Thread: Frustration

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

Nope, I learned that from my year of DE shaving and discussion of all DE related topics on other shaving forums.

Right. So based on a few shaves and hearsay, you come to the following conclusion:

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

Ditch the Merk blades. They are nearly universally considered overpriced garbage.

That's a bit rich, don't you think? What's next? "All new Dovo's are POS's"? Let me gently remind you that this is SRP, not another forum. If you feel the urge to voice strong opinions, don't forget to back them with arguments. "I've shaved with a DE a
few times" doesn't quite count as such. And just for the record, Dovo Merkur aren't producing millions of these blades to sink them in the Baltic Sea, they're being bought by people who like them so much they pay premium prices for them.

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

I might not know everything about the world of straights, but I am pretty knowledgeable about DEs.

Like so many other things in life, prettiness can be both relative and deceptive

Regards,
Robin

And how long did it take you to form an opinion on what makes a good straight razor? I said openly that some people have had great results with them. I also stated that everyone has his or her own opinion. I simply suggested that if you ask around, most people will point you elsewhere. And to me, a year is more than a few shaves. I know you are a moderator, but I still feel that I have the right to voice my opinion just as much as you do.

Thanks
Drew

Hello again,

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Stuff I've already been doing:

Hot shower before shave.
Hot towel for a few minutes on the beard.
Using a badger hair brush, really working in the shave cream.
Giving it a few minutes to work into my beard.

As I posted before, I'm not convinced it's my razor technique. I've watched the videos, and I've been working at it for a few months now. Either I'm the world's worst learner, or I'm doing something else wrong.

This brings me back to the products, and I will be sure to try out a few new blades, as well as something other than the AOS products.

To answer the earlier question, I have no problems ordering online. I live in Western Pennsylvania, and I have yet to find any stores within a few hundred miles of me that sell any quality shaving products (although suggestions are once again welcome!).

Thanks again for everybody's input.

- Dave

Somebody also asked me about my shaving technique:

After I've lathered up and given it a few minutes to settle in, I start by setting the angle of my blade at my sideburns and letting the razor fall down my face. Once I've got an idea of the angle, I start with my cheeks, making sure I shave down with the grain, with no pressure, pulling the skin. Then I tackle my upper lip, and then move onto my chin. I usually get a pretty good result on everything except my chin, which will require a few more passes when I come back for my second shave. But still, up to this point, nothing too bad.

Then the problems start. As I mentioned, the hair on my neck grows every which way, so I don't really have a "with the grain" to choose from. I've done my best to sort of find a pattern that works, which involves mostly coming up from the bottom of my neck and down from under my jawline. At this point, if I don't apply any pressure and just try to glide the razor, nothing happens. It gets stuck on the beard and I have to put some effort into pulling it across the skin (which I'm still trying to pull fairly tight.) By the time I get to a point where I'm actually cutting any hair, I'm also taking too much skin with it, and my neck winds up looking like a pin cushion.

I should also mention here that I know better than to try to get everything in one pass. I'm definitely doing my first pass all around, and then lathering again to get the rest. The top of my face seems to be fine, it's really the neck that's holding me back from getting a satisfying shave.

Also, I'm not quite sure it's a matter of the angle of the blade, as I've tried just about every angle I can. I'm by no means declaring myself an expert, but I feel like there's something more than just my razor technique that's going wrong here.

Thanks again,

Dave

I shaved with a DE for a few years. Personally I didn't like the Merkur blades. I went through two or three packages when I started. Tried coming back to them when I was better at it but still didn't like them. Not saying they're junk, just didn't work well with me. I could get a reasonable shave from them but I found others that were more comfortable as well as less expensive. My favourite was the personna. If you haven't, try a sampler pack and find a blade that works, but only after you are more confident with shaving with a DE. I was going to add more, but it's already been said in the other posts. Hope you find your groove with the DE's. As mentioned already, switching to a straight if you're frustrated with a DE isn't a good idea. Just my two cents.

Edit: I agree to try some other soaps or creams as well. I personlly like the AOS products, but as with the blades, some products will work better than others for you.

Originally Posted by davestockton

Also, I'm not quite sure it's a matter of the angle of the blade, as I've tried just about every angle I can. I'm by no means declaring myself an expert, but I feel like there's something more than just my razor technique that's going wrong here.

Thanks again,

Dave

Your description of your experience sounds very familiar to me. I had similar issues when I started shaving with a straight. My first razor was advertised by a respected retailer as being restored and shave ready, I did the hot shower thing, tried to be careful with my lather, and watched my blade angle like a hawk, yet my shave wasn't particularly smooth and there was a lot of pulling/scraping. I've since learned that for myself, I have to go through the full hot shower + hair conditioner on face for 5 minutes + pre-shave oil + carefully concocted lather otherwise I get sub-par shaves and a bunch of tugging regardless of how sharp my razor is. What can I say, my facial hair is truck.

I don't know if your pre-shave ritual & chosen products are the cause of your troubles or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case. In any case good luck to you. I hope you figure it out.

If the face has a good prep and there is confidence in the shaving technique, then there needs to be an equipment check.

I went from a Mach 3 to straight shaving and used the above to get me up the learning curve quick. Now it is always an incredible shave and pure satisfaction. I was determined to become a straight shaver and I thank myself every time I shave.

Good luck in your quest!

Pabster

A few people have mentioned trying out a sample pack of different blades. Where can I find something like?

- Dave

Like many things on here, and because everyone is different, your decision on what particular elements to use here and how to use them will be determined by personal preference. I use to use a DE too, I have about 8 of them (which I don't use), and like many others once I went to the straight I lost any desire to use them anymore. Are you using an adjustable DE? If so you can try different settings. Or if you haven't noticed, different non-adjustable DE are more or less 'aggressive' by design. My favorite one was the no.R89 made by Muhle, it is a fairly non-aggressive razor and when you examine it closely you can tell that it is manufactured with a higher degree of quality than others. Muhle also use to make a nice cream that came in a tube and it came with a little tube key, I'm not sure if it is still available, it was similar to Proraso which you may also want to try if you haven't already. And use a nice soft badger hair brush if you use cream, and depending on what kind of water you have don't use too much water, the consistency should be like a nice white solid cream not with any 'suds', if so then keep 'whipping' the lather until the suds go away and you may even need to add some more cream. And you may want to work on one area at a time, not putting the cream on your whole face at once, just lather and shave one side of your face and then the other then under the jaw and neck on one side and then the other then the chin then under the chin and middle of the neck.
And I personally did like the Merkur blades, and unlike many I didn't like the Derby's they always seem to nick me. Just some thoughts.

You can find, I think, the best blade sample packs at westcoastshaving.com

I used a DE from 1979 until for a little over a year ago when I switched to the straight razor. In my not so humble opinion the Merkur blades are among the worst I've used...

Originally Posted by davestockton

A few people have mentioned trying out a sample pack of different blades. Where can I find something like?

- Dave

Here you go.

The DE bladers that worked the best for me are:
Wilkinson sword, Gillette, Feather and Derby