Thread: Razor ripping hair

I find my razor ripping at my hair, when it does cut, it's with preassure applied (compared to my disposable straight that does it with ease).
I don't believe iit to be my holding technique/angle.
It was said to be pre sharpened. from SRD.
I have used it 5 times, always finishing up with my disposable because i'm getting nowhere.
I strop it 30 times, i have green paste on the back, don't really use that side.
Does anyone have some advice?
It will be greatly appreciated.

The green paste - chromium oxide - imparts a better edge after almost any stone. No matter if the razor was honed on an 8k Norton, 12k Chinese, or 16k Shapton, the chromium oxide can help the edge. If you are having that much pulling, then I would suggest using the chromium oxide side of your strop a bit.

Pull the strop really tight, and using very little pressure, strop your razor at medium speed, i.e. not really slow, but don't try to go fast. Give it about 10 to 15 strokes on the chromium oxide, then rinse the razor off under running water and *gently* dry the razor with some toilet paper.

30 strokes is too few for right now. Try to do 50 - 60 passes on the leather with good form!!! If you're not using good form, then it doesn't matter how few or how many passes you make, because it's gonna suck anyway.

Search the forums for good stropping advice, because stropping is (arguably) more important than honing, to an extent.

If you do all this and it's still not the best, then go back and do 10 more on the chromium oxide, rinse, restrop on leather.

Holding/technique is one part of the battle. Honing, stropping, preshave routine, etc.

Since you've already had your razor honed, focus all of your efforts on learning about stropping and preshave. I bet when you get those parts done, you'll find that your razor has been honed fine. Unless, of course, you haven't rolled the edge while stropping etc. I think you should be fine. If not, see if there is someone down under who will hone your razor for you.

Ben

++1 on what Ben has said!

Stropping improperly is the biggest hurtle that newbies face when learning str8 razor shaving.

Read, practice, read, practice, - try different things, i.e., your grip while stropping, your body position, height of the strop, read more, practice more, - and then, one fine day, it will just happen! You'll get it. and from that moment on, your edges will improve with your stropping, not degrade!

We all have to go through this, before we "get it!"

Good luck,

Steve

I can think of a few things right off the top of my head.

First, (don't take offense) your a newbie, so it is possible that it is your technique, you mentioned using this said razor only 5 times. Don't worry, we have all been there, and we've all thought that we can watch some videos on shaving with a straight, then go buy ourselves a straight thinking its a piece of cake, only to find that it's not. This can be discouraging to some people but all you need to do is stick at it.

Another thing which is said to be common among newbies, is the rolling of an edge due to improper stropping technique. I'm not sure of SRD'd policy about rolling edges etc, but some members offer honing services with a guarantee that they will re-hone a razor for you free as long as you cover shipping.

Next is beard prep, what did you do to prep your beard before shaving? This is also an important thing because if you don't prep you beard properly, you will more than likely experience a bad shave.

Did you pick up a copy of Lynn's DVD when you bought the razor? It is a great guide and is a great starting block. If you don't have it, i recommend you purchase it.

Other than that, just keep trying, don't give up, its not an easy path to travel, but that's life, and the results that follow later on are well worth it.

From one newbie to another, it takes practice practice practice. These guys are giving you excellent advice, that I really cant add much to, except to reiterate a few points:
- The beard prep matters. I know everyone does it different. If you dont have a brush and soap (or creme), I definitely recommend them. I personally make sure I use hot water or a hot cloth, then I use about a quarter size of olive oil in my hand and spread it on my skin before applying shaving lather (before my first pass).
- The stropping takes time to get used to. I was very bad at letting the razor do the work at first. I made a Chromium Oxide strop (your green side) and it helped a lot on my blade sharpness.

The first few times I shaved, I had to clean up with a disposable. Then I just started working on making sure my passes were done smoothly and slowly (take your time!). I started a couple months ago, and finally after about a month started getting really great shaves.

Hang in there and it will get great!

more stropping before each shave (a lot more, until the razor doesn't rip at your hair everytime)
more practice

I agree with the people who said these things already

Already great advice here, that I can't really add to, but if you suspect you may have rolled your edge I can look at it for you.
Just PM me.
I'm in Sydney if that's any help.

I had the same issue. I started with SRs a few years ago and never got it to work. I've laid off until now and I'm going to give it a go again. The hard part (for me anyway) is that when the razor rips/pulls, I can't tell if it's a honing, stroping or shaving issue.

Originally Posted by MTS

I had the same issue. I started with SRs a few years ago and never got it to work. I've laid off until now and I'm going to give it a go again. The hard part (for me anyway) is that when the razor rips/pulls, I can't tell if it's a honing, stroping or shaving issue.

So eliminate all the variables.

Honing - get a shave ready razor.

Stropping - find a barber shop (or someone who knows how) and pay the barber the price of a haircut to strop your razor...and maybe evaluate your technique as well and give you pointers.

That leaves just the shaving for you to concentrate on. The best advice I ever got when starting out was to use the smallest blade angle and the least amount of pressure that would cut the whiskers...then once you get used to that try a little more angle but not too much. There is a sweet spot of maybe plus or minus 5 degrees where you will find the ideal shave.