Ready to give up...

I’ve been learning straights for about a month now. I’ve made some pretty good progress but still have enough frustrations that I’m considering hanging it up and going back to my DE. I will admit that I may not have approached this in the best way, and there’s enough about straights that I like that I’m willing to try one more call for advice before cashing out.

I’m getting a good WTG pass pretty much all over my face with the slight exception of the curve of my chin. I realize this turn is one of the most difficult to learn and I’m willing to work on this. I can also get a good XTG pass on my cheeks from ear to chin, but my beard’s lighter there. My beard’s pretty dense and tough on my chin. My XTG pass here (and to some degree my WTG pass here) is fraught with the blade sticking and tugging. I can generally work my way through it, but it is a narrow safety margin between shaving my beard and cutting my face. In my quest to finish my shave, sometimes my face loses. I’ve tried S-N passes which I can generally get started toward the bottom of my neck, but as I approach my jaw line, the blade sticks way too much to get through it.

I think my stropping is coming along pretty well. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, but I think I’m doing a reasonably good job. I actually kind of like stropping my blades. Paying close attention to blade position, light pressure, even movement, I find it comforting.

I have been shaving with an 11/16 half hollow REX and a 7/8 full hollow Böker “The Celebrated”. My pre-shave consists of lathering my beard in the shower and leaving the lather on for the duration of my shower. I give it a good long rinse and keep it wet after the shower. I lather with MWF, strop my blade, rinse my face and re-lather. I got the REX off of the SRP classifieds as shave ready. Not sure if it came not fully sharp or, more likely, my early stropping technique dulled it. Or perhaps it’s not a sharpness issue at all. I can shave the hair on my arm, but they don’t ‘pop’. I bought the Böker as a reference razor, but I think the size of the blade may have been too much for me to handle. Unfortunately, I have now shaved and stropped the Böker enough that it’s not really a reference razor anymore. I would say that the Böker shaves a tad better, but I still have sticking and grabbing issues with it, and I absolutely cannot do a coup de maître on my upper lip with it. I’m not certain that I didn’t also dull this razor as a newbie learning to strop a larger blade.

So here’s where I am, and here’s where I would like your input. On the one hand, I’m feeling perhaps straights are not for me, and I should go back to my DE. On the other hand, perhaps I didn’t give this a fair shake. Perhaps I should have stuck with more beginner type equipment (e.g. a 5/8 or a 6/8 shave ready razor honed by a known and trusted honemeister and another 5/8 or 6/8 shave ready razor used strictly as a reference razor or perhaps a 5/8 or 6/8 shave ready razor and send my REX in for a sharpness test/hone by someone like Lynn). What advice would you give someone in my shoes?

Thanks.

Sorry if I missed it in your post, but have you tried stretching while shaving?

I would suggest sending them out to Lynn or one of the other meisters. When you get them back see how they work for you freshly honed. If you have to finish with a DE on the chin don't let that discourage you. Eventually I think it will come together for you if you persevere. If you quit you'll never know if success would have been a week or two away and if you're like me that will gnaw at you. You're not a loser until you quit.

If you want I'll rehone your razors.
I'd give it at least one more month, but if not just go back to DE since that works well for you.

Yeah, I realized I left the stretching part out (of my post, not my shave). I get a pretty good pull from the top of my cheek as I see in nearly every video. I also get a pretty good pull from the bottom of my neck over toward my shoulder when shaving my neck, also as I see in most videos. I noticed my skin at the base of my beard stands up with my beard when I simply stretch my lower lip over my lower teeth to stretch my chin, so I incorporate a pull from the bottom of my cheek out toward the top of my ear (much like Martin does here) to help keep the hair standing while getting the skin to lay flat.

I'd take gugi up on that generous offer. Shave with one without stropping & see how it performs. After that, strop carefully till you get the technique down.
I'd reserve the other blade as a reference, & also as a standby, incase the first needs honing again.
If the blade still tugs when it comes back to you freshly honed, you probably need to look at your prep.

What do you guys think about blade size? Do you think newbies should stick to a 5/8 or a 6/8 blade as they develop technique because these are easier sizes to handle or do you think blade size is strictly a matter of personal preference, beginner or not?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

What do you guys think about blade size? Do you think newbies should stick to a 5/8 or a 6/8 blade as they develop technique because these are easier sizes to handle or do you think blade size is strictly a matter of personal preference, beginner or not?

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7/8 or bigger can be a challenge in tight spots, but if you are good with your hands I do not think its a problem. That being said, I think a newbie will only benefit from starting with a 5/8 or 6/8.

+1 to stretching. Make sure you're doing a good job, and keep the pull close to the are you're shaving.

Sounds like your prep is good though.

gugi made a generous offer! I'd be glad to do the same if it would help.

The jawline for me has gotten much better now that I figured out how to stretch the skin there properly. I hardly have to do any shaving on the angle of my jaw anymore.

I forget where I read it, but the consensus on the chin hair is that it's harder to cut because the hairs there are shaped differently. IIRC, they are more oval shaped than round, so depending on which way the "thicker" side goes, you may be cutting through more than normal, hence the pulling.

Perhaps extra prep on the chin area would be beneficial, or (something I plan on trying but haven't yet) maybe shaving the chin area FIRST, that way the razor has just been stropped and in top shape.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

What do you guys think about blade size? Do you think newbies should stick to a 5/8 or a 6/8 blade as they develop technique because these are easier sizes to handle or do you think blade size is strictly a matter of personal preference, beginner or not?

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I don't think the size is the big problem here. You can learn to shave with just about any size razor and get good results with it. 5/8-6/8 is good intermediate width and weight, but more important is the actual edge and the balance of the razor.
I can get equally good shaves with anything from 4/8 to 9/8, although I prefer a 6/8 razor.

All right, I'll give it another month. gugi, thanks for the offer on the honing. The Böker's from SRD with the hone for life deal. Since it's going back to Lynn/Don for a check, I figured I'd just throw the REX in for good measure. Guess that puts me into a default straight vacation until they come back. I've also asked them to assess the edges prior to honing to give their first hand opinion on if my issues are sharpness related or something else.

Thanks all for your advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

About that XTG pass on the chin,and some of your other problem areas,a light touch is the secret that worked for me.Also starting those problem passes on a hairless or already shaved area helps.

The one issue I didn't see mentioned may be a technique issue. Along with prep and stretching you may need too look at your chin and visualize the contours as smaller flat planes and then shave these smaller flat planes according to thier needs. It may take a lot of smaller strokes but it gets the job done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

The one issue I didn't see mentioned may be a technique issue. Along with prep and stretching you may need too look at your chin and visualize the contours as smaller flat planes and then shave these smaller flat planes according to thier needs. It may take a lot of smaller strokes but it gets the job done.

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+1 to this!

A lot of people may unknowingly feel that after one pass, your face should feel BBS. I know, cause I am one :p

I forget who said it, but I read on here, it's not about getting BBS on the first pass, it's about getting closer and closer with each pass.

Don't try to cut the big tree down in one cut, take it down little by little...it makes it easier, and less stressful for you! :D

Thanks nun2sharp for reminding me of that!

One month in is nothing. There's lots to learn with using a straight. You've had some great advice here but one thing I've not noticed (sorry if I missed it) is that it can be useful to focus on only one variable at a time. There are just so many of the damn things involved that if you try to tweak them all at once you never know which is doing the trick (or not, if you see what I mean). I'd start with sending a razor out and shaving without stropping it as others have suggested. As JimmyHAD said, don't sweat about finishing your chin with a DE, many go down this route.

There is no decision to make. You already are a straight shaver. You just aren't satisfied with the results yet.

There are two fundamental skills you should work on in the next month. Following all the advice on here, use your DE to remove lots of whiskers and spend time learning how to get a close shave with a straight. You will learn, if you do it right, that you will get a much closer shave.

Then, flip the tools.

Shave with a straight to remove the excessive beard and finish with your DE to get to the missed spots.

In the third month you simply learn to combine the skills.

I agree with the previous posts...Although I have yet to shave with a straight razor--that will occur after Xmas--from everything I have read on the SRP blogs and the world wide web there is a definite learning curve to this experience.

I have been a wet shaver my entire life. I used multi-blade razors up until this fall. Yet even when I shifted to a DE razor a month or two ago I found that there was even a learning curve for me with a DE razor. My first shaves with a DE were nothing compared with what they look and feel like now. That having been said, there are days when I feel like I haven't gotten the best shave that I could with my DE. That doesn't discourage me because I know that there is always the opportunity to achieve a better, closer shave tomorrow.

The same is true of straight razor shaving, but it appears to me that there are some additional steps involved in gaining mastery of and confidence in your process, ie. honing, stropping, blade angle, etc. Don't expect to master all of these steps at once or achieve a perfect shave overnight. Be satisfied with what you have achieved to date--with the knowledge that you are gaining in an understanding of your face and shaving technique that will allow you to achieve a better shave in the future.

Remember, patience is a virtue.