Thread: blade still tugging -- tried everything!!

Guess what, you and I are in the same boat. I have been working on shaving for about a month now (maybe about 12 shaves or so) and I have the same problem. I am thinking that my shaving technique stunk when I first got the razor from srp classifieds and then as my shaving got better my razor may have gotten a bit dull. Maybe my stropping technique is not perfect or something but I cant shave my chin no matter what I do. Also there are some other parts of my face that I just grit my teeth and rip that razor through. Ok, maybe 'ripping' is a little strong I just mean that I go ahead and get a little razor burn if it won't shave easy (I don't want to be the cause of any bad cuts here). I think that most of it is just experience, I plan to keep on trying and fidgeting with angles, stretching and trying to keep the rough areas moist.

I keep reminding myself that (think it was on that "newbies read this first" thing) that it takes about 100 shaves to get the hang of it.

JP

Read this post here. It is a good one and might give you something to go with.

Sounds like we have similar issues with the chin area. My beard is not thick but the whiskers in this area are coarse. I have battled with the same problem with the hairs pulling when shaving the chin. It didn't matter if the razor was honed by me or a professional, I still had problems with the chin.

The biggest help for me was stretching the skin. Stretching plus going to a lower angle and a much shorter stroke has made a big difference. As my shaving technique improves I tend to have less problems.

Good luck

Just a question for you...are you carefully stropping the blade just before each and every shave? For how many roundtrip laps?
Hanging strop or paddle strop?

Dan,

Chances that the razor is not shave ready when Lynn honed it are minimal, to say the least. Sorry, but in 9 out of 10 cases (more like 99%, really) when a beginner says the blade is not shave ready, it is. Incidentally, I would call your razor a perfect beginner's razor, as it isn't overly complicated to use (compared to a 3/8 or an 8/8 wedge).

Seeing a barber's might not be such a bad idea. Bring your own razor, ask him to shave you with it. Who knows, it maybe something simple that keeps you from getting acceptable shaves.

Good luck,
Robin

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Dan,

Chances that the razor is not shave ready when Lynn honed it are minimal, to say the least. Sorry, but in 9 out of 10 cases (more like 99%, really) when a beginner says the blade is not shave ready, it is. Incidentally, I would call your razor a perfect beginner's razor, as it isn't overly complicated to use (compared to a 3/8 or an 8/8 wedge).

Seeing a barber's might not be such a bad idea. Bring your own razor, ask him to shave you with it. Who knows, it maybe something simple that keeps you from getting acceptable shaves.

Good luck,
Robin

+1 on that from me, this will give you a very good idea of whats going on, the Barber will tell you within 1 or 2 strokes if your Razor is at fault, and if He is a friendly guy he may even give you some pro advice and tips

And hey on top of all that you will have the pleasure of a wonderful relaxed Barbers shave... Bargain!

Pardon me if I missed it, but razor angle did not seem to be mentioned.
Try an extremely low, 'back of blade close to skin', may help.

Hi,
Aside from stretching the skin, have you tried making your first pass from a different direction? If the first pass is not "WTG", I can see how you'd get tugging even from a properly honed razor. I had this problem with my neck--- I was doing my first pass from my jaw all the way down my neck, and the lower half of my neck would get irritated. Then I realized my lower neck hair grows *up* instead of *down*-- so now I need to split the direction of my first pass.

Keep at it-- once you figure it out you'll never go back...

-Chief

Just a thougth 'er 2, if your str8 razor is sharp enough and you are stretching your face as well as you can, then two things come to mind, first the razor angle, if you think about the actual angle of a razor bevel, and just how it would attack the bottom of the wisker itself, you will realise just how shallow[razor flat against the face] the razor should be, eccept of course at the very places that you will need a fairly steep attack as I do just under the nose on the upper lip. Another point is face prep, can not insist just how much hot water and scrubbing the beard needs to be supple enough for a good shave, lots of washing, followed by lots and lots of hot water in the rinse, a good pre shave can be very good for many beards, I use Proraso pre-shave for pre/and post shave use's. A couple of minutes with a very hot and moist towel against the face works wonders for me also. Well ENOUGH of my prattle, this is what seems to work well on MY beard, hope it helps for you.

Have a bloody great G/day' and try to enjoy the
recession as best you can!! tinkersd of SRP!

Thanks everyone. I am thinking now my beard prep might not be up to snuff. I have been shaving right after showering: put on some pre-shave oil (that my local barber shop swears by), do a hot towel, and then let some lather sit on my face for a few minutes while i strop. Some folks have mentioned doing the hot towel treatment for a few minutes, and I only do it for say, 10 seconds... The towel gets cool quickly so i figured i didn't need to hold it to my face for very long. I'll try doing it for a couple minutes next time.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Just a question for you...are you carefully stropping the blade just before each and every shave? For how many roundtrip laps?
Hanging strop or paddle strop?

I strop before and after each shave. I have a Proforma hanging leather strop I purchased from a SRP member, and I think it's great . I've tried different stropping techniques to see if I notice a difference, but i haven't really. I usually do about 30-50 roundtrips.

Anyone think the grind of the blade makes a difference? Does it just vary how heavy the blade feels, or does it cut the hairs differently?