Thread: ready for help

Hey everybody! I've started getting into the whole "classic shave" deal, and I'm running into some issues. I have pretty thick facial hair. That doesn't really describe it. I have facial hair that is something akin to 80 grit sandpaper. We're talking some seriously rough stuff, hence my screen name. I've been quite displeased with the modern way of shaving. I've tried many razors and many different shave creams over quite a few years (I'm 30), and nothing gives decent results. I get bad razor burn because I have to go over it so many times. Plus, I'm tired of spending the large amounts of money for razor blades all the time. I can buy a lot of shotgun shells for the price of 5 razor blades, and enjoy using them a lot more.
So, just to see how much better the shave is, I "invested" in a cheap boar brush, a pretty nice straight razor from an antique shop (after doing a lot of reading), and some shaving soap with a mug. We've got fairly hard water here. I find that the later only stays on my face for a minute or two, and fizzles out. I'm assuming it's a matter of the brush and possibly even the soap. I'm also finding that I have to have the razor at a pretty high angle and go over my face with it quite a few times to remove hairs, and I'm assuming that I just don't have it sharp enough. I've been sharpening knives since I started carrying them (since about 10 years of age), and I'm a pretty hardcore woodworker, so I sharpen my chisels pretty well.
So, now that I've done a very small amount of shaving, I'm thinking I should definately upgrade my brush, and most likely get a new razor as well. I originally bought the cheap stuff just to see if there was enough to it to justify spending the initial outlay for a good brush, razor, and strop. It looks like I am. You fellas seem to have a lot more experience with this stuff, so here I am! If anybody has any input or questions, please let me know.

I didn't see anything in your post about a strop. Without one you will never get a good shave no matter how sharp your razor is so that would be my first thought.

As far as other recommendations...

Send your razor out to one of the honemeisters on this forum and get it professionally honed. You might find you like it so well it will temper your desire to start buying other razors...at least for a while.

Definitely upgrade your brush. There are a couple outfits that sell silvertip badger hair brushes for a decent price.

You might try a cream rather than a hard soap. My favorite is Proraso but a little research on the forums will give you plenty of ideas.

The secret to getting a decent lather with hard water is heat. Try mixing your lather in a seperate bowl which you have pre-heated. If that doesn't work try using spring or distilled water just for the lather part. Some guys I know microwave about half a cup of distilled for the lather.

hmm steep angle doesn't sound right. i guess people with coarser beards tend to prefer stiffer grind razors.
you can always send out your razor and see if one of the guys who hone can make it sharper - chances are they might and that could be helpful.
and of course there's the possibility of another razor, but it's a slippery slope....

Hi. If the soap's ok, then pretty much any brush should get you a workable lather. Maybe you just need a bit more practise getting it right?
As gugi say's, often a stiffer grind will be more comfortable, but if the razor's not sharp enough then you'll be using too much pressure & having to do more passes to compensate. This will make things very uncomfortable. A vintage razor will be very capable, but only if it's shave ready. Maybe send it to one of the honemiesters. In the meantime use your old razor, but spend the time working on getting the prep & lather right. It may well help by reducing the amount of things you're having to learn at the same time.

Hello Sagebrush. Welcome to SRP. I hope your transition into Straight Razor shaving is a smooth one. It is recommended that your first razor be honed by a qualified honemeister. That is extremely important for the first few shaves. Check the Wiki and honing forums for guidance when you start honing. You said you wanted to upgrade your brush. You have a woodshop so take your boar brush and replace the knot with a silvertip badger knot for $15 to $20 for a big savings. Check the brush forum for ideas. Good luck.

bj

Welcome Sagebrush ! I had over 40 years experience honing my knives and woodworking tools , before I tried honing my first straight razor . I learned the hard way that honing a razor is different than honing a knife . A razor can seem sharp as hell , and shave hair off your arm , but when you try to shave your face with it , it feels like it's pulling the hairs out by thier roots . That's why the only way to tell if a razor is sharp enough , is to actully try to shave your face with it . It takes some trial and error , to get a razor shave ready . It only takes a few strokes on a 8k or finer grit hone to make a big difference in the way a razor shaves . I agree that you should start with a razor honed by a reputable honemiester to shave with while you learn to hone your own razors . A decent strop , and good stropping technique is equally important . Forget about the high shaving angle , keep the angle low . If the razor doen't shave at a low angle , it's not sharp enough . A high angle will tend to push the blade into your face , causing cuts , and razor burn . Your first shaves will be a little rough no matter how sharp your razor is , so you need to be patient , and develop your shaving technique . If you stick with it , you will be rewarded with fantastic shaves that only a straight razor can give you .

+1 on getting the blade honed. also a good brush does make a difference. although i like the specialty creams better (when i can get my hands on them) the proraso works just fine for me, it just drys my skin out a bit. keep in mind that it is best to start with less water and add a little later if it is needed, cuz if you have too much water at the start the lather won't be very dense, and won't last.

so what kind of razor do you have? maybe i missed it in one of the post.

also there is no way of getting around using a strop, it is very important to getting a good shave.

+2 on sending the blade out. The SRP Classifieds is the place to go. Not saying you can't do it, with your experience, but it is a different method of sharpening and all your stones are dedicated to knives not razors. Knives, I hear tell, can "dish" the stone which is bad for razors. Also you may only take your knives to 6k maybe 8k on a stone. A Razor really needs 12k and some would say 16k to get it right.

Second, if you live near a major city check out Bath and Body or Crabtree and Evelin. Bath and Body has Bigelow Green tube cream which is the same as Proraso. Good stuff and sturdy, it is my back up cream. If you have no B & B check out C & E. They have soap cream and the some of the best badger you can get for $30.

Get a strop. Period, bench, paddle, hanging, what ever. This is as essential as a razor. Tony Miller gets high praise here and his basic strop is pretty inexpensive.

Good on ya for starting up and welcome.

Thanks for the help, fellas. My first post wasn't quite as in-depth as I could have made it. I had two dogs bouncing off the walls, the wife was yelling at me about something (couldn't tell you what, to be quite honest), and I was hopped up on a lot of caffeine. Long night. I used a slapped-together strop I made for my knives and chisels and spent some quality time with it before my last shave. It's a George Wostenholm & Sons razor that set me back a whopping $20. I'll most likely end up getting a newer razor and using it while practicing my honing and stropping on the old one.

I'm sure the lather thing might just be due to my lack of experience. I'm going to keep trying, but I'm definately going to get a good silvertip badger brush. I just picked up a boar bristle one for about $5 to see how much better the soap was than the crap in the can. I wasn't really wanting to test the water with both feet and spend gobs of money off the bat for gear and not be pleased with it. I've gotten to be a bit of a tightwad lately (except when it comes to my shotguns). Probably comes from marrying an accountant. I'm thinking I'll start off with a good brush and probably a better strop for now, and plan on getting a new razor whenever I feel like parting with the cash. I'll have to look into sending my razor off to be honed up in the meantime.

Anyway, thanks again for the input. You've been very helpful so far.