Thread: Noob Post

friday's shave was better.

could my strop just not be broken in? i has almost no draw. i did use some strop dressing which seemed to soften it a little an give it some more draw.

i did that on wednesday and on thursday i seemed to have much better results after i stropped it.

monday i'll have at it again

thanks!

One thing that's helped me get better shaves has been a real intensive focus on beard prep and stropping technique. I got a good BBS shave yesterday in 3 passes using Williams Mug Soap. I relathered constantly and stropped between passes. Learning new grips made the XTG and ATG passes much easier to control the pressure on. Also, scything and guillotine strokes done GENTLY pick off even the flattest whiskers.

well this shave was a touch better again.

i think i could use some better beard prep techniques. maybe having a little more time to spend on my face and getting it nice and hot and letting the lather do its work will do the trick.

stropping is really helping. i'm going to order a new shaving cream tomorrow though

Michael, have you tried using hot towels? Put a hot towel on your face after you have washed it. Let is sit until it starts getting cool, Lather up. Put another hot towel on for a couple of min, Lather again and shave. It really helps soften the beard to get a closer shave.

+1 with all the above. Now I'll ask the dumb question. Was your razor shave ready when you got it?

i have tried the hot towels.... and yes it was shave ready straight from straight razor design.

the castle and forbes lime shaving cream works wonders... the shave was not necessarily any easier (byt this point i'm sure mosnt of it is just my technique) but i had no razor burn or iritation of any kind when i was done...

i'm still cleaning things up with my cartridge razor when all is said and done, so i normally get it nice and close... but i can say this cream really made a difference on how smooth of a shave i got.

You might try really lightening up on the pressure too. It doesn't take any pressure with a truly keen edge.

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