Printable View
I gave myself my first shave this evening. I stropped the razor 25 to 30 times, I did the wet towels (twice), I applied the lather (twice), and I ran the blade across my face just like in Lynn’s DVD. I didn’t cross shave, except when cutting against the grain. The good news is that I still have my lips. The problem is that I still have hair and a little razor burn.
My question is; is this how it works? Am I where I should be in learning this particular skill, or did I miss something?
Allen
Welcome to SRP, Allen - you've come to the right place.
Well, the usual questions apply. Is the razor shave ready, and if you think it is, how do you know (was it bought from one of our members? Can you say who honed it?). That really is the first question, and if the answer is "no" we have our culprit.
I'm sure others will chime in as well with good information.
Mark
I strop at least 60 times before each shave. Strop carefully so you don't muck the edge.
X
Milton Man,
I purchased the razor from Classic Shaving. I paid to have it sharpened. So I don't know it was honed, I'm trusting that it was.
X-Man,
60 times each side or total?
Thank You both for the quick reply.
Allen
a lap is a trip up and down the stone or strop.
any more I'm doing 30 laps on the linen side and 50 to 60 on the leather side.. after a while your stropping technique will improve so that this will only take you a couple minutes
if you had it sharpened through classic you did good. try and keep the angle of the blade to the face lower... after getting a sharp, well stropped blade the angle is the most important thing.
enjoy... practice makes perfect!
Thanks Syslight,
I may have been too close to a 90. I'll try that next.
Allen
90 ouch! ... 30 degrees or less will be much less painful and do a better job at removing the hair... with less irritation to boot
it seems like syslight has it covered but other than that stretching your skin as best you can is another thing that will help a lot
Sounds a bit like my first shave with a straight two weeks ago..
You didn't cut yourself and had fun... sounds like a good start.
The hairs will come off eventualy..
Maarten
90 :eek:! That's trying to scrape them off, rather than cut.
Cut yourself a piece of card at 30 degrees so that you have a reference & keep an eye on the angle of the scales in relation to your face.
There are some good clips to watch on youtube (& terrible ones too!). These will help.
The first shave is never easy. It's going to be a process of trial & error. Don't be afraid to adjust the angle during the shave & keep the strokes light. 3 passes are far better than 1 where your pressure is too great. There's a lot to take in at first, but if you practise, it will come to you. It's only shaving, after all, no matter how deep we seem to get in to it!
Good luck!
90 degrees to your face! Ouch! No wonder you had a bad shave (I'm actually surprised you don't need stiches!). I hadn't mentioned blade angle because you said you watched the Lynn video...Yeah, keep the razor no further way from your cheek than the thickness of the spine...and use VERY light pressure.
Also, read the newbie stickies and the wiki!
Mark
Whoa whoa whoa, perhaps I should clairfy.
I was not shaving at a 90, I was off of 30 in the direction of 90.
It was sort of like driving a standard transmission for the first time; am I letting off the clutch right, am I applying the gas at the right rate, look to the left, the right, the left, oops what about the clutch...and on and on and on.
Just trying to put all the little parts together into one grand act. I think my biggest challenge is seeing my face through my arms and seeing the lay of the blade backwards in the mirror. But like Syslight said practice, practice, practice and (as Maarten pointed out), eventually the hairs will come off.
Allen
No worries, Allen. It takes time, and like anything else that requires work, you'll really appreciate the end result. You're on a journey, so enjoy the ride. Even through failure learning occurs.
Also, here's a mantra that has served me well: Straight razor shaving is about beard reduction in passes, not beard elemination (like the Mock III).
Mark
Where was the razor burn ? All over ?
The trick with razor burn, for me is to first make sure you are cutting with the grain and second, NO pressure on the razor. Let the razor float across your face.
As a newbie, I started with just my sideburns on my good side and my cheeks on my good side. Then when i felt I had that part down, I moved on..
But generally razor burn comes from too much pressure and often that is a result of pushing down too hard to cut hairs in the wrong direction..
I still get razor burn around my adams apple. The hairs grow sideways there. It's not easy going sideways on that part of your face!
But good luck. Take your time.
J
I take it you have a leather strop.
If so, lay the strop flat on a table edge and do the 50 minimum return strops.
You need to press enough to cause a friction and keep the blade flat on the leather, that's all.
Now shave, 30 degrees maximum ie, nearly flat to your skin.
If the cheeks are shaved close with no burn and easy shaving, the rest is just a matter of time and patience.
If the cheeks still feel unshaven, the blade needs to be refreshed by someone who knows what to do.
Don't give up, it's worth the effort.
Don't cut yourself, if the blade is not sharp, you have no chance. It should be as easy as using a gillette throw away as a minimum.
:thinking:Gentlemen,
I believe that this will take the proper application of patience and Buddy Holly. If its too loud, mamma's too old.
Milton Man,
Big 10-4 on the journey.
Shampoo,
Razor burn was on the fat part of the cheek (no chipmunk jokes). I'll work on the pressure (please see the driving comment below).
English,
I'll try the strop on the table.
I can't thank you guys enough. Looking forward to passing along useful info once I have it.
Here's to keeping the artery intact,
Allen
Where did the grumpy head scratching guy come from?
Those emoticons can sometimes be inadvertently replicated by typing in their HTML command, in this case ": thinking :" (without the spaces).
Otherwise, a wayward mouse click sometimes does that.
Mark