Thread: Second shave (and first nick(s))

So, despite saying I would wait for my brush etc to arrive before I had my second shave with a straight, I gave in tonight and had a second shave anyway. I used a square/spike point Kraut & Donal "Regina", and had a mixed bag of results. I did a full WTG/ATG shave, and again missed some bits (I think due to not stretching skin properly). I went over these bits again, and that was when my first nick occurred - I lost focus on my mo area, and the blade sank into my cheek. Not much, the blade's too small to sink in much cos it's so light, but enough to smart and ooze a little blood. The styptic stopped the bleeding after a minute or so though, and cleared up another spot where I took the top off a wee bump on my cheek.

The blade feels like it's pulling though (both shaves), and I'm not sure if it's the blade or the beard prep - I got the bloke who sold it to me to give it a touch-up so it might not be the blade. Regarding the beard, I had a hot shower, put hair conditioner on my beard, and used boiling hot lather (made with a crappy nylon brush, which may have contributed). Could the pulling have been caused by not stretching my skin properly, or is it more likely to be beard prep or blade?

what about stropping? a good stropping will make a huge difference in the apparent sharpness of the blade.

my first shaves were pretty much like yours, until I realized that I wasn't putting enough pressure on the blade during stropping. Take a look at the stropping videos on the wiki, and see how much their strops deflect downards during the strokes, that helped me to visualize how much pressure they were putting on the blade. good luck.

Originally Posted by MuzzleVelocity

what about stropping? a good stropping will make a huge difference in the apparent sharpness of the blade.

my first shaves were pretty much like yours, until I realized that I wasn't putting enough pressure on the blade during stropping. Take a look at the stropping videos on the wiki, and see how much their strops deflect downards during the strokes, that helped me to visualize how much pressure they were putting on the blade. good luck.

Hey MV,

Thanks for the post, that's great advice. As it says in the Wiki about stropping pressure, "Not too much, not too little. That's about as precise as a description as you will get." Which doesn't help a n00b all that much, guess one has to just do it and learn.

My question is this... Do different blades require different pressure/technique? All of my razors are 5/8, full hollow. However I have a couple spike, and a couple rounded.

Just curious if there's anything I need to be on the lookout for when stropping a different type of razor.

Thanks!

WP421

Originally Posted by warpigs421

Hey MV,

Thanks for the post, that's great advice. As it says in the Wiki about stropping pressure, "Not too much, not too little. That's about as precise as a description as you will get." Which doesn't help a n00b all that much, guess one has to just do it and learn.

My question is this... Do different blades require different pressure/technique? All of my razors are 5/8, full hollow. However I have a couple spike, and a couple rounded.

Just curious if there's anything I need to be on the lookout for when stropping a different type of razor.

Thanks!

WP421

My experience is that for full hollows, you should just use enough pressure to consistently keep the entire blade flat on the strop during your stroke. Because of the thinness of the blade, if you use too much pressure, you can cause the edge to bend upwards.

For the less-hollow or near-wedge blades, I feel like I need a little more pressure to ensure the length of the bevel maintains contact with the strop. Could be a personal thing, but I get great shaves with both my full hollows and my quarter-to-near wedge blades.

Hope this helps.

Right here in the SRP Wiki is an excerpt from a barber manual on stropping and honing that is very informative. Read it carefully and you will pick up some useful tips. I try to keep a bit of pressure on the spine while stropping and flip the blade between my thumb and forefinger without bending my wrist.

The barber manual recommends practicing the flipping without moving your arm at first. Take your time. Speed will come with practice. Smooth is more important at first. As far as the shave. It takes time to learn to manipulate the blade on the different areas of the face and neck and coordinate it all with skin stretching and blade angle. All of it works together.

IME a shave ready razor should glide and cut the whiskers without pulling. Read my sig line below to avoid future nicks and cuts. Works for me. Take a look at the tutorials in the SRP Wiki here if you haven't already.

Good facial prep is a must. Along with proper stropping. Another thing. Although it is really tempting to just go for the gusto and do it all, and expecting great results, we have advised people new to straights to just shave the area between the sideburns and jaw line, and WTG only. There is a reason for this. It is the easiest place to shave and learn. You have to get a feel for how the razor feels in your hands and against your face. Also, you need to learn the angles and pressures.

I didn't strop as I don't have one yet (it's coming with my brush), but since the razors were sold to me by a member here as being shave-ready, I took them at their word. However, Jimmy's post seems to suggest they're not shave-ready, as they're pulling, and I don't think that that's a result of my prep. I'll see if a good stropping does the job, and if not I'll have to send them off to be honed.

I have a new Dovo honed by Lynn, but I'm not going to use that until the brush arrives so I can have a proper lather - the miserable stuff my nylon brush makes will likely result in my having half my face removed. We'll see if the properly honed blade makes a difference, and if not it must be the prep.

Originally Posted by mosley59

I didn't strop as I don't have one yet (it's coming with my brush), but since the razors were sold to me by a member here as being shave-ready, I took them at their word.

I strongly suspect the razor is fine. However, I think you are trying to run before you walk. You need to strop prior to EACH shave. There is no getting around this if you expect decent results. It has been mentioned several times already, but it is worth repeating. Start with just the area between the sideburn and jaw line, and WTG only. Learn how the razor feels in your hand and against your skin. Angles and pressures are critical in shaving with a straight razor. Once you are comfortable with that area you can move to other areas of your face, and add XG and ATG strokes. You are trying to do them all at once. Take a your time. It is not a race.

It is also a good thing to get a copy of Lynn's CD. In it he will show you how to perform blade maintenance, from stropping to honing. It really is a good investment.

I think it's a combination of my n00b-isnness, and the blade - I tried it out on my arm hair compared to the Lynn-honed Dovo, and it still pulled, compared to the Dovo. Hopefully a good stropping on the Fromm strop I have on the way will sort that out. However, the difference in the amount of pull present doesn't seem to me to be completely responsible for the shaving experience, so I think it's possibly also my prep and lack of skin stretching coming into play. I'm fairly confident I have the angles and pressures right (at least on the sideburns. cheeks, and under-jaw area - the jawline corners and odd hollows are another matter). As Dan suggests though, I'm going to take it back to basics and work on my prep and stretching on the relatively simple areas of my cheeks and sideburns before graduating to the neck/chin/mo areas - I may give into temptation and give it a go on the neck area, but the Mach 3 will be on hand, and I'll limit myself to one pass, after which Captain Cartridge will take over the job.

I'm going to stick with it though - despite the nicks, need for a Mach3 touch-up, and lack of BBS, I've really enjoyed my two shaves so far, and the feeling of my freshly shaved skin on the pillow is impossible to describe, suffice to say it's incredible. I'm hooked.

Well if it pulled on arm hair that ain't a good sign. OTOH what Dan said about running before you can walk may be the issue. Many shavers new to straight razors blame the razor when a lack of technique is the problem. The skin stretching is really very important IME as is the blade angle and the direction of attack. Hollows in the neck are best pulled flat and in the cheek puffed up with air like a trumpet player. When I am stretching the skin pulling up towards my ear the razor should glide through the stubble along the side of my jaw and chin. If the razor pulls down alongside the chin I figure it isn't sharp enough. That is with my particular beard. YMMV.