Thread: noob <<

I love this forum!

My wife got me a straight razor (basic soligen steel, forgot the name and i'm at work) for my birthday and I've been giving myself a weekly shave with it since. I assumed that since I knew how to properly sharpen a knife I was in the clear. Obviously... I'm sending it off for honing after a brief bit of lurking here.

The good... I have a boar bristle brush and mug with decent shaving soap, a linen n leather strop, and a barbers stone for maintaining the hone.

The bad...The instructions with the strop didn't mention conditioning the leather, so it's been used without any kind of hand oil or anything else. Poor little thing!

The ugly...The first few experiences shaving were... invigorating? Excruciating? No, not that bad, but rather unpleasant. I had assumed it was shave ready (woops) and then went about putting an edge on it myself. Much improved, but... nothing like what I had hoped for when I made the switch.

Anyway, I'm hoping to overcome my limitation. I can get a decent shave now with my razor, though it's not as fast as I'd like. But I absolutely cannot shave my upper lip. The blade just tugs at the stiff hairs and the pain instantly makes my eyes water and I give up. Till I get the honed blade back, I'm going to assume it's a sharpness issue and not a lack of manliness.

Welcome to SRP ! Glad you like the forum. If you haven't already looked at it the SRP Wiki has a bunch of tutorials here.

Probably a sharpness issue, and some technique too. Welcome to SRP! Good move on sending that to a honemeister, you'll see a big difference. Good luck!

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.)

Originally Posted by envygreen

... I can get a decent shave now with my razor, though it's not as fast as I'd like. But I absolutely cannot shave my upper lip. The blade just tugs at the stiff hairs and the pain instantly makes my eyes water and I give up. Till I get the honed blade back, I'm going to assume it's a sharpness issue and not a lack of manliness.

heh ... If scented soaps and facial balms are manly enough for you, by all means, get it honed up.

X

balms and scented soaps? sounds good to me

my wife likes the post shave cheeks. it just takes too long with the razor right now to do it daily. i checked and my razor is a Col. Conk. Seemed like a serviceable if not fancy starter. I think she wanted to get me something a bit more swank but didn't know about getting a restored antique. High end new razors seem a bit... pricey.

Anyway, I'll update when the honed blade comes back. Thanks again for the welcome.

A shave ready razor won't tug on your lip like that. Send it to someone for honing. After you get it back, you should feel a big difference. Also straight shaving takes time to learn. The videos on youtube really make it look easy like you can just swipe hair away with ease. That's not the case..