Thread: First straight blade shave...did not go well at all. Im lost..

I would still say practice with a butter knife first. While you can start with a razor, you risk nicking the strop (something I did when I started), or rolling the edge of the razor, which can ruin a freshly sharpened edge. (Don't mistake rolling the edge with rolling the razor - rolling the razor refers to rolling it on its spine between your fingers to stroke the opposite direction; rolling the edge happens when you lift the spine up to change direction and end up wrecking that nicely sharpened edge).
Since you only have one sharpened razor and one strop I would advise taking some time to practice first. While the process and motion itself is fairly simple, commiting it to muscle memory will most likely yeild a more positive result when graduating to the razor.

I may go and practice with a butter knife today. Im off to our flea market now to pick up some cheap blades to practice with. Thanks again all

Alright, so i picked up a cheap blade (made in china...a Krieger i think its called lol). Ive been practicing stropping with it...the only thing is its much bigger than my good blade i got.

Do you all think i should go ahead and strop my new blade now? The reason im asking is because i want to attempt to shave again tonight. I know someone previously said i should attempt to shave with a dull blade first for practice...but this thing i just bought is very cheap. I dunno....

Thanks

Maybe you have the wrong grind.Maybe you need a stiffer grind ? I hone alot of razors and find when I test thinner(more flexible blades) grinds they tend to pull a little when my face prep isnt so good.Dont give up.When I first started I shaved all the easy areas with the straight and finished up with my vintage DE.I built up confidence and pretty soon I retired My DE,I still use it once in a while so not to forget the road I came down.Chin up and chest out mister,and dont let one bad shave get you down.

There are two videos in the wiki files that show stropping. After watching those two videos my stropping was fantastic. My blade is as hair poppin shave ready as it was when Vgod sent it to me. Propper stropping is the whole enchilada. I've had my blade almost a month shaving every other day and I have no need at all for paste or a hone. Once you get the stropping down...o0o0o0 boy.

Kriegar is on the SRP do-not-buy list, so I don't think stropping it will give you a decent reflection on your technique, as it's likely not going to take/keep a decent edge anyway. The whole point of the dull blade suggestion was so you can make a note of your angles and pressure while you PRETEND to shave with it. Using a dull razor still carries risks of nicks or cuts, which may be worse since it's dull - more pressure to cut, one slip or sideways movement and BAM! nasty cut. Just grab a butterknife from your kitchen and use that instead so you can see where your angles aren't right and correct them. If you're confident after the butterknife exercise, use your decent blade and give it a go on the cheeks and sideburns and see if it pulls less.

I haven't advised anybody to strop with a dull blade, but I believe the reason to do that is so that you can build some muscle memory w/o damaging your good edge or the strop.
So from that point of view yes, dull that kriegar razor further, run it over a glass or a plate or something, and practice stropping with it.

Originally Posted by gugi

I haven't advised anybody to strop with a dull blade, but I believe the reason to do that is so that you can build some muscle memory w/o damaging your good edge or the strop.
So from that point of view yes, dull that kriegar razor further, run it over a glass or a plate or something, and practice stropping with it.

Exactly, im not really looking to get the blade sharp or anything..it was 5 bucks. I just wanted to see how it felt to take an actualy blade across a strop.

In other news, i shaved for the third time today. 3 passes...wtg xtg and atg. It is not smooth to say the least but it went pretty well with a few nicks...nothing too bad. Im really having a hard time getting underneath my chin...overall im very happy with the results because this is the first time i have seen progress. I know everyone has been saying to strictly do the sideburns...but i simply couldnt resist.

Ive looked at plenty of diagrams and videos of people shaving under their chin no problem...it just seems a bit tough for me at this point but ill get it.

One last thing....i put on some after shave lotion and it soothed me ok. But this razor burn is no joke...really tender hours after the shave. Is this normal? Im guessing my skin is going to get used to this?

Originally Posted by shorynot

Exactly, im not really looking to get the blade sharp or anything..it was 5 bucks. I just wanted to see how it felt to take an actualy blade across a strop.

In other news, i shaved for the third time today. 3 passes...wtg xtg and atg. It is not smooth to say the least but it went pretty well with a few nicks...nothing too bad. Im really having a hard time getting underneath my chin...overall im very happy with the results because this is the first time i have seen progress. I know everyone has been saying to strictly do the sideburns...but i simply couldnt resist.

Ive looked at plenty of diagrams and videos of people shaving under their chin no problem...it just seems a bit tough for me at this point but ill get it.

One last thing....i put on some after shave lotion and it soothed me ok. But this razor burn is no joke...really tender hours after the shave. Is this normal? Im guessing my skin is going to get used to this?

That makes sense then, I thought you were planning to use it to work on your technique by trying to get it sharp. The chin's a tricky place to get to, as is the moustache area. I can get BBS everywhere but there, but I'm working on that. The razor burn could be due to a dull blade, too much pressure, incorrect angle, or too many passes over an area. That last reason is one of the reasons why it's recommended you start with just one part of your face, and only WTG, so it lets your skin get used to the blade, although I know from personal how tempting it is to keep going from just the sideburns.

If you try to only use enough pressure to keep the blade touching your face and let the weight of the blade do the work that should help with the burn, as will not giving into stubborn pride and going over and over one part until you get it perfect - you'll just make it raw. Use your old disposable or whatever you used to use to clean up that patch. You'll soon be reaching for it less and less as you improve. Stretching the area you're shaving good and tight will help as well, as it'll make the hairs stand up so you don't have to use as much pressure.

Stick at it, it only gets better from here!

shorynot:

You've received great advice. I'll not do that. Rather, let me try to encourage you. It will work. My first post was in Feb, this year, and was entitled:
Throw in the towell, SR and the strop that hasnt even arrived yet?
As you can imagine, my first attempt did not go well! Keep at it. You will do well.

Best wishes.