Unsure if this counts as a razor 'pulling'.

I recently received a straight razor which I bought from the classifieds here at SRP, and it was to be shave-ready upon arrival. Razor was shipped very quickly and in good packaging. The first thing I did when I opened it was do the hanging-hair test. It didn't perform as well on this test as I had hoped, but then again I am very new and maybe it did just fine.
I tried shaving about 3 times with the blade, but was never really satisfied or comfortable with it's action on my face. It seemed to be "skipping" accros my stubble, not gliding smoothly like I thought it would (once again, I am a newbie).
So I decided to wait and give it a good stropping once my strop arrived, to make a final judgement on whether or not it was shave-ready when it arrived. After stropping, it seemed a little more sharp, but still did not provide a smooth stroke like I was hoping for. It still shaved me very close, but didn't feel quite right.
Maybe... 1. My shaving cream is bad (I'm using walmart brand gel-stuff until my brush arrives, so I can apply my Tabac), or 2. Maybe it's common for new guys to hold the razor improperly and thus have an unsteady draw accross the face, or 3. Maybe I am accidentally not going WTG, or 4. Maybe it needs a good strop.
Could it be one of these things, or should I send this out to be professionaly honed? Thank you

Try holding your skin tight and moving the razor slowly while conducting a shaving stroke and see if that helps lower the skipping.

Don't send it out yet, wait for a little more experimentation.

If you bought a razor in the classifieds here and you feel there is a problem please contact the seller and discuss with them before taking it public. Maybe it's the razor maybe it's you but the first place to start is with the seller.

When I was first getting started I had most of the problems that you seem to be having, as I suspect most of did. The easiest thing to blame is the razor, if a seller on the SRP classified said it was shave ready it mosy likely will be, since they all test shave with them before they are sent. My first razor was sharpened by the king honemiester, even with that my first couple shaves tugged and pulled, but as soon as I started to make more confident strokes, narrowed in on the correct angle, and started to feel more comfortable with the gripping the razor, the pulling went away. A bit further down the road, once the pressure I was using lessened to about the right level, my stropping improved considerably, my lather making skills improved and I learnt how my beard grew, the irritation went away, for the most part. Str8 shaving has a huge learning curve, and even though a sharp razor is essential, learning the other skills is where the most improvement will come from, since that is where most begining problems lie. Imo the angle is the hardest to get right, because I think we have lots of bad examples of str8 shaving, in our subconscience. from the shows we have watched, where they all seem to use about a 90 deg angle. It seems that if the angle is too steep, over 30 deg, it causes pulling, too shallow and it goes over the top without cutting the whisker, get it narrowed down and a smile will suddenly appear on your face, and every whisker will wash down the sink.

Keep at it and it will come, but trust your razor, it will do its job, if you do yours. However if a week or more of shaves goes by and you are still not seeing any improvement, and you honestly believe you have nothing left to add to your technique, contact the seller.

I am a n00b myself but it sounds like angle and loose skin. Pull your skin tight bro and try a less aggressive angle.

Being a FNG to straights, i also having the same problem about not removing any hair. Jasongreat just gave me the insite that i needed. He said a shallow angle will make the blade glide over the hair without removing any. I think that is one of my problems. Thanks Jason for unknowingly helping me with a big issue.

One other thing to take into consideration is the length of the stroke. If you're trying to use a straight like a DE or some other form of shaving implement ..... and you're new at it .... chances are you won't be happy with the performance. Taut skin, correct blade angle and short strokes. So a half inch to an inch at a time. Trying to glide the length of your cheek at a newcomer's level of expertise is not good ..... assuming that is what you're doing. :shrug:

thanks to all for the responses. I see that I could improve in several departments.

As for pulling the skin taut, however... When I try to pull my skin tighter, my finger just slips on the shaving cream, and I cant really pull it tight. Maybe when I start using my Tabac this will help, or maybe i should grip my skin where there isn't any lather... I'll look into the stretching topic on some of the other forums.
Thanks again all!

Try to find a routine where you are always stretching from a spot that has already been shaved, and try to keep the stretching hand free of lather and water. It will take some time atleast it has for me and I am still refining it day by day. It seems like I have read some posts on using an alum block on your fingers to give a little more grip, but I havent ever tried it. Also, IIRC, there are a few shaving videos in the wiki, along with all sorts of other useful info, and there are a ton of vids on youtube, where you might find a little inspiration. Str8 shaving takes a little longer to get all figured out than we hope at first, I still learn something every day, usually a reminder of what not to do, but the next shave is usually better because of it. No pain, no gain. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BabysBottom

thanks to all for the responses. I see that I could improve in several departments.

As for pulling the skin taut, however... When I try to pull my skin tighter, my finger just slips on the shaving cream, and I cant really pull it tight. Maybe when I start using my Tabac this will help, or maybe i should grip my skin where there isn't any lather... I'll look into the stretching topic on some of the other forums.
Thanks again all!

---

What I do is start with a WTG (in my case down) pass on my side burn. I reach over my head and pull up with my offhand above where the blade begins the stroke. Once that stroke is made I have an area where the lather is gone and I can stretch from there. As I progress I continue to remove lather and give myself new stretching platforms. If I am doing an XTG or an ATG say on the neck I would start by pulling the skin taut with my fingers below or behind where the lather begins. BTW, when I stretch the skin I don't pull it drum tight. More like taut. Snug it up rather than getting in a strain trying to pull it like stretching a rubber band to the max.

I happen to have a towel rack immediately to my left where I shave. If I get lather on my stretching fingers I just reach over and wipe them off. If your shave area isn't situated that way a towel over one shoulder is handy to keep the stretching fingers dry. As you gain experience you'll find new ways to grip the razor, stretch the skin, angles of attack. All of it comes in time. IMO a razor should never pull. If it does it is either your technique or it needs to be sharper. Smooth shaving. :)

Thanks again all I'm looking forward to trying these new techniques

actually it's the same problem as I have, but the difference is that, my blade pass HHT, so I guess it's not the blade, the pulling is still a pull, but it shouldn't be an issue I guess, if it pulls to the point where your blade can't really continue means it's the blade, but if you have that pulling but it still shave without causing any problem, then it's the angle and your confidence, well, that's what I learned from my 5th shave. I don't know if the blade should really glide in your place like when you walk in a slippery floor, but I guess the term "glide" is just like when you have your Mach3 fresh cartridge run on your wet skin...it'll be good if someone confirm this for us newbie, I just have one blade so I have no reference on how a good blade, smooth shave should be, in fact I'm pretty satisfied with my blade, but if it should be more than just the "glide" that I have and assume now, I'll be happier....

anyway, I'm totally agree with previous posts about confident stroke :) work with me

Erick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BabysBottom

I recently received a straight razor which I bought from the classifieds here at SRP, and it was to be shave-ready upon arrival. Razor was shipped very quickly and in good packaging. The first thing I did when I opened it was do the hanging-hair test. It didn't perform as well on this test as I had hoped, but then again I am very new and maybe it did just fine.
I tried shaving about 3 times with the blade, but was never really satisfied or comfortable with it's action on my face. It seemed to be "skipping" accros my stubble, not gliding smoothly like I thought it would (once again, I am a newbie).
So I decided to wait and give it a good stropping once my strop arrived, to make a final judgement on whether or not it was shave-ready when it arrived. After stropping, it seemed a little more sharp, but still did not provide a smooth stroke like I was hoping for. It still shaved me very close, but didn't feel quite right.
Maybe... 1. My shaving cream is bad (I'm using walmart brand gel-stuff until my brush arrives, so I can apply my Tabac), or 2. Maybe it's common for new guys to hold the razor improperly and thus have an unsteady draw accross the face, or 3. Maybe I am accidentally not going WTG, or 4. Maybe it needs a good strop.
Could it be one of these things, or should I send this out to be professionaly honed? Thank you

---

Hello BabysBottom,
I am a newbie too and like you, I have also noticed "skipping" across the stubbles. The problem is especially prone areas where the beard is coarsest (for me, that's the chin area). After 4 shaves under my belt now (woohoo), I have noticed this getting easier, leading me to believe that technique, more than razor will come out to be the dominant contributing factor to end the "skipping" war with the stubble.

On a different note, razor may also play some role in this. Personally, it is for this exact reason that I decided to invest in a few different kinds of razors (wedge, 6/8, full hollow, 1/2 hollow, etc...without breaking the bank or going crazy though), just to see if blade geometry (and weight) will make a difference. My preliminary observation is that Wedge performs best with areas where the beard is coarsest. Jury is out on this one for now until I improve on my technique. Keep at it.

Good luck,
-Robert

The canned shave gel makes pulling the skin taught very difficult. It is very slick even after a pass with the razor. Once you switch to soaps you will be able to get a grip after you shave an area. Provided your fingers are not wet that is.
MrE

HHT does not indicate if the blade is shave ready or not.
Shave test is the real test.
Technique and angles are very important for a good shave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BabysBottom

thanks to all for the responses. I see that I could improve in several departments.

As for pulling the skin taut, however... When I try to pull my skin tighter, my finger just slips on the shaving cream, and I cant really pull it tight. Maybe when I start using my Tabac this will help, or maybe i should grip my skin where there isn't any lather... I'll look into the stretching topic on some of the other forums.
Thanks again all!

---

You can pull in front or behind the razor.

If you start at the ear you can pull and tighten the
skin from above shaving down and not pulling on the slippery bit below.
Lots of short precise strokes and you will have
cleared a clean place to move down with. You can
use your thumb and wipe away lather if you need
to. Just reapply as needed.

It is not necessary to pull the skin drum tight.
Stretch it just enough so the skin does not
roll up in front of the edge. You only need to
pull/ smooth the one inch in front of the blade
then shave half that.

One key -- hold the razor lightly is so important that
one of the moderators has hints in his signature.

Tabac and a brush will help, so will more water with your can
of goo. Use less goo and more water building up
a lightly lathered wet area to shave. You only need
enough lather to make it easy to recall where
you have been. Make sure your face is wet and lathered
for a full three min before shaving. If you live in
a dry place or it is winter you may have to work more
water into the lather on your face a couple of times.

Water... even with Tabac water is important. It
continues to astound me how much water I can
work into a lather if I just keep dripping it in and
working the brush in my lathering mug or on my face.
You can take a $10 CVS boar brush and improve
can goo by working it and adding water.... If you
are in a CVS look for Williams or Van der Hagen shave soap.
They are good soaps to practice lathering with.
If nothing else they will make Tabac look super.. (it is).

A lot of great advice here but I would just like to add one thing though. There is a chance that in fact your razor may not be up to par. Do not push through if in fact your razor is pulling. You can very easily end up cutting yourself. If you are still in doubt after carefully trying some of the things in this thread, try talking to the one you purchased it from. There is a good chance they will happily try to resolve it. If for any reason you aren't comfortable with the shave at that point, send it to another honemeister who is well respected. Also, if you can I highly suggest you pick up a second shave ready razor, from another so that you have another to compare it to. I have purchased a few shave ready razors here that literally float through hair miraculously and have also purchased one that pulled quite a bit. All were advertised as shave ready but perhaps peoples idea of shave ready varies quite a bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mainaman

HHT does not indicate if the blade is shave ready or not.
Shave test is the real test.
Technique and angles are very important for a good shave.

---

Dear senior :) I've just start wet shaving weeks ago, not even a month, today I just get my 6th shave, how do I measure a blade sharpness with shave test if my techniques is still undeveloped and I still cut my self :( my point is that, HHT is the only way that is reasonable for me, since I don't think to test it by slicing a paper as I usually did with knife is the right way. I know HHT may not valid since everyone hair's different (and also the blade might not have the same sharpness on any edge if it's not properly honed), and also the term shave ready by all honemeister, only by experience it may alter subjective matter a little bit objective. I apologize for my inexperience comment :) :beer2:

thanks all. I decided to send if off to a very respected honemister, to settle my uncertainty once and for all. If it comes back and it is still pulling, I'll know it was my fault. Thanks again all your input is very appreciated

Having bought several "shave ready" razors from the classifieds, I can assure you that some are more shave ready than others.. One more thing i can say is the "Shave Ready" i bought from Lynn at SRD is how i found this out. After shaving with the razor he sharpened, I realized several of my "shave ready" purchases needed some help. Brad "undream" also really brought a couple of my razors to life

All these techniques are fine and good but all fall short until you have a real "Shave Ready" razor. I had doubts as to whether or not i wanted to continue straight razor shaving at one point. When i finally got my hands on a "real Shave Ready" razor things changed tremendously

Also, i find the gels are superior to plain mug soap. I also bought soap samplers from SRD which i found superior to the previous mug soap i had. Before obtaining these glycerine based soaps with essential oils, I found the gels far superior. I still like Eucerine shave gel for men, sensitive skin. The nostalgia of whipping up my own still calls, but the convenience and comfort offered by the gel will really be hard to beat.

Get a razor honed by Lynn or Brad (undream) and you will then have a standard with which you can determine "shave readiness".. I'm not throwing off on anyones sharpening skills, I'm praising the 2 guys mentioned here. You won't regret having your razor professionally honed in fact, you will be glad you did.

Kirk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BabysBottom

As for pulling the skin taut, however... When I try to pull my skin tighter, my finger just slips on the shaving cream, and I cant really pull it tight. Maybe when I start using my Tabac this will help, or maybe i should grip my skin where there isn't any lather... I'll look into the stretching topic on some of the other forums.
Thanks again all!

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrE

The canned shave gel makes pulling the skin taught very difficult. It is very slick even after a pass with the razor. Once you switch to soaps you will be able to get a grip after you shave an area. Provided your fingers are not wet that is.
MrE

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I have block of alum (you could also use the alum deordernt crystals) and I wet my fingers (that I use to stretch my skin) and rub the alum block, this gives my fingers good grip on my skin and allows me to stretch it better where there is soap residue.

-Moe