready" is subjective and also as we all know, technique or lack thereof can make for an awful shave even with a superb edge. I truly applaud all the honemeisters that are willing to put themselves out there, take on all the risk, take back all the razors that most likely DID have excellent edges and touch them up, etc.

At this point in my life anyway, I couldn't muster enough muster to take that on. In the future, who knows. I could see wanting to hone for others daily when I retire, God willing, 30 years from now, but.....you guys have a long way to go for that!

Chris L

I just orderd a shave Ready Wapienica razor, from thewellhonedrazor.com . If my shaving experiance improves with this razor I will then let ya know who on e bay I got these razors from. I would hate to say something and have it be my technique. time will tell.
jeff

Originally Posted by jeff

I just orderd a shave Ready Wapienica razor, from thewellhonedrazor.com . If my shaving experiance improves with this razor I will then let ya know who on e bay I got these razors from. I would hate to say something and have it be my technique. time will tell.
jeff

I wouldn't be too afraid of the forum black balling them when asking for a name, it could in fact prove that it could be your technique. I say this because there are many on this forum that buy all their razors from ebay, and most ebayers of good repore know this and due to that they make sure they have thier teminology down. So if you give the name of the ebayer that you bought it from and other members here recofnize them as a good quality seller or even a poor quality seller we can give you pointers from there as to razor sharpness. For instance let's just say that you bought a "shave ready" razor from zeepkfan (this is a made up name) and that seller advertised the razor as a superior quality "shave ready" razor. An SRP member who had experience with zeepkfan could post and say yep that was the best razor I ever bought. Or if that was superior quality then they need to look up the definition. I think you get what I am trying to say. SRP members are usually pretty fair about their ratings on ebay sellers, and if in fact the razor isn't "shave ready" and the blades are good but just need honed then people will probably still buy from them but send it out for a good honing before trying to shave with it.
On a side note, the wapis are great shavers, I thoroughly enjoy mine right down to the plain old stainless steel scales.
Good shaving and go slow.
kbs_74

Originally Posted by kbs_74

I wouldn't be too afraid of the forum black balling them when asking for a name, it could in fact prove that it could be your technique. I say this because there are many on this forum that buy all their razors from ebay, and most ebayers of good repore know this and due to that they make sure they have thier teminology down. So if you give the name of the ebayer that you bought it from and other members here recofnize them as a good quality seller or even a poor quality seller we can give you pointers from there as to razor sharpness. For instance let's just say that you bought a "shave ready" razor from zeepkfan (this is a made up name) and that seller advertised the razor as a superior quality "shave ready" razor. An SRP member who had experience with zeepkfan could post and say yep that was the best razor I ever bought. Or if that was superior quality then they need to look up the definition. I think you get what I am trying to say. SRP members are usually pretty fair about their ratings on ebay sellers, and if in fact the razor isn't "shave ready" and the blades are good but just need honed then people will probably still buy from them but send it out for a good honing before trying to shave with it.
On a side note, the wapis are great shavers, I thoroughly enjoy mine right down to the plain old stainless steel scales.
Good shaving and go slow.
kbs_74

You explained my reasoning on wanting to know the Ebay seller's name perfectly. I share your sentiment. Thanks for posting your take on this.

We'd all like to know who on Ebay is stating that they're selling "shave ready" razors both for the good and the bad reasons that are possible.

Chris L

Originally Posted by jeff

I just orderd a shave Ready Wapienica razor, from thewellhonedrazor.com . If my shaving experiance improves with this razor I will then let ya know who on e bay I got these razors from. I would hate to say something and have it be my technique. time will tell.
jeff

Good choice. I started with a wapi from Mike too. Very comfortable razor, nice and easy to learn with, or at least I took to it well.
Good luck, and remember your patience, it helps a lot..