Thread: Hitting the brick wall.

So the past few weeks I have been exploring this straight razor thing. What is the big deal, I would ask myself. Since then I have three straights. One is honed by OLD_SCHOOL here on SRP, a GOTTA hamburg 120. Very cool razor. I also own a Henckels #50 that I love the look of and was honed by a member on B&B. I have greatly enjoyed the shaving process with a straight since starting. It's just awesome.

I can't get a good enough shave though. I hit a certain wall where I can get a decent shave, but I look five o clockish and am rough when I rub ATG on my face and neck. I think I may have been stropping incorrectly with my hollow razors. Hearing a "SCHINK SCHINK" ringing sound when I stropped. Well yesterday I heard a different sound and felt the strop pull the razor. I think this was the effect I should've been getting for the past few weeks. The sound is a lot more dull, but is smooth. It is hard to explain two different sounds over the internet though. Also going ATG hurts even with the razor is flat on my skin (including the spine). I think I was stropping wrong this whole time.


Sound the razor make a loud ringing noise when I strop or a more smooth duller sound with pulling when I strop? It is a full hollow razor.

This morning I was in a rush so I reached for my favorite DE, a GIllette 1926 NEW improved with feather blades. Now I see how bad my straight shaves are. This morning shave was amazing, super BBS and I feel like I haven't hit puberty yet from the Gillette NEW. The only hope I have to keep trying the straight is I have spent a lot of money on a tony miller Strop and THREE shave ready blades since starting. I also bought a yellow coticule for touching up the blades.

Was stropping the problem? I use a low angle ATG (spine on skin) and I don't go over 30 degress on any other passes. I don't use any pressure at all (almost negative actually) and I have good face prep since I have been shaving DE for six months.

I don't want to give up since I love my straights and strop, plus the coticule. I love the look of the razors and the process. But every video I see makes the shaves look amazing and mine are just okay now for the past three-four weeks.

I will preface this post with, I have much less experience than even you (I am an ultra newbie), but I did notice a similar phenomenon. I am also left with stubble when I run my hand ATG after a shave. But when I am shaving (which I still only do WTG), it feels like I am getting a close shave. This is interesting to me because when I shave with even an electric I do not have this happen. But like I said, I have even less experience than you, so I don't really know what is going on.

Disburden: Do you go WTG then ATG with no XTG? If so, try WTG + XTG + ATG.
If you try and still get a bad shave try increasing the angle of your blade a little while doing the ATG.

Also what pre shave prep do you do?
what kind of lather / soap do you use?

Everything gets better with practice.

Disburden & tadamsde are you stretching the skin when you shave ? Good preparation? Those things make a big difference IME. Does the razor pull at all in areas like the chin ? If a Razor pulls and I have done good prep and I'm using good technique I assume that whether through incorrect stropping or whatever the razor needs to be at the very least touched up if not re-honed.

I can't speak to the sound of the stropping thing but if you thionk you've got it now try 50 linen and 50 leather and then test shave. If that doesn't do it then maybe a touch up.

Disburden since you have a coticule you might take a look at Lynn's and heavydutysg's honing videos and try to touch up one of your blades. Maybe send another out to Old School or another honemiester and see if any of this makes a difference.

The loud ringing noise you talked about is often produced when full hollow razors are dragged along the strop with spine lifted above the surface of the strop...
Duller sound with the pulling or draw are good...
You can dull the shave ready razor in matter of seconds when stropping incorrectly...
First of all, examine your strop... Try to do the stropping motion with your fingers and try to feel if there are ANY irregularities in the strop surface, like dry spots, different draw and things like that...
Then examine your technique, try to do some slower motions and then try to progressively raise the stropping speed... You don't have to break records in stropping speed, but IMHO faster stropping leaves a smoother edge... And always remember that stropping requires NO pressure... The weigh of the blade is enough...

I'll explain my prep for you guys. Like I said, I have been getting really nice BBS from my DE:

Hot shower
Wash face in shower then put hot cloth on my face. Brush is soaking while I shower as well as the soaps. I use T&H, and Tabac soaps. When I am in a cream mood I use Trumpers or Taylors. I love TGC soaps too.

Out of the shower I build lather on my face, then put a steaming hot towel over it. I then wipe the lather off and reapply. I then strop my razor 40 pases on canvas side and then about 60 on the leather side.

I then go WTG, XTG, and ATG. The razor pulls ATG on my neck and chin. Everywhere else seems okay when ATG.

After the shave I use a lotion or an aftershave (Aqua Velva blue).

The shave is okay, but I still have some shadow and it feels rough when I rub my neck and chin areas. I use a flat angle ATG and a higher angle when I do my other passes.

I used the coticule to touch up the blades and they felt smoother on my face (didn't pull AS MUCH) but the shave was still not great, but okay and better than when I woke up in the morning.

EDIT: I should also mention that the pulling and shaves haven't been worse since I started, but the shaves aren't amazing like I hear straight shaving is.

Originally Posted by Robert1988

The loud ringing noise you talked about is often produced when full hollow razors are dragged along the strop with spine lifted above the surface of the strop...
Duller sound with the pulling or draw are good...
You can dull the shave ready razor in matter of seconds when stropping incorrectly...
First of all, examine your strop... Try to do the stropping motion with your fingers and try to feel if there are ANY irregularities in the strop surface, like dry spots, different draw and things like that...
Then examine your technique, try to do some slower motions and then try to progressively raise the stropping speed... You don't have to break records in stropping speed, but IMHO faster stropping leaves a smoother edge... And always remember that stropping requires NO pressure... The weigh of the blade is enough...

That's what I thought I felt the ringing sound was due to improper stropping. It is hard for me to see if the spine is perfectly flat on the strop ,since I wear glasses but can't shave with them on due to the steamy bathroom enviornment. I think the duller sound with some pull on the strop was what I was supposed to be acheiving.

You've got the prep down. Yours is better then mine. I really would send one to Lynn and get it honed and you'll have something to compare the other two with. My personal guess is that the razors need a little work.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

You've got the prep down. Yours is better then mine. I really would send one to Lynn and get it honed and you'll have something to compare the other two with. My personal guess is that the razors need a little work.

I don't know if the original honing was the issue either. OLD_SCHOOL seems to know what he is doing when it comes to honing razors. If my stropping was incorrect for the first few weeks, would stropping correctly fix this?

Originally Posted by Disburden

I don't know if the original honing was the issue either. OLD_SCHOOL seems to know what he is doing when it comes to honing razors. If my stropping was incorrect for the first few weeks, would stropping correctly fix this?

Maybe. It can't hurt to try and see. IME most incorrect stropping can be cured by correct stropping, but that ringing noise is a pretty good indicator that the spine is lifting, and you've had several weeks to really hurt the edge. At any rate I wouldn't send the razors off to a honemeister just yet. You need to fix your stropping first or the spiffy new edge won't last a second.

What you're looking for on the linen side is a swish or possibly a faint zipping note, and on the leather side you should get a smooth swishing sound. If you watch Lynn's DVD again pay attention to the noise the razor is making on the strop.

Get one of your razors (whichever one is the dullest) and use it for your practice stropping the next few days, and go ahead and stick with your DE while you practice on your stropping. Your face can probably use the rest. I'd practice on the canvas side for several reasons (a) you're less likely to nick it (b) it's cheaper to replace if you do nick it (c) it makes more noise, and you can use that to help you recognize when you're doing it right (d) once you're doing it right then the canvas will also do a better job of recovering the original edge. Once you're getting that sibilant zipping noise, go ahead and practice for a few hundred more laps until it's second nature. Remember to keep your strop tight and use as little pressure as possible during this, or else you'll continue damaging the edge even if it "sounds right" (though not as much damage as lifting the spine). After a few hundred laps of this without getting any ringing noise, then switch to the leather side and give it another hundred laps, then give it a test shave and see if it's better.