Newbie problems

Well, I finally made the leap into the realm of straight razor shaving. I purchased the Bismark Bone 5/8 spike point, which I love; however, I have some problems as every newbie does.
My first problem is that I seem to have too high of expectations. I watched numerous videos about shaving with a straight razor and noticed that everyone in the videos makes one or two passes. For me I cannot seem to shave my chin without making 5 or more passes. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Another problem is when I strop the blade it seems that the edges of the blade are touching the strop, but the center of the blade is not touching. What is the solution to this? Also what is the best number of strop passes? How often do you use the linen?
Finally, should one put a lot of faith in the hht test? I have read mixed posts regarding this test. Is it the best way to determine the shave readiness of the razor?
I really love the idea of shaving with a straight razor and I want to continue to use it. I know that there is a learning curve, but I am worried that I am going to damage this beautiful razor. At least I have one bright point, I have not really cut myself too badly.
Thanks for the tips.

No matter how many times the subject comes up, things like the HHT will have a mixed bag of responses.

It sounds like your strop is cupping a little. You can learn how to flatten it or not hold it so taut.

You'll get more ideas, probably all mixed, in the near future.

I had the exact same issue with my stropping. The best help I got were in regard to grip and breaking in.

You've got a brand new strop, and it's a little tight. Before stropping each time, rub the palm of your hand briskly over the strop. This transfers oils to the leather and helps it soften up a bit.

For grip: someone sent me a picture- and I'm sure you could find something in the Wiki- of an overhand grip. Basically grab the strop with your palm down and fingers wrapped around the back. Then rotate your hand downward toward your fingers to help create the tension.

I'm not sure which of these things helped fix my problem or if it was a bit of both, but the stropping is better now. I also use a *little* bit of pressure. Don't go overboard here.

Chin still takes me a lot of passes after a couple months at it. Better every time.

As for # of strokes- I do 25 linen, and 30-50 leather depending on how I'm feeling. As many shavers as there are out there, there are that many opinions on exactly the perfect amount. Read the Wiki section, try some stuff out, and see what works for you.

Good luck!

Don't worry about your chin. You'll get it. It's a tough area to learn.

I strop 60 times before each shave and about a dozen or more after. As for the linen, I used to use it regularly, but I haven't used it in months now. :shrug

X

Just be patient, your difficulties with your chin are normal. As you learn better technique, you will not have to make so many passes on your chin. Try experimenting with different angles and what not.

As for stropping, you may be pulling the strop too tight. You want it tout, but not so tight that it does not allow some play in it. Again, just work on your technique, things will get better.

I do hht test after I hone a razor, but the ultimate test is shaving your face with it. As you become more experienced, by shaving with your razor, you will know exactly what it needs by how it performs when shaving.

Hope this helps and keep us posted.

Good luck and welcome to SRP!

Hang in there and keep at it. I've been shaving with a straight for about 2 months now. I still need to make two ATG passes to get a rather close, but not BBS, smooth shave. That'll diminish with the improvement with skill I belive. As for the chin.......I think that is probably the toughest part for most men. I know it is for me. I'm still working on finding the magic touch for the chin. One bit of advice is to use the heel of the razor. It helped my shaves alot.

BJC

Welcom to SRP rpscott123. I think we all start with too high of expectations. There is a lot to learn with a str8. The chin is really tough. When I started with a str8, I finished with my disposable until I got comfortable with the str8 on my cheeks. Even then, it took several passes on my chin to get it reasonable. Now I do WTG and XTG on my chin and it's BBS. It's just practice.

I had the same problem with my strop and rubbed my palm on it as mentioned on other posts. It will take some time, but it wil work out. I still give my strop 50 laps with my palm before stropping and it just keeps getting better and better.

I don't put much faith in the HHT. If a str8 passes the shave test, that's all I care about.

Hang in there. It just gets better and better. Remember to go slowly, use no pressure, and enjoy yourself. :gl:

Don't worry about your expectations. Your experience will come to meet them in time. My first straight razor shave was not that much closer than I would get with an electric after one pass, and after two, was not as close as I used to get wit a disposable. However, I now get consistently closer shaves than ever with a disposable in one two passes. I should also add that this change happened without a honing in between, it was simple an improvement on technique.

Second, I don't even have a linen side on my strop, and it works fine for me. Number of passes is pretty much based soley on personal preferance. Although I recommend more than 2.:rofl2:

In terms of the HHT, its a debatable issue. I don't really even use the test anymore, because when I learned to hone at first I could not get a razor to pass it, but they all shaved well. Pretty much every member will probably agree that the shave test is the most important.

Lastly, don't be to scared about recking your blade. You have to learn somehow, and although it is a fragile edge, it doesn't reck THAT easily. What I mean to say is that poor shaving technique won't reck your blade before it recks your face.:chop:Although poor stropping can take a good edge off your blade, as long as you go slow at first, pay attention, and follow the advice of the experienced members here you will be fine. However, when you are learning to hone, it's not a bad idea to pick yourself up a cheap razor to practice on. I grabbed a Double Arrow off ebay for $10, and after a couple of honings with that I was comfortable to try it on a better razor.

Thanks everyone for all the great tips.

also try using the x pattern while stropping this will ensure that your blade crosses the entire strop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jszabo

also try using the x pattern while stropping this will ensure that your blade crosses the entire strop

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Good advice. as for your chin, try breaking it down visually into small flat planes and adjust your strokes accordingly.

Once again thanks for all the tips. I think my stropping has improved. I found that I was pulling the strop too tight therefore the blade was not flat throughout the stropping process.
As for the problem shaving my chin, I think I have a ways to go. I think my technique is getting better, but I know it takes time to perfect the technique.