Thread: HELP

Hello, I am having some more trouble hahaha. newbies right? anyway i have now been shaving with my straight razor for about 4 days now and when I shave the razor still leaves a lot of stubble (even after a few passes) Does this just come with time and experiance or am I just lost?

Sounds like it was not sharp enough.Was your razor sharpened by a pro?

have you tried the different passes? WTG XTG AGT?
try watching some videos, xman's is rather good ...
http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...technique.html
also jockeys ...
http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...an-shaven.html

try also ...
Different ways to hold a straight razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki
for different grips

and read up on stretching, basically what i have gathered is ...
stretch the skin in the opposite direction of shaving with WTG and in the same direction with ATG. not to sure with XTG
also, i do think that it comes with experience as everything.
i've had my 3rd shave yesterday, it was the closest one i've done, and with least cuts. but still not BBS. the chin area is the trickiest for me.
i'd suggest, look at all the stuff i've posted here, and just keep trying, if you don't get a smooth shave, just wait a couple days and do it again. have fun with it.
cheers.

[edit] and yes you'd need a sharp razor ...

welcome to the srp.
Try make your face ready for shave .hot water,soap etc. then strop your blade and go to shave. Please don't be afraid to change angles when you shave you may find 1 angle razor acts different then next one.
Next don't use any shaving oil to shave it gives more problems then help.
Lastly sharpness of the blade. It could be not sharp enough . Let us know how it works and i am sure you will get plenty enough help in here including sharpening your blade. gl

Could you describe your razor? What is the brand? Where did you get it? Was it described as shave ready and do you know if it was honed?

You may be dragging the equivalent of a butter knife around your face.

In addition to the above excellent suggestions, keep at what you are doing. Until you have mastered your whole face with XG and ATG it is rare to get a BBS using WTG only. Work on you angles and pressures, in addition to stretching the skin. 4 days is just the beginning of this great experience. As you gain proficiency, your angles and pressures will begin to be second nature. Don't get discouraged after just 4 shaves. Hey, after 11 months I don't get a BBS with WTG stokes only.

My razor was pre sharpened. it is a dovo ronney razor that came in a package deal type thing. here is the link for it.

Gift Sets & Gift Ideas

Looks like the razor should be sharp if you got it here.
Did you shave with it 'before' you stropped it on the leather for the first time?
If your not carful and to heavy handed you can dull your razor on the strop. But im sure you read that you need to keep tension on your strop when your stropping and not to apply to much down pressure, right.....?
Give us your step by step process. Shower, pre shave cream.... lather etc.

And watch that video if you havnt already. Even if you have to skip to the 'how to shave' bit. He gives a good explanation. Go Lyn!

+Buckler

I got that exact set and I watched the whole video already.

Step by step I use the lenin side about 30 times and fthen do the same on the leather side. I shower and wash my face then I make my lather. Hot water on my brush and flick it off then start making my circles in my mug till I get a really nice lather (takes forever hahaha) adding water if needed. then apply, work in, and shave.

Originally Posted by Kaspar

I got that exact set and I watched the whole video already.

Step by step I use the lenin side about 30 times and fthen do the same on the leather side. I shower and wash my face then I make my lather. Hot water on my brush and flick it off then start making my circles in my mug till I get a really nice lather (takes forever hahaha) adding water if needed. then apply, work in, and shave.

60% of my learning challenge was finding the right angles and the right touch to consistently achieve BBS results.
40% of my learning challenge was understanding when and how to keep the fine edge on my straight razor.

I did invest in a 4 sided pasted strop to help keep the straight blade sharpend to my preference. I finally figured out that my straight razor needs about 10 passes on the pasted strop every few shaves to keep the fine edge I enjoy.

Good Luck,

Pabster