Thread: Hitting the brick wall.

Nick,

I have been in a similar boat as you. About the time I feel like giving up something happens to enlighten me. Usually it has something to do with a sharper razor and a better shave. As new people to straights we have a learning curve as to what is sharp. The advice to learn how to strop and get a known sharp razor is perfect advice. We have to learn what is sharp!

It appears you are in New York, There are a number of SRP members from your area. Have you tried to find someone close to you? If you could that would be a fantastic thing. Kind of like quitting smoking, have a partner. The reason I mention this is I am very fortunate to have two people close to me that use straights. We get together and share information, good and bad. That has given me huge hope and learning adjustments.

I messed up a couple razors stropping with hanging strops due to technique. You might try laying that hanging strop on a counter top and stropping your razors as if the stop was on a bench. That is what I have done with great results. The bench motion takes out a couple variables that could be messing you up.

and hang in there.
Rick

So this morning, I had about four hours before I had to go to work. While watching the history of the Freemasons on the History Channel I decided to do a few laps on my Coticule with my Full Hollow Gotta Hamburg Ring. I wet the stone and did about 20 laps on the yellow Coticule with extremely light pressure. I then tried to shave some hair off my forearm. It worked, but I figured I'd do ten more laps.

After that I went right to the leather strop, which I moved to my bedroom since starting the thread. The strop now hangs at a higher point, which for some reason, seems easier to strop. I did about 40 laps on leather and went right to the shower.

I don't know why, but the shave was a lot better than the last time. I did do a few touch ups on my neck and under my chin with my Gillette NEW but overall the shave wasn't painful like last time. Maybe it was the coticule, maybe it was the stropping, maybe it was the awesome video I watched at Rasurpur.de last night. The video showed me how slow and careful you should be when using a straight unlike other videos on here where the guys just zip through a stroke like it's nothing. I am still deciding on which razor to send out for honing, but right now I am pretty happy.

Keep ya posted.

You sound far more optimistic! Good stuff!

It's amazing what a little Cr0 will do to improve your shaves. Last night I thought to myself, "maybe the edge lost a little keeness along the way" on my GOTTA. So I did 10 laps on the Cr0 and the blade all of a sudden popped hairs off my legs and arms. Then I did the HHT and the blade cut the hanging piece of hair about 6 times until there was nothing left to cut.

This morning:

Best straight shave I have ever had. I missed a spot under my jawline, but under the chin is smooth as can be.


Last night I ordered a BBW with slurry stone to go with my Yellow Coticule. anyone have a system to touch up razors with both stones? According to Bart, the blue is a SLOWER cutter than the yellow with slurry.

Sounds great Disburden...

I use a BBW with slurry(50 laps then dilute it till its just water) and then a coticule with water. works great.

I never use my coticule with slurry as I only use it to polish the edge after the BBW..

I've tried stropping on newspaper after that and that really helps..

good luck and its good to see you are having more success now!

Maarten

Originally Posted by Disburden

Thanks a lot, guys, for all the helpful advice. When I first started a few weeks ago, I thought maybe my facial hair is just really corse especially since the razors were pulling alittle from the start before I stropped (it is I have been shaving since I was 13), but then I watched a lot of videos and the ease of the shave in the videos was a lot different than my experiences. It seemed like the razors cut through like butter when I saw other guys shave on youtube. I will continue to try this method of shaving, since I enjoy it a lot, and I will continue to improve my stropping. These things are hard to pick up when you're learning alone, there is no one in the room to show you what you are doing wrong and what it looks like to do it right.

Just so you don't feel left out I feel exactly as you have posted. I've been DE shaving for a while and it feels great, my Straight shaves are exactly to the letter as you have described, so it's nice to have someone in the same boat as me. I watch those videos on youtube and expect my straight to just swipe the hairs away like some kinda light saber, but in reality it really pulls and stings. I am working on technique and hopefully will improve my stropping as well. BTW my straight was honed by Lynn so I know it's all my fault.

Jaydawg

These things helped me:

Learning to strop evenly with the spine on the strop the whole time. This is a big one and I didn't notice I was doing it wrong until about a week ago (I am 8 weeks into straights). I downloaded some audio files of what stropping SHOULD sound like and I was doing it completely wrong.

Lather is different with straights, weird huh? Straight like a thinner slicker lather than my DEs do, where they lick thick fluffy lather.

Angle: I found I was using too steep of an angle on my face and now that I've lowered it and cut down to SUPER NON EXISTENT pressure things got better. with ATG I use the blade so flat angled that the spine is touching me.

Prep: I shower before I shave, AND use the hot towel method after I get out of the shower. I use a steaming hot towel . this really helped.

Originally Posted by Disburden

These things helped me:

Learning to strop evenly with the spine on the strop the whole time. This is a big one and I didn't notice I was doing it wrong until about a week ago (I am 8 weeks into straights). I downloaded some audio files of what stropping SHOULD sound like and I was doing it completely wrong.

Lather is different with straights, weird huh? Straight like a thinner slicker lather than my DEs do, where they lick thick fluffy lather.

Angle: I found I was using too steep of an angle on my face and now that I've lowered it and cut down to SUPER NON EXISTENT pressure things got better. with ATG I use the blade so flat angled that the spine is touching me.

Prep: I shower before I shave, AND use the hot towel method after I get out of the shower. I use a steaming hot towel . this really helped.

Nick,

What a great thread this has been for me to follow. You going through the process to find out what is wrong and what you can do to improve, etc., etc.. This takes me back to my 1st six months of experimenting with the process. I am impressed with your thought process and your willingness to investigate how to improve the quality of your shaves.

When I read about newbies having problems with their shaves and their razors' edges, usually this tells me the cullpret is going to be their stropping techniques. You can look at so many things in this regard: The height and angle at which you strop, the position of your elbow (no, not your golf swing), the position of your wrist, how you flip the razor (with the wrist or your fingers), the pressure of the razor to the leather, how to keep a nice smooth stroke with the blade flat during that stroke, etc., etc.. I will share with you that stropping properly was the hardest thing for me to get!!! It was four months before I started to GET IT, and it was then, and only then, that the quality of my shaves began to improve. HDBG!! I really hate acronyms! So, I thought I would through in my own: Hot Damn, Bobby Joe!

The stropping thing is something we all have to learn, otherwise, we will never be able to improve and go forth with this str8 razor shaving gig. Some GET IT sooner than others, but we all have to GET IT!

* I think you're doing great!

Regards,

Steve

Originally Posted by Disburden

Maybe it was the coticule, maybe it was the stropping, maybe it was the awesome video I watched at Rasurpur.de last night. The video showed me how slow and careful you should be when using a straight unlike other videos on here where the guys just zip through a stroke like it's nothing. I am still deciding on which razor to send out for honing, but right now I am pretty happy. Keep ya posted.

If you every watched either of the videos I did, you will see that I use small strokes to shave followed by a little longer clean up strokes. After all these years of shaving with a straight razor, I still do the same. No reason at all to take on an entire side of your face, neck or chin with one stroke either with, against or across the grain.

The best recommendation still for new people is to just shave one portion of the face only until you get used to how the straight razor shaves. Although at this point you are beyond that, I still recommend that when you switch razors or get a new one that you need to figure that razor out as they all have different handles, widths, blade shapes, etc, and therefore will shave a little differently. It is worth the time to figure them out before jumping in on the whole face.

Sounds like you're getting there.

All the best,

Lynn

Hey, ever wonder why we shave? I recently read a survey where the women canvassed said they prefer men who look like the models or actors who have 4-7 days growth: "it's macho."

So let's all go out and get a Wahl that'll cut the whiskers down to about an 3/16" and then figure out how we'll fight off the throngs of our new admirers. We'd never again have to worry about the sound of the proper strop or how hangs the hair or if your thumb got an A on its last quiz.

Stubble is butch