Thread: What else do I need?

+1 there CarrieM.
Real shave soap will make a real difference so don't make any judgements on Str8 shaving after using gel.

I think I tried 3 shaves with the Edge gel. Two days ago I got Colleen's soap, and today I got my brush. Man, the soap made a world of difference. The razor just glided across my face compared to beforer.

Unfortunately, the soap didn't make things much easier around my chin, upper lip, or adam's apple. It seems really tough, if not impossible, to get a good close shave in those spots.

If I try ATG underneath my chin (away from neck, toward chin) the razor catches and skips a lot. The razor will actually hook under a row of stubble whiskers and just stop. When I lift the stopped razor away from my face, it tugs the whiskers and you can see it pull the skin with it as it moves away from my face.

I think the problem is something wrong with my technique. Maybe I'm coming with too low an angle? It's hard to see the angle well when the edge is facing the mirror, but when going against the grain I'm keeping the spine very low, sometimes lightly contacting the skin.

I think my early stropping attempts may've rolled the edge just a tad in one spot, but I don't think that's causing the issue above. I did manage to nick the strop, and I might've used too much pressure at first. It took some concentration at first to pull tightly on the stop with one hand while working the razor gingerly without pressure. But I don't think that's the ATG skipping problem, because I got 2 shave-ready razors and the other one (which I haven't used for a full shave yet) does pretty much the same thing in that area.

I did knock the open razor into the sink. I know that screwed up the edge near the spike point. The razor isn't smiley, but it does feather up slightly at the spike point. If I roll it toward the spike point to strop the edge where it feathers up, it'll scratch the hell out of the strop when I go in one direction. So I know the edge is rolled badly at the tip. But it seems mostly fine everywhere else, so I've just been keeping the spike point off my skin as much as possible.

So only one razor has nicked your strop touched your sink and has a rolled edge.
Is that right ?
Have you stropped the other razor & will it shave arm hair easily with no resistance or tugging. ?

You're lather is slick & not watery ??

You sound like you're using a good low angle so I'm thinking not so sharp razor or as you say a technique thing.

Tentative light strokes are not correct but neither is plowing thru with a less than sharp razor.

Yet you say the razor glided across your face.

All the areas you describe are the toughest to master so I really think you should have your razors reassessed and lower the expectation on your skills. When you can strop and handle a razor correctly ie no dings & rolled edges then maybe move on to ATG. After all the razor would likely then be up to the job but atm there's doubt. Do it easy for now & just go WTG. The less challenges the better at this stage.

So only one razor has nicked your strop touched your sink and has a rolled edge.
Is that right ?

That's right.

Have you stropped the other razor & will it shave arm hair easily with no resistance or tugging. ?

I have not stropped the other razor. The seller said not to strop it and that it shouldn't need stropping before the first shave. It does pop arm hairs easily with no resistance (aside from the friction with unlubricated skin). It behaves pretty much the same as the other razor in shaving though, which is why I suspect the problem lies with me.

You're lather is slick & not watery ??

Yes. The lather was slick and rich with no bubbles. Looked like the pictures I've seen on this forum.

You sound like you're using a good low angle so I'm thinking not so sharp razor or as you say a technique thing.

Tentative light strokes are not correct but neither is plowing thru with a less than sharp razor.

Yet you say the razor glided across your face.

The razor does glide across my face when going WTG or XTG. I think the problem is probably with my technique. I know I'm a lot more tentative when I try ATG under my chin. Holding the razor that way is more awkward and I can't see the blade angle or what I'm doing as well. Plus, it's just a tough area overall and one of the thickest parts of my beard. I think all that's making my strokes tentative and making me more sensitive to the greater feedback you get when going ATG.

All the areas you describe are the toughest to master so I really think you should have your razors reassessed and lower the expectation on your skills. When you can strop and handle a razor correctly ie no dings & rolled edges then maybe move on to ATG.

Ok. That's probably good advice. I started with the intention of just doing WTG strokes on my cheeks to get the feel for it, but it was so easy that I decided to try shaving my whole beard the first time. Now a few shaves in, using the straight on the whole beard, I'm probably expecting too much to be able to get good close shaves in the problem spots. Guess I should take a step back and go ahead and break out the Trac II for touch-ups until I get more proficient and confident.

One more thing:
Should I go get a hone and try to clean up the blade now (especially at the spike point where it's dinged) or should I just keep using it, mindful of the ding at the point and letting the strop bring back any other less than perfect spots that my early stropping efforts caused?

Originally Posted by FightinTxAg

One more thing:
Should I go get a hone and try to clean up the blade now (especially at the spike point where it's dinged) or should I just keep using it, mindful of the ding at the point and letting the strop bring back any other less than perfect spots that my early stropping efforts caused?

I guess that depends on how good you are at repairing & honing. If you're inexperienced maybe get someone else to do it if the razor is valuable. It would be great if you had someone nearby to show you but we all learn eventually by doing.

I drastically wore down a $90 razor with my honing efforts when I first started. I consider it tuition fees but I wish it was a cheapie

btw that other razor will likely need stropping if you're using it. Take care, not too light, not too heavy but just right.