Finally figuring this thing out.

I've been shaving with a straight razor for a few weeks now, and I mentioned the unfortunate results of a little inattentiveness in an earlier post.

While my shaves improved significantly with experience, they were still not anywhere near as close as my shaves with a DE (though considerably better than my shaves with an electric). One of the real problems I was having was shaving against the grain. This was partly because I just hadn't worked out how to effectively do ATG passes, and it was partly because I have coarse, thick hair. It didn't seem to matter how sharp the razor was, it would skip occasionally. I got one of them honed by a pro, and still had the same problems.

Anyway, on advice from here, I got a wedge. This seems to have been the silver bullet. The shaves improved considerably immediately. Not yet BBS, but certainly DFS. The main change is that the shave is so much more comfortable, even ATG. There are still a couple of spots where I haven't figured out how to hold the razor for an optimum attack angle (under the jaw, near the joint -- ATG would be up and out).

Anyway, the pointers I received on this forum have helped a lot.

Thanks a lot, guys.

Go slow and enjoy the process. Remember, "perfection is a direction, not a destination."

Lewis

Glad you're making progress. You might find this section and the two following sections useful. I found that skin stretching and proper buffing technique made all the difference for the ATG pass.

Good luck, and do keep us updated on your progress.

Regards,
Robin

Once your get even better with the wedge, you should try revisiting your other razors. As long as they are adequately sharp, they should be able to shave you just fine once you have improved your technique.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Once your get even better with the wedge, you should try revisiting your other razors. As long as they are adequately sharp, they should be able to shave you just fine once you have improved your technique.

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That's what I figured.

When I started DE shaving, I had the best results initially with the heavier DE razors. They're still very comfortable, but I actually get better shaves now with some of the lighter, but more aggressive, razors.

I'll use the wedge until I get all the required strokes down, and then give the others a shot again.

With the occasional oops, your shaves will continue to get better and better... :beer1:

Sounds like angle to me. Once you get it down, you'll be able to enjoy all your razors for what they are. There's a learning curve...