Thread: Shaved straight for 6+ months, ready to toss it.

Recently I went on vacation and did not want to bring my straight razor because I did not want to risk jarring it and I had no idea what kind of an environment I might be shaving in. So for about a week I went back to the disposable . . and it was one of the biggest reliefs of my life.

Trouble is, no matter how good I get, my face always hurts. Always. And the shave is, well, really bad. My Quattro, at this point, gives a vastly superior shave. I figured that I'd been doing things wrong and my irritation was just my own lack of skill, but I've been doing this for a while now.

For my aniversiarry my wife got me a Straight Razor. I was very excited because I've wanted one for a long time. She went to "The Art of Shaving" and got me a razor with a stainless steel handle. It's got their logo on it and everything, but the blade is by Thiers Issard, so it's not junk or anything right?

Anyway I take my time learning how to shave, starting slowly and I've worked myself up to the point that I can shave myself completely without getting any nicks or anything. I use a nice hot brush and oil my face beforehand, and I even shave immediately after my shower so I've got a steamy environment to work in.

Another thing: even with a disposible, I'm not able to shave against the grain ever. ATG=horrible irritatoin and red bumps always and everytime. I can't even imagine what ATG with the straight razor would do. Does this indicate a certain type of facial hair that needs to be treated a special way with regards to the straight razor?

Also, I've been searching around this forum, and I think my razor is not shrp enough: it does not pass the HHT. Only if I grab the other side of the hair and pull it against the razor does the hair split, and I hear it do so. Where in NYC can I get a decent sharpening?

And overall, is there hope? I'm breaking my wife's heart by using the disposible, as the razor was an aniversiarry gift.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to SRP. Sure there is hope. If you've been shaving with a straight that long you know something about technique. I assume you stretch the skin while shaving ? Going ATG is something some guys never do and many, like me, only do ATG in certain areas and not others. I would bet that if you sent your razor to Lynn or to Glen and got it honed up it would work a lot better for you. At least don't give up until you try that. Also if you haven't already done so take a look at the SRP Wiki here for the shaving tutorials. There may be something in there that will help you.

Originally Posted by philaudio

Another thing: even with a disposible, I'm not able to shave against the grain ever. ATG=horrible irritatoin and red bumps always and everytime. I can't even imagine what ATG with the straight razor would do. Does this indicate a certain type of facial hair that needs to be treated a special way with regards to the straight razor?

I started with straights four months ago, hence I am a newbie too. I can never ever do ATG with disposables because it makes my face turn into a red mess. With straights, I have no issues with ATG whatsoever. Have you tried an ATG with a straight at all? Sideburns are a pretty safe location for experiments (with good stretching).

Based on your description, I would guess that you use too much pressure, perhaps because your razor is not sharp enough? I do not think that AoS pre sharpens razors for their customers, it likely is not shave ready and you compensate for lack of sharpness with pressure and bad angles.

Send it to one of the honemeisters, you will not regret it. See you around!

Don't give up! I can almost guarantee that 99% of the issue is that your razor is literally not very sharp. They don't come "shave ready" out of the box. Unless someone honed it for you after you bought it, you have been shaving with a dull razor for the last 6 months. My face would hurt too!!! Send it off to Lynn and enjoy the crisp shave when you get it back. It will feel like a million bucks. P/S- The Art Of Shaving does not hone them for you. It needs to be sent off to a honemeister.

+1 on sending to a honemeister you can find them here http://http://straightrazorpalace.co...wcat.php/cat/4

give it a little more time before you quit but if you find a srt8 is not for you try picking up a vintage gilette fatboy or merkur they still have more class than a disposable
good luck

http://http://www.rubylane.com/shops...heap/item/7669

there is always hope!!!
you haven't mentioned your stropping habits or tools. which are important.
the razor is probably not sharp enough, but the good news is that if you can shave with a dull razor now, a sharp one is going to be amazing. light pressure is a key aspect to keep in mind. if you need pressure to cut the hair then the blade isn't sharp.

good luck! get it honed and keep your spirits up!

Can I have your stuff?

Like I've posted in other places, moving to a more acidic shaving soap might help a lot, it did for me. I used to get irritation after every shave, but since switching to a more acidic soap, it makes my hairs stand up more and I get a smoother shave with less iritation. You might also want to try a shavette (cheap plastic ones have worked fine for me) which are as sharp as it gets and see if that helps.

Yeah, like the other guys have said, you probably need your razor to be honed... even if it was bought "shave ready" it's possible that with poor stropping (or other mistakes) that the edge is no longer as sharp as it needs to be. Also like Sparq said, you are probably using too much pressure, or too steep of an angle.

To share my own experience (and this is a bit embarrassing so bear with me)

My first "real straight razor shave" was with a .... ..... zeepk that my wife got me as a gift I thought it was really sharp out of the box and it did manage to take the hair off of my face without getting a nick (believe it or not... just never worked for another shave after that). My face was red, and burned a bit.. but not too bad. My shaves got worse and worse over time, and didn't seem to get as good of a shave as with my disposables.

I did my research for a while and learned about pressure and angles ect., then I got a good blade that was really shave ready and gave it a go.... it felt like shaving with a stick of butter, and the shave was oh so smooth....I was so amazed.

Just another comment, I was consistently able to shave with crappy blades without getting nicked, but I'll tell you honestly that I know my technique has improved tons since then... not getting nicks isn't always an indication of good technique.

There is hope... it does get better, and if you take things easy and focus on technique you will start to be really satisfied. good luck!

Send your razor out for honing. Keep up the practice and don't break your wife's heart.

Once you get that razor honed it should sing. Issard Razors are not slouches from what I hear.

Make sure you have a good strop, good soap/cream, and a good brush.

You may want to think about the fact your skin may be sensitive. In which case, dump the oil, and use a skin friendly soap/cream. Proraso/Bigelow or P160, or some unscented or almond based stuff.

What is your preshave prep aside from jumping out of the shower?

Take it slow.