Thread: Noobulous cut

Nooblulous (noob-u-lus): Things a new guy does. Me.



Yes, it is true. I am a new guy at straight razor shaving. Any and all constructive criticism and laughing is welcomed.

Here is my problem gang. I have been straight shaving for a few months now and I don't force myself to do this everyday to help acquire the skill with this steep learning curve.

I purchased a DE with 165 blade sample pack, too. So rather than reaching for the Dovo and practice my stropping and shaving I have looked the other way and said to myself "The Sputnik blade looks appealing today. I think the DE would be a splendid idea."

Sadly, my strops hang there giving the bathroom the glorious appearance of a man that knows how to shave with old timer skills almost long lost. My Dovo sits.

My skills with the straight thus diminish and my learning curve for the straight razor could be best summed up on a graph that looks like the stock market crash of 1929 in the United States.

So, it was last night that I decided that I should hide my DE and Feather and force myself into a daily routine of using the straight razor. I had already given myself a razor stimulus package by having gssixgun hone my Dovo so now was the time to hop off the left foot and do the right thing. It is imperative that I learn how shave with this beautiful intstrament so that I can not only enjoy the close shave daily without irritation but also get the chance to possess a skill that so few have in this day in age.

For now I have decided to focus on just going WTG and I am confident to go XTG on my face but I will use ATG on the neck with DE on "date night". Sometimes to take a a step forward you need to take a step back. Back to the basics. I check the angle of my razor to verify the 30º. I'm using the guillotine method and find this to be a smoother cut and far less harsh.
First pass was excellent. There is the smooth everyone talks about. Other side of the face was not so excellent. Some small stubble was left behind.

No worries, I'll move on to the neck WTG. No rush. Just make sure it's done correctly. Practice form now and the speed will come later. More stubble left after the first passes. Ok, I'll try the 3 finger method and apply a slight bit more pressure maintaining the proper 30º angle. Still stubble.

*frustrated*

Well, screw you Mr. Dovo! I'm gonna fire your ass! I'm going back to my face to focus on the nice shave and come back to the neck in a bit.

*fat cut*

NO, screw you, Logistics! Signed... - Mr. Dovo

Great story!

I'm nearly a month in to using a straight, but I don't have a DE, so I've pretty much used the straight razor only. I'm still getting the odd cut though, usually when I change angle while still holding the blade to my face. Why I don't remember to take the blade off my face, change angle, then put the blade back on my face I don't know, but I often look like my face has been run over by a rotary lawn mower. Still, the cuts are getting fewer and fewer and I haven't had any razor burn for a couple of weeks, so I think I'm getting the pressure right.

Stories like yours do reassure me that I'm not the only one bearing a few battle wounds from my struggle to master the straight razor!

Don't let frustration cause you to increase pressure. Concentrate on perfecting your ability to shave the easier areas, from ear to jaw. For the time being, just tidy up with the DE. This should help take the pressure off you to get a perfect shave with the straight. 30 degrees is hard to judge, particularly when moving around the chin & neck. Instead try to maintain 2 spines width.
It's just a case a practise & you will master it!

I agree with Ben . Don't increase the pressure or the angle . I made that mistake when I first started shaving with a straight , and gave myself two nasty cuts which almost caused me to give up on straight razors .

After you get done beating that Dovo into submission

Send it back out to me and I'll re-touch that edge for you...

No Charge .. Thanks for the use of the Feather, and the DVD's of the Meet you sent me...

Yeah, pressure with a straight razor is a recipe for disaster. No surprise that there's still some stubble after the first pass so just do another pass, XTG next and don't add any pressure. In fact lighten up in general and see how little pressure you can get away with. With a truly sharp edge you'll be surprised how little it takes.

X

Everyone gets cuts when learning to become proficient and then you can still get a cut for not paying attention or being careless/unattentive.

Getting is honed is wise so you get a fresh start with sharpness and then you can focus on technique. Nothing wrong with using the DE to compliment the training effort. Just keep the faith to become efficient.

Looking back, the learning curve was a great time of discovery.

Pabster

oh cool, i like nice reads, especially at somebody else expense

well, at least now you have that razor with as good of an edge as it can have, so it's perfect for learning.
and the man says he'll make it good again! - now i think that faucet may be just the thing to teach that razor a really good lesson

Sorry to read of your cut, good story though. I have backed off trying straight shaving for a little while, maybe just getting a little impatient. Although I find the advice offered to you inspiring. But first things first, I'm going to send a razor (or two) out to be honed, before attempting again.

How did you get your cut? It appears that either the tip did it or you were doing a stroke down your face and the body of the blade did it. Since I don't think Dovo makes a spike, and it's pretty hard to cut yourself with a rounded point, I'll go with the second.

When you get a cut like that, it's either because of too steep an angle, a sideways movement, or a mix of both. From here, it's a simple technique change to fix it (and this assumes you have good quality lather). Instead of a straight cut like a guillotine, try a scythe movement at a lesser angle. I have a scar from a cut similar to yours, and it was made because I forgot to scythe. With this movement, you should find that you cut hairs more easily.

As always, increasing pressure and angle is never the answer. You'll just tear your skin up and get a terrible shave. You want just enough angle so that it's actually traveling through your beard. As for pressure, as little as possible is usually a good choice.