Thread: Will a real straight be less harsh than my feather ac?

I recently, acquired a feather ac and am on my third shave with it and OW. I have cut myself everytime I shaved and am having a lot of irritation. I am only going WTG because ATG is real scary. Especially when you feel the feather start to bite in. Is a real straight going to be more forgiving. I have corked the blade and am using pros. Today my face is sore and blotchy.

Maybe someone could give me some advice on how to get a better shave with my AC. I am getting discouraged.

im still really new to this straight shaving thing, but from my limited experience if you want to go ATG, i would recommend going XTG first, i dont think one WTG pass removes enough hair to make ATG exceedingly comfortable. ATG gets alot less scary when there is less hair to cut.

Also, are you using alot of pressure when you shave? The weight of the blade plus enough for the razor to glide over your skin should be enough. To much pressure and you will wind up with cuts and irritation.

On another note, what kind of prep and post work are you doing? Good prep/post work makes all the difference in the world.

If its biting in you may be using to much angle let the razor do the work and use small strokes. it should just glide over your face.

I think it is broadly accepted that a str8 is more forgiving than a feather.

If you make the slightest mistake with a feather it's going to cause damage to your face.

As with most things YMMV, but your shave should improve as you get more proficient with your razor.

Well, I had my 4th shave last night and it was a lot better. Maybe the blade was too sharp at first or my technique is getting better. I had a little irritation on the chin area but other than that it was pretty good. I guess I need to keep trying until I finally get the hang of it.

Feather blades are notoriously sharp. I have never used one, but I have read on this forum many tales about the Feather AC. The key is to use no pressure, keep your angle low (blade should be almost flat against your face), and use short strokes until you develop your technique. Too much angle will cause the blade to bite deeper, and remove more skin causing irritation. To answer your original question...Yes, a true straight razor is more forgiving. On the other hand if you can tame/master the super sharpness of a Feather AC, then getting the hang of a true straight razor should be that much easier. Keep at it.

Originally Posted by statichost

im still really new to this straight shaving thing, but from my limited experience if you want to go ATG, i would recommend going XTG first, i dont think one WTG pass removes enough hair to make ATG exceedingly comfortable. ATG gets alot less scary when there is less hair to cut.

Also, are you using alot of pressure when you shave? The weight of the blade plus enough for the razor to glide over your skin should be enough. To much pressure and you will wind up with cuts and irritation.

On another note, what kind of prep and post work are you doing? Good prep/post work makes all the difference in the world.

Yes, what he said, proper prep, angle, plus NO pressure. Keeping that in mind, I always get a BBS shave with no nicks or irritation. I do use the pro-guard blades.

Good luck my friend.

LIMIT :0)

As with most FACTORY blades the real variable is the prep and lather, I cant stress good lather enough for a feather, or a DE with feather blades....
Of course the angle and pressure that you are using will just get better with more experience..... I would suggest a shaving cream over a soap for these and see if that helps your shave somewhat, the creams tend to make a slightly more cushioned lather....

I recently bought a Focus razor that uses half a DE blade. In my experience, a traditional straight is more forgiving, comfortable and can shave as close when properly honed. I bought the Focus out of curiousity to make a comparison to my straights. The Focus will be my aircraft travel razor as security has developed a bad reputation. It gives an excellent, long lasting and close but harsh feeling shave. I suspect the Feather is even less forgiving as it is known to be the sharpest factory edge.

Yes, I am finding that I have to hold the head of the razor right against my skin. Maybe that is how it is made so you don't have to worry about angle. I am just shaving WTG for now(north to south). Maybe someday I will have the @@## to go against the grain. Especially on my neck. I just received my dovo special and am dying to try that but it needs a honing and I hate to just put the feather to the side right now. When I send my dovo out to someone for a good honing I will keep practicing with the feather. I have made up my mind not to tough my DE's at all during this period.My chin is not happy.