Printable View
Hey Y'all,
I've been using my straight every morning for a few weeks. I can get through a shave without blood, gnashing of teeth, screams, etc, and generally the results are pretty positive. However, while traveling, I used a Mach 3 and I can honestly say that I'm not getting as good a shave with the straight, especially under the chin.
Do you suppose this is just a matter of technique that I haven't perfected yet? Any pointers?
-P
compare to rest of the starters you are in great shape.
It will take time to get close shave as your mach3.
it will include preparation,tech,sharpness of blade etc.
You need to have a little more patience .I am sure you will get there.
Try scything motion and see what happens. remember stretching skin is important.
gl
Hi Thepaulson,
I'm afraid the D/E is much easier to use in this area than the straight-the hairs under your chin need special attention.
In my case I do a guillotine pass from the tip of my chin down to the adams apple on both sides,then finish with the ATG stroke which cuts all remaining hairs,this includes a scything stroke.
I have to say that after approx 130 shaves my WTG pass is becoming so adept that there are precious few hairs left anyway.(improved angles.)
In conclusion if you just carry on with your normal WTG and XTG passes your skill will improve naturally.Try to develop the ATG pass so that with all combinations your chin hairs are no longer a problem.
I can honestly say that my straight shaves better than my D/E (but I can remember when it felt the other way round.)
Just be patient with yourself.
Regards
Noggs :)
Seeing I am relatively new to straights I can sympathize with you on the chin area. That is my bane still and I am still looking for the best way for my face. Luckily I do not mind a little stubble currently so I do not do any touch ups with a disposable. Hopefully in another 2 or 3 months I will be successful in a completely clean shave. The rest of my face is normally BBS and I only need to shave every 2 or 3 days in those areas.
I took me a good long while to get a shave as good as a Mach 3, I almost gave up a couple of times but pride and sheer stubborness stopped me quitting
I'm afraid technique and a sharp razor is everything. The rest is commentary.
Keep at it, I get a great shave in about 15 minutes now.
I'm loving the experience, even if the shaves are not quite as close sometimes. The soaps, creams, brushes...I'm having a ball. Wish I would have done this sooner.
Hey P,
The Mach 3 gives a pretty darn good shave- just like Campbell’s makes some pretty darn good soup. In both cases, you can do better but it takes time to assemble the ingredients and to learn to use them to their fullest potential.
I’ve been messing with straights for over twenty years and using them exclusively for five years. Every shave teaches me something new but I don’t always learn it.
There are advantages to using a straight razor but you’re not going to see them for awhile. In the meantime, strive for the perfect shaving experience rather than the perfect shave.
Semper circa,
LG Roy
I like LG's analogy of Campbell's soup. It takes a lot more preparation and work to make home made soup and there is a learning curve but the results are worth it. I shaved with one utensil or another for 40+ years before I ever learned how to do it properly. The results were acceptable but not optimum and it was a chore that had to be done and quickly.
Learning prep and lathering with the DE, no pressure and multiple passes, along with gradual stubble removal, rather than trying to get it all with one pass helped also. With the straight razor I had the additional learning curve of blade angle, direction of attack, the scything stroke and skin stretching. It took time but all of it eventually came together to give me the best shaves I've had in my 61 years. A lot of ingredients in the soup. :)
my thoughts exactly...Quote:
Originally Posted by colacowboy
I went from the Mach 3 to a straight razor and your are progressing well with the technique. Keeping the razor constantly sharp, using different shaving soaps/creams, shaving angles/techniques were all part of my learning curve after I achieved my first BBS shave. From this point on, it was all about becoming more proficent in getting a BBS shave.
When starting to shave, I used my Mach 3 to finish off the shave and somewhere along the learning curve, the Mach 3 started collecting dust. Because my straight razor was doing the bulk of shaving, the demand on the Mach 3 was very little and one cartridge lasted a long time. Soon, my technique improved and the Mach 3 couldn't match the performance of the straight shave.
All this before I got my hands on some outstanding straight razors.
Hopefully, this give you some confidence going forward.
Pabster
At only a couple weeks in, you're not likely to beat a M3...I didn't. Give it a good 3-4 months and you'll be sailing along in style.
I would rather deal with the gnashing of teeth than suffer the indignity of shaving with a Mach3!
That right there sums it up. Every shave is unique and is taken by itself. You build upon all things learned from the previous shaves. You hit that perfect shave, and I'll be damned if I can do it again the next morning. :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Library Guy
But that my friends is why this is so appealing.:)
David
i posted in another thread how i've decided to go back to my mach3 after using an artist club razor for a few months.. and i'll say this.. one pass with an artist club is way closer than one pass with a mach3.. both art good shaves.. and both look equally as stubble free.. but you can feel much more closeness with my feather...
i dove in head first with the feather and just started using it.. i threw everything else away and just went with a full on sink or swim approach.. it took me about 3 weeks with the artist club before i was getting good shaves.. i guess i'm faster with the mach3.. but it's prolly because i'm just rushing through it and not enjoying it as much as i do my artist club.
It does take time to develp this skill. I can get as close a shave with a new diposable but by 5:00 p.m. I've got the proverbial shadow. Not so with my straight. Besides, why pay for more disposables when the straight is free forever and you have something to hand down to your son and grandson?
Rich
“If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” – Mark Twain
I can get a BBS without irritation from a DE razor, I can get a BBS from a multi-blade cartridge but I do get irritation, and ingrowing hairs. I'm new to straight shaving but I feel that its as much to do with the ritual and satisfaction of shaving with traditional tools than just about getting a smooth shave.
I won't return to a cartridge and a can of foam, but I will probably switch between a str8 and DE, when time is limited its most likely going to be the DE that I use unless I can get a str8 shave in <10 minutes sorted.
Well, thepaulson;
In order to beat the moch 3 you only need two things:
Patience and Perfect Practice.
:gl:
I think a lot of people here do just that. And I did as well. But recently, when everything came together, I gave up the DE altogether and just use my straight. I accept whatever shave level I have time for, and I don't need it any longer for touch up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeltz
So, give it some time, you may change your mind as your proficiency increases. JMHO.
I've used Mach 3's, 5's and 10's. :) They all give great shaves, and IMHO a better shave than a STR8 with far less prep. A good DE will shave parts of your face better than a STR8 with less prep. But, that's not the point.
I don't think we shave with STR8 razors because it's easy or even gives us a better shave. Probably, most of us will give you a different reason for doing it, but there's something very satisfying about the tools, the prep and the shave. There's also something very satisfying about getting over the learning curve and finally getting that BBS shave, at least once.
One day you'll put your head in a gizmo that lasers the hairs off your face, and it will be the best shave, ever. But, it still won't be the same as shaving with a STR8, and won't be as satisfying, even if it's not perfect.
ThePaulson,
Check out Jimmy HAD's advice again. That was a great post. He's absolutely correct with the notion of stubble reduction, not removal. This took me months to learn. Some days, I felt as though I was taking skin off with my first pass, trying to get all the hair! He posted this thought in another thread a while back, and since then, all of my shaves have become just spectacular.
Make sure that....
1. A nice bit of prep....soft and supple skin.
2. Hot lather...keep that skin moist and warm while you're shaving.
3. Pull...pull, and keep pulling. Stretching is imperative.
4. Reduce the beard on the WTG, catch all the stranglers on the X or WTG.
5. Throw out your Mach 3. (It's like an ex girlfriend....stop talking to it, and it will eventually dissapear.) :)
You can always check out the classifieds too. Josh Earl has a bunch of older DE's for excellent prices. You could shave with your straight, and touch up with a DE if you like.
Good Luck,
Maxi
It took me six months to get a good straight razor shave. You'll see, in a few months with dedication, you will have great shaves. It took me a long time to analyze stropping along with shaving techniques in order to get where I wanted to be.
I have been using a mach III for the last few years. Even though they were pricey, they used to be worth it because I could get about 5 or 6 shaves from a single cartridge. I have always had severe irritation from using cartridges unless I shaved every day, my facial hair grows very quickly and one or two days without shaving takes a toll on anything I used including me face. The Mach III's held up pretty well until recently, after the first shave, they were junk. Gillete had ruined my BBS shave by changing their manufacturing process, either in India or china, because that is what I had found out from them after sending an email complaint. They said they made them better...lol
Not only did they irritate my face, now I was mentally irritated and vowed never to buy those junk cartridges again. I started doing some research and bought my first straight, a Red Injun 101SP. I also bought a 1963 adjustable slim as a back up. After two days with the slim, I will never go back. Even after a couple of days growth, I get minimal irritation and my face doesn't look like I slept in a patch of poison ivy anymore.
I had to work on the straight razor for a bit but it is almost there. I have bought a few hones and strops and have now learned how to set a decent bevel. It is not quite there yet, I am still developing a good stropping technique, but my first shave went well with only 3 or 4 nicks. I clipped both ear lobes and decided I needed a round point...lol...I am also still learning how to do my chin.
I have since bought a few more Bokers. I am also waiting for a Norton combo 220/1000 stone I purchased to set the proper bevels quicker, I will post pics of them in the Bokers club after I get through cleaning and sharpening.
Now I have a 101, a 101SP, a 101RP, a King Cutter, a Satin Edge, a Damascus Magnetic Steel and a few others...I think I've been hooked...lol