Thread: noob <<

Sounds like you are floundering around a little. The learning curve can be a little daunting at times. Start slowly. Shave just the area between your sideburns and jawlines, and WTG only at first. Will your shave be BBS? No, of course not. What you should work on is the pressure (very little) and your angles (30 degrees is optimum, about 2 widths of the spine). Get comfortable with the blade and the way it feels in your hands and against your face. You can finish your shave with your other razor. As you gain confidence you can add other areas, and XG and ATG. I added new areas and techniques on my days off when I was not rushed. Don't get discouraged. We've managed to learn, you can too. Just take your time. It's not a race...

thanks for the welcome and the advice!

honestly though, aside from the upper lip issue, i've had no problems. my skin is less irritated, I enjoy the shave, and I can go cross or against grain for sideburns/cheeks and parts of the neck.

i just felt that the blade wasn't as sharp as it should have been so started searching around for clues and found this place. now to get honed and see what happens.

Most, if not all razors can be made to feel 'sharp', direct from the factory or as a new/ old purchase. However a 'shave-ready' sharpness is incredibly so. The feel (careful!) of a shave-ready-honed blade from one of the meisters here is the true measure to set a reference point for future comparison. You may be surprised!

There are a number of sharpness tests detailed in the wiki that will give guidance. Don't worry, be patient and hang around here for all the information you need. Welcome.

Moggs - 3 months in and proud owner of 3 x shaptons and a dragon's tongue(!), 6 x razors, 3 x brushes, strops, soaps and creams, lotions, balms and aftershaves, various other bits and pieces, - (somebody please tell me if this is becoming an obsession won't you...)?

Welcome to SRP!

Don't worry, once you have a well-honed razor and a bit of experience things improve rapidly. I'm a few months in to straight shaving and the top lip is laughably easy now. When I started I thought against the grain or even across the grain passes were impossible on my face, now I can do them all over. I still have a lot to learn, but I enjoy every shave.

I'm sure your strop is fine, you can condition it a little just by wiping your palm down it daily. (I go a bit further by rubbing my fingers over my oily nose then over the strop haha.)

welcome to srp. your shave will be a whole new experience when you get your blade back. you might want to think about getting a badger brush later down the road you can get a vulvix at vintageblades for about $25 and i highly recommend some mamabears soap keep us posted

Welcome to SRP!

Well you learned how a not so shave ready razor feels like... thats a good thing.
Now you will learn how to shave with a shave ready razor.

Dward gave you all the good tips I was thinking of..

Good luck and have fun!

Maarten