What do you think the problem is

I have a carbon steel straight that have been giving me so so shaves for approximatly a month now. When I am done with a shave there is a lot of facial hair in the sink, so I know there is something coming off. I strop before each shave, however I have put off the hone for a while until I learn to get more proficient at the shave, I don't own one yet. Perhaps I never managed to get the blade shave ready? :shrug: My double edge blades are doing a realy great job, but I preferr the straight. I know the infromation here is sketchy at best but please take your best stab at this, perhaps through doalog I will get an idea of what the problem is.

Are you also experiencing tugging and pulling? That could be a sign of a blade that's not sharp enough.
The other alternative are your angles. If you're shaving movie-style your blade angle is too perpendicular. You'd still remove some hair but it would not be nearly as effective as proper angling.

no pulling.

In that case the problem is most likely in your shaving technique. Here's how I do it (even though you may have to tailor it to your hair/face)...
1) First pass is at a 20 degree angle.
2) Second pass at 35-40 degrees
3) I'm very careful about the directions of hair growth so my first pass goes WTG everywhere
4) I make sure to stretch the skin properly.

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Originally Posted by jbcohen

I have a carbon steel straight that have been giving me so so shaves for approximatly a month now. I strop before each shave, however I have put off the hone for a while until I learn to get more proficient at the shave, I don't own one yet. Perhaps I never managed to get the blade shave ready? :shrug:

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I am a little confused here ???? How was the blade sharpened in the begining...
You said that you don't own a hone, and that maybe you didn't get the edge shave ready????

Is this an out of the box factory edge that you stropped up and you have been shaving with for one month????

That is a possibility. When I got it I started in with the blade and the strop. Don't own a hone. Perhaps I need to make this shave ready? How is this done? Do I need to buy the hone in order to make it shave ready? It's pretty sharp. All options are on the table at this point.

I thought that I could put off thte hone for a while until I got my technique down then go get the hone. The problem may be the technique.

What kind of razor is it???
Did you buy it new???
Was it honed before you bought it???

If the razor needs a honing you have 2 options
Buy all the necessary stones to accomplish this and learn to use them (Difficulty level = High)

Send it to one of us to hone for you, so you can feel what a "Shave Ready" razor is like (Difficulty level = Easy)

Then you can get into honing and upkeep on the razor slowly like you were planning...

No it was not and that is probably the problem there. Although I do not want to be dependent on someone else for this sort of thing I would need to learn to do this for myself. I have no problem getting a short term solution fixed in this manner, but in the long term this would defeet one of the major advantages of straights for me, independence. So I will go pick someone to do this for me and in the meanwhile, assuming that I go buy myself a hone how would I use this properly? Let me start the process of learning how to do the job myself.

There ya go, learning how to hone a razor is not rocket science but it does require a very specific set of skills that need to be developed....
Starting with a "Shave Ready" razor at least gives you an idea of where you need to get, eventually... and ya get to shave with it too :D

I have elected to send the razor for service, but I wouls still like to learn to do the job myself. Assuming that I buy a hone, what is the process to hone a straight properly?

Best place to start learning about honing is to look in THIS forum. There were some good pictorials and write-ups on different stones and such. Also, for maintaining the sharpened edge, look through that forum (or search) for information on strop pastes.

Good luck!