Thread: First shave- few questions

Hello,

I've just had my first shave, after deciding to switch over to a cut throat. I thought I'd go this way as the Schick twin blade sensor excel blades I use are over $20AU for 10, and I'm going through a few a week.

After doing research on this forum, I bought this gear:-

1. Dovo 2" Russian linen/leather strop
2. Dovo Ebony Spike Point razor- with Mr Abrams honing service.
3. Rooney small style 3 in Super
4. Norton 4000/8000 hone
5. Floris elite soap and crabtree and evelyn sandalwood
6. Stypic fluid

I've also been given 2 x Bengal 5/8 razors, and a Puma Inox Special Number 68 4/8. These are all old, and I"ll have to get a lap stone and start to try and bring them back, or send them off for restoration. The plan is that if I can get all 4 going, then I won't have to bother with honing too often.

I've watched several of the online movies, and read all the 'how to' guides. I also started to download the clips off Mr Abrams video, but they stopped after a few episodes, so I'll probably order the full thing this week.

Anyway, I've been practicing with the brush and soap, and I've got a good lather going. I've also been applying a hot towel to my face beforehand, while using the twin blade, to get the technique correct. I must say, the shave with the twin blade after using the brush and soap is significantly better than the King of Shaves Gel I was using before.

Now, to the point. I had a shave with the Dovo this morning. The box said it didn't need stropping after Mr Abams had honed it, so I didn't do it. But I did give it a hit about halfway through for the issues I'll mention next. That said, I've got a couple of quick questions:-

1. My beard is like a wire brush, particularly for the first day or two. I only had a days growth on, and I had trouble with the blade skipping and scraping on my face (my wife could heard it from outside with the door shut). I've read that this can be dealt with by shorter strokes, but I was wondering if I should try a the shallower angle closer to my face, more pressure, or could it be an issue with the blade's sharpness? I need to shave daily, so this is a big issue for me.

2. When I'm shaving, should I wipe the shaving soap off the blade with a towel, or run it under a tap, or swish it in the sink? The video's I've seen don't show this part, and I'd like make sure I don't inadvertently damage the razor.

3. After I finished shaving, my face was bright red from razor burn. I made sure I kept the lather on during the shave, but I was wondering if this is sympomatic of incorrect angle, or that the blade may be dull? I gave it a hit with the strop after first pass, but I couldn't really tell if it made a difference.

4. I've seen a fair bit of conflicting info on the stropping. How many passes on the linen and the leather are required for a new pre-honed blade? With a tough beard, should I strop mid way through the shave?

5. I noticed that the way I held the blade seemed to make a difference. Is holding it with the scales between the ring finger and pinkie the best way? It seemed to apply the pressure more evenly than when I had two fingers on either side of the scales.


Now, although it may sound like it all ended in disaster (except for the fact I look like I've had a close encounter of the third kind), my face is so smooth it's like a baby's arse (I have a young baby in the house, and yes, it's confirmed). So ultimately, it did actually work. If I can get the blade moving more smoothly over my face, then I think I can really get into it.

Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

regards,

craby

Hi Craby, welcome to SRP!

If your face is smooth, the razor is sharp. I think that you are putting too much pressure on your face. Stretch the skin and use a very light touch when shaving. How light? Try not to touch your face at all!

I rinse the blade under the tap.

Originally Posted by craby

4. I've seen a fair bit of conflicting info on the stropping. How many passes on the linen and the leather are required for a new pre-honed blade? With a tough beard, should I strop mid way through the shave?

Hi,

If the razor is sharp enough, try 20 on the linen and 40-50 on the leather. No more passes are needed.
Stropping mid way through the shave? Yes, some say you should, but some say you can pass the whole shave without hitting the strop. I used to strop between passes, but I quit doing this, and as a matter of fact, I haven't noticed any decrease in the razor performance.

Have fun

Your face needs to get used to the blade. That will come in time (a week or two). Rinse the blade in water but try to never get the pivot wet. If it does dry immediately with a towel and pipe cleaner. Then wipe the water off with a clean dry thin towel without getting the towel into the edge. I do this after every few strokes. Dry the water by reaching up from underneath with towel covered fingers starting from the heel to tip. Scary at first but safe if you are always careful. A good prep goes a long way to an irritation free shave: soap wash; hot towel applications for several minutes; hair shampoo with conditioner applied with a boar bristle brush; rinse and apply shaving lather. I almost always do my prep in the shower followed by shave at the basin, leave your beard wet. After the shave rinse the razor in hot water; dry with towel; air dry with hair dryer; strop followed by air in 90 degree open position with blade leaning upright in another room if it will not be disturbed. My beard is mostly blond-gray and tough; this system works for me.

Monte

Originally Posted by monte6177

strop followed by air in 90 degree open position with blade leaning upright in another room if it will not be disturbed.

Monte

I think all the advice is good, but I personally don't strop until right before I shave. The way the metal works and the point of stropping (to realign the edge) means that the edge is more "brittle" after shaving and you should give it as much time to "harden up" until your next strop. Just my $.02.

Welcome Craby.

First off you have invested in some really good gear which will serve you well. It takes time (1-2 weeks) for you and your face to get used to a straight. It might be worthwhile for the first few attempts to focus on just your cheeks and see how you get on. The shave angle is supposed to be around 30 degrees or 2 spine widths away from your face. The first few weeks can be a steep learning curve but all easily attainable if you are willing to invest a bit of time and keep at it.

Lynn puts a super sharp edge on a blade so it should have been sharp enough. I would recommend his dvd as it is a great intoduction to shaving, razor maintenance and care. it is a great resource to hit when something isn't going right. Also make use of the great support and advice the members here provide.

Keep at it and enjoy the experience.

I think you have some great equipment but you might want to consider one more thing for polishing the edge and keeping it in shape. I find that once I have the edge in good condition, I can freshen it up when needed (about every 6 months) with a yellow coticule. This is also a bit finer stone that the Norton 8K for polishing.

Just a few notes....

1. Always strop just before each and every shave for 30-60 roundtrip laps.

2. Try stropping for 30 laps mid-shave and see if it makes a difference.

3. Think in terms of beard reduction with each pass, not total elimination.
This will result in less irritation.

4. The angle is 30 degrees or less. To visualize this imagine that there is one spine width between your skin and the spine of the razor.

5. Pressure, use only light pressure. You will be surprised at how little pressure is needed.

6. Honing...this is the most difficult of the skill sets needed. Read up on it first and use a practice razor, not your good str8's.


Hope this helps,

Hello,

Thanks very much to all who replied or sent me a PM. I had another shave this morning, and did the recommended number of strops beforehand. I also changed the angle to be a little shallower, and applied much less pressure.

The result was a significant reduction in redness to my face, and a better shave on the first pass, as opposed to my initial attempt. I noticed that the only time my face started to sting was when the lather was drying out, but I kept my face moist and resolved that.

In fact, the biggest pain this time was when I went to throw on some of my old Imperial Leather aftershave. The closer shave meant that it felt like I put a blowtorch to my face when I splashed it on. Needless to say, I might have to get some aftershave balm instead!

I'll keep practising every couple of days. The next thing I'll have to learn is the pattern of shaving around my face, to try and reduce the repeated strokes. This will probably help cut back on the irritation until my face gets used to it. I'm still trying to work out which hand to use, but I know this is part of the process with learning the pattern of the shaving strokes.

regards,

craby