Thread: Almost a beginner ;)

Hello,

I actually write this as a kind of false beginner, took up str8 shaving on a regular basis some, hm, half a year ago - basically thanks to finding this great site with so much information.

I have a vintage grandpa's razor, which I started using, together with Omega shaving soap (OMEGA, shaving brushes, accessoires, shaving cream, neck duster, brushstands, razors - oddly, they describe it as cream, to me it's rather a
kind of soft soap) a neat badger brush, a vintage strop - well, a basic set.

From the very beginning, having bought another razors (yeah, this RAD creeps in really easy, you hardly notice it...) it still felt a little uncomfortable, there was this (audible, too) scratching, uneven sensation - I managed to shave, even quite close, but it just wasn't that. So I figured - after spending some time and money on a Chinese waterstone - well, time to follow advice and have these babies finally honed by someone who knows how to do it Ha ha, yeah, none of them had been prepared earlier...

Okay, so now I've had them back for a while, I was very excited and enthusiastic about them - after reading all these posts about "freshly honed str8 sweeping hair off" and so on. Well, guess what, it hasn't been bells and whistles at all. There is still this uncomfortable scratching sensation, I haven't been able to pass a HHT with any of them, although they have a visible bevel set, which wasn't there before at all. I noticed them being definitely sharper, one moment off guard cost me an instant cut right under my nose

I took some time yesterday to prepare really well for a shave - bath, preshave lathering, oil (ordinary baby oil, nothing fancy, but still works much better), did some 100 laps on a leather strop, too. Well it was a certain improvement, but again, nothing extra nothing like "OMG, the hair is vanishing!" - just a little easier. Still, ATG pass is completely unthinkable, the resistance the hair make would require me to force the blade across the face, and I'm sure it's not the way.

I should mention that my facial hair is really tough and thick (not so much in terms of density, but, well, thickness of a single hair , so is the hair on my head, so it may be another reason. Maybe it was also why HHT didn't want to work. Dunno. Still there may be something with my technique, I'm still learning. Any advice, though?

Sorry for being lengthy.
Matt

Hard to say without seeing and feeling the edges. You say your whiskers are coarse. We all have different skin/whiskers to deal with. When you refer to a scratching is that a sound or does your skin feel as if it is being scratched ? I can sometimes hear the whiskers being sheared.

Gradual stubble removal with little pressure works for me. IOW, not trying to get bbs in one fell swoop. In some areas I use one long pass in others 1 pass is really a series of repeated short buffing strokes. Not sure if that is 'right' ... just what I do.

I start with a WTG and for my second go alternate between XTG and ATG. There are some areas that I never do ATG. Of course blade angle, skin stretching are paramount. With near 2 years of daily and exclusively shaving with a straight razor I find I am still learning and my shaves are still improving.

Not sure if any of my blather is of any use but keep at it and my guess is you'll find some improvement over time.

There are so many variables, it is hard to say. Yes, there is a huge learning curve with this. The HHT is hit or miss IMO. The best test has always been to shave with it.
If your blade was honed by someone reputable, then it shoud be shave ready, and I would look at my prep, strop and technique. You did say that the second time out was better, yes. Is that your only str8 razor? If you plan on sticking with this, You may want to pick up a second one from a reputable site and honed by one of the pro's here.
Then you can rule out the blade once and for all and concentrate on the other stuff....

I wouldn't get too hung up on phrases like " sweeping the hair off" and such. I think a fair few of the posters here are a bit poetical when describing their shaves, which is fair enough as it can be a romantic endevour. In my experience and from watching videos too, I'd say a scritching, scratching noise is normal when shaving, depending on the grind of the razor you're using. Concentrate on reducing the hair rather than trying to remove it all in one stroke, as long as your skin is smooth and irritation free at the end then that's the main thing.

I read the HHT isn't all it's cracked up to be. The hair on your head isn't the same as the hair on your face, and if you're bald what do you do? TPT is a good one.

Anyway, shaving is the ultimate test, and even then, depending on your beard, you can still get some pulling even with a very sharp razor. A lot of it is angles and technique, IMHO.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

When you refer to a scratching is that a sound or does your skin feel as if it is being scratched ?

(...) in others 1 pass is really a series of repeated short buffing strokes.
(...) I start with a WTG and for my second go alternate between XTG and ATG. (...) With near 2 years of daily and exclusively shaving with a straight razor I find I am still learning and my shaves are still improving.

It's both - sound and feel, too. As for these buffs, yeah, that's my way too, I guess this is even the way how Lynn put it in his post for beginners. Your remark about improvements after 2 years of daily shaving was quite a relief, and overwheliming at the same time - dang, 2 years and still learning?

Originally Posted by zib

If your blade was honed by someone reputable, then it shoud be shave ready, and I would look at my prep, strop and technique. You did say that the second time out was better, yes. Is that your only str8 razor?

I had three of them honed at the same time. A vintage full hollow grandpa's and two Wapis - one quarter hollow and another full hollow.

Actually, on a yesterday's shave (it was turn for a vintage one), I took even more care to prep, strop as well as I could and I was trying to shave as lightly as possile, resisting the temptation to do everything in the 1st pass - a little better, again! So it comes rather to the technique, after all...