Thread: Just reward for my impatience

So a bought a straight razor set from SRD. Prima Klang, SRD soap (Sandlewood), SRD silver tip brush #2 and I picked up Lynn's DVD (very good by the way). First time out so my plan was to follow Lynn's instructions... just do the right (in my case) side of the face from the side burn to jaw line. There was only one problem... Going WTG with my straight was smoother than WTG & ATG (multiple strokes each time) with my G. Fusion. I was amazed. To be honest I thought everyone was overselling the closeness of the shave (my bad...I was wrong...sorry). So I got greedy and impatient for that shave and something interesting happened. Did most of the right cheek, went great. Did the left side burn, went great. Did most of the left cheek, went great. Did the neck with the Fusion, usual D+ shave though my neck didn't get chewed as badly as usual, I'm not sure why. Then I got to my chin... The link tells the tale.

http://www.madrianmattocks.com/myFace.jpg
(Warning: It's more of my face than any one person, much less a group, should be exposed too. )

The white circle: Shaved with my straight
The black circle: Shaved with G. Fusion.
The green circle: The nick I gave myself with my straight (my reward).
Did the rest of the chin with the Fusion.
(I do very much like the fact that the Fusion chewed up my face more than the straight.)

The question is this: When I shave with my Fusion, with this much growth (3 days), the entire area of the circles looks like the black circle (as does parts of my lower neck). If I had waited until Sunday, none of it would have occurred. I wouldn't have gotten as close a shave as I did with the straight but I wouldn't have chewed up face either (as happens with the Fusion). Suggestions on how to prevent this?





The prep:

1. Hot shower.
2. Left the brush in hot water (in the mug) while I took the shower.
3. After the shower, shook out some water from the brush and circled it in the soap for about 5 seconds then proceeded to whip up lather in the cup.
4. Applied to my face, while periodically going back to the soap for a second or two to get a thicker lather. This took about 5 minutes (I wanted to make sure I left enough time to soften my beard).
5. Shaved.

Note: I did not strop the razor. As it was new from SRD I didn't want to screw up the edge the first time out. Also, I wanted to be able to compare my stropping technique with Lynn's (or Don's--I don't know who set up the razor) the next time I shave (which of course I will then need to strop before I shave).


With Thanks,
Adrian.

Greetings, and welcome to SRP, Adrian.

Originally Posted by stygian

The question is this: When I shave with my Fusion, with this much growth (3 days), the entire area of the circles looks like the black circle (as does parts of my lower neck). If I had waited until Sunday, none of it would have occurred. I wouldn't have gotten as close a shave as I did with the straight but I wouldn't have chewed up face either (as happens with the Fusion). Suggestions on how to prevent this?

You picked up an interesting razor. My best man sold his in frustration. I still have one of them, and enjoy it thoroughly. Only, it offers lots, and lots of flexibility. Which is great if you know what to do with it. That said, I started out with a couple of 4/8 Wackers, an even more unlikely choice. It still worked.

Looking at the picture of your face, two things come to mind: use less pressure. And: use less pressure. Coming from SRD, that razor is as sharp as it will get. Let it do its job. Do not interfere. Watch the DVD again. Then follow JimmyHAD's advice: "An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull. Following that advice I have rarely gotten a nick." Best piece of advice ever. Makes all the difference. Especially since you seem to get nicks with a cartridge razor. That should not happen at all. You might want to check the lather making section of the DVD. SRD's soap should offer enough cushion to prevent accidental nicks if you apply minimal pressure.

Before you strop that razor, do watch the DVD again. We also have an excellent article in our Wiki detailing the gory details: Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki (thanks to TonyJ for the original artilcle!). Keep in mind that the chin is possibly the hardest part of the face to shave.

Good luck, and do keep us posted on your progress,
Robin

[QUOTE=stygian;451278] So I got greedy and impatient for that shave and something interesting happened.

Unfortunately I have no advice to give, other than "Respect the blade" as I am still fairly new to straight shaving, but I will share a "war story" with you. I was feeling confident in my newly acquired skill*, I lost concentration for a moment on my XTG pass on my chin and ended up with an 3/4" vertical cut on my chin. I did not even feel it, but boy did I notice the blood flow! Patience is a real virtue in straight shaving.

*skill being 2 months into straight shaving. I still have a long way to go.

P.S. Your cheeks look close to BBS

Welcome to Straight Shaving! Weepers! Cold rinse should have cleaned those up. They tend to look worse than they really are.

Go light and take your time. It takes time to figure out the best technique to shave areas of your face and to get the big time BBS shave down. I used my Mach 3 to clean up the rough spots until I got the technique down. The Fusion is going to seem inadequate and that is because it is. Straight shaving gives you a much more refined shave.

Good luck and keep up the effort, it will happen!

Pabster

Ill go along with whats been said about no pressure as well as the quote from Jimmys barber(its worth listening to) I also believe blade angle may have been a slight problem. When you look at the contours of your chin, break those contours down into smaller flat plains visually and adjust your strokes accordingly. All in all, you did a great job and should be well satisfied with yourself. Pour yourself a libation, relax and enjoy!

wow! way too much pressure. your cartridge razor has led you down a bad road. you're forcing things as you needed to with the cartridge. so use less pressure. also as others have posted, your str8 doesn't float or swivel to give a good blade angle as the fusion. YOU need to create the good blade angle so don't roll (drive) the blade over the contours of your face but think of your face as a series of flat facets. also, if i'm putting my razor to a tricky location i will reduce the blade angle and if the razor feels like it's not going to stick as i'm moving it i will gently increase the angle. so were you are getting cuts or weepers start the blade at 5 degrees angle only. hope that helps.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Thinking about it, I didn't really pay close attention to the angle (I angled it to 30 degrees for where I was and went) and I can definitely believe that I had too much pressure there. It's the only way to make a Fusion work at times. Old habits die hard.