Thread: I'm doing something wrong...

I'm on my third straight razor shave, and it's really not going well so far. I'm having to fight tooth and nail to get the razor to cut hair. It digs in, it skips, feels like it's tugging the hairs out instead of cutting them, and winds up leaving most of the hair still attached to my face. I'm used to my DE gliding right across my cheek, whisking the hair away. Do I just have the wrong expectations from a straight, in terms of how smoothly the shave should go?

I've read the straight razor tutorials both here, and on Badger and Blade, and I've watched several videos on youtube, and as far as I can tell, I'm doing it right. If someone could give me an idea of what I'm doing wrong, I'd be absolutely thrilled!

The details:

TOOLS: Dovo "Best Quality" 5/8 straight razor, purchased 'shave ready' from Straight Razor Designs
I've got a synthetic leather strop from Tony Miller
Pacific shave oil
Taylor of Bond street shaving cream,
I've no idea what the brush is, it's probably junk, but since my DE shave isn't affected by this, I don't see why the straight would be.

PRE-SHAVE: I shower, then cover my face with a warm wet towel for two minutes. I put on a bit of Pacific shave oil and rub that in.
I strop 50 laps on the linen side, then 50 on the leather synthetic (Tony Miller made, so I'm not worried about quality there). I take my time with the stropping, since I'm new to it. I checked the blade sharpness cutting a neat little patch off my arm, and sliced through a hair held only at one end, so I know the thing is sharp

For the shave itself, I've tried several angels, from 45 to flat against my face. Short quick strokes, long controlled slow strokes, the blade catches and skips either way. If I use no pressure, the blade just stops where it is, and if I more, it pulls like hell.

The blade is removing hair, I've wiped the blade with a finger to check, and there's definitely hair in with the shaving cream, it just feels like it's being SCRAPED OFF instead of being cut.

Do I just have unrealistic expectations about how it's supposed to feel, am I doing something horribly wrong, or is this just a normal part of the learning curve?

Thanks,
Dylan

Did you strop before the very first shave?
If you are inexperienced stropper, the first thing that can cause your edge to degrade is incorrect stropping.
All the videos in the world will not make up for experience.Wit practice you will develop the right stroke and pressure so that your edges will not get damaged.

The only thing I can think of at this moment is your shaving angle, lay the flat and the lift the spine approximately a spine's width and that should give you a good angle. Its only your third shave in so dont get discouraged, practice makes perfect, keep watching those vids and it will come to you!

Hi meebl,
So your 3rd shave was not good!-Hmmm,questions-
1.-Was this shave any better than the first two?
2.-Are you just attempting to cut the hairs on your cheek below the sideburn ONLY?
Concentrate only on this area for now-if your blade is shave sharp (which I believe it is)-you must at least get this right before you proceed.

IMO you just do not have the angle or pressure correct.Keep going until you notice hairs being cut effectively.Experiment with stretching your skin so that the skin is as tight as possible.Increase the pressure very slightly to stop the skipping.

In my experience the blade only skipped when i was going too slow and too gently.
However,I have not shaved using shaving oil so why not try a shaving soap and make a proper lather- it may change the shave entirely.

Other members may chime in who can help with shaving with oils.

Don't get too frustrated but be determined and I'm sure you will succeed.
Hope this helps
Regards

Noggs

I did strop before my first shave. Okay, there's suspect number 1. Is there any way to gauge that? I assumed that since the blade passed the few barometers of sharpness that I knew of (hair and arm test), that it was ready to go.

When I strop, I go fairly slowly. I pull the strop taut, then, using very little pressure, draw the razor spine first down the length of the strop. I do my best to make sure that both the blade and spine lie flush with the strop, but the blade side probably pops up into the air a bit sometimes.

How can I tell if this is my problem? What's the best way to judge whether a razor is in fact ready to shave with?

Thanks noggs and nun2sharp, I'll try playing with the angle and pressure a bit more.

To answer your questions, noggs

1- No, this shave was very similar to my first two. Actually, no, the first shave was tougher, but I hadn't shaved in several days before that one, so I had more hair to get through. The tugging/ scraping sensations were much that same, though.

2- I have tried to shave more than just the cheek on the dominant side. i know I was rushing ahead on that one, I just couldn't help myself. I did, however, encounter these problems right from the start, including that section of cheek under the sideburns.

Regarding the shave oil, I just use that as extra lubrication. I use TOBS shaving cream over top of that (sorry, I think I forgot to put that on my original post.

Hi Meebl

QUOTE=meebl;598019]

How can I tell if this is my problem? What's the best way to judge whether a razor is in fact ready to shave with?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately the only real way to check that a razor is "shave ready" is to shave with it!
Bummer isn't it?
Regards

Noggs

I think you might not be stretching your skin properly.

Is that synthetic strop the TM Vegan? I had one once, and absolutely hated it in every possible way. Worst of all, it cupped, and badly. Put it on a table, and watch closely if the edge makes good contact with the strop at all times.

Other than that, three shaves are nothing. Your problems could be anything from lack of skin stretching to your skin not having accustomed to straight shaving. I would give it a few more weeks, then see if it is still not getting better.

But one thing is almost certain: it is not the razor (or the lather, as TOBS is idiotproof to lather up).

Stretch the skin tight like the others have said. Go in at a shallower angle. get the blade in contact with the skin but not too much pressure. You don't have the same weight distribution as a DE do the pressure will be different. A straight will be heavier at the spine and will want to flop away from your skin instead of straight down like a DE does.

I would personally drop the oil from the routine. When I tried oil I found it made the blade stick a bit to my face which caused some of the symptoms you are describing. After I wash my face in the shower I will rub a bit of conditioner into my face while I finish up and then wash that off with soap and then lather when I get out. Make sure you are lathering on a wet face with well hydrated lather. What are you using for soap/cream?

A straight in going to be different than a DE blade and really is not as sharp as a DE blade. In fact I know people that use DE razors and actually press the edge into cork before using them to dull them a bit. A straight is a bit more dependent on technique and you will find it to be more rewarding most likely.

When you strop be absolutely sure not to press that edge into the strop and keep the spine against the strop so you don't roll the edge over. If it passes the HHT you most likely haven't done that at least to the entire blade. That said, you may have rolled the edge on part of it causing that part to pull. Do the HHT again and try hitting as many spots on the blade as possible. It will probably take 2 or 3 hairs to do it.