Thread: HELP!!!!!!!!!

Well, I think I've tried everything. Coachmike loaned me three shave ready razors, I've honed(pun intended) my stropping and shaving technique, I switched to Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap and the one unsurmountable problem remaining is that even after 4,5,6 and even 7 passes on the same area of skin I still see uncut stubble.

The fact is...one pass with my Mach 3 turbo and not a filament of stubble to be seen. I don't get as much of this problem on my center neck and chin but on my cheeks, jawline and neck behind the ears I'm left with numerous hairs. It's as if the razor is removing every other hair on each pass.

Could really use some fresh ideas as to what I'm doing wrong!

It all comes down to a few things: sharpness of the razor, stropping, angle, pressure, your lather, beard prep and stretching. Since you say that your razors are in shave ready condition, this should not be a factor, unless you managed to roll your edge stropping. Also because presumably you use the same lather and beard prep with your straight than with your cartridge razor, I will not go into that here. so we have:

* for stropping, keep the strop tight and use little pressure on the razor hand. Watch the way you flip the spine.

* You may want to check the "suggested angles for different passes on this link: Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

* Let the razor do its job without helping it in any way, you should use little pressure.

* You may also help the process by using light stretching of the skin: the stretching is intended to provide a flatter surface for the razor to cut, remember safety razors are much more narrower than straights. Stretching also make the whiskers stick out a bit more.

Al raz.

Originally Posted by WineGuyD

Well, I think I've tried everything. Coachmike loaned me three shave ready razors, I've honed(pun intended) my stropping and shaving technique, I switched to Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap and the one unsurmountable problem remaining is that even after 4,5,6 and even 7 passes on the same area of skin I still see uncut stubble.

The fact is...one pass with my Mach 3 turbo and not a filament of stubble to be seen. I don't get as much of this problem on my center neck and chin but on my cheeks, jawline and neck behind the ears I'm left with numerous hairs. It's as if the razor is removing every other hair on each pass.

Could really use some fresh ideas as to what I'm doing wrong!

Originally Posted by Alraz

It all comes down to a few things: sharpness of the razor, stropping, angle, pressure, your lahter and stretching. Since you say that your razors are in shave ready condition, this should not be a factor, unless you managed to roll your edge stropping. Also because presumably you use the same lather with your straight than with your cartridge razor, I will not go into that here. so we have:

* for stropping, keep the strop tight and use little pressure on the razor hand. Watch the way you flip the spine.

* You may want to check the "suggested angles for different passes on this link: Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

* Let the razor do its job without helping it in any way, you should use little pressure.

* You may also help the process by using light stretching of the skin: the stretching is intended to provide a flatter surface for the razor to cut, remember safety razors are much more narrower than straights. Stretching also make the whiskers stick out a bit more.

Al raz.

+1 on what Al suggested. However, since you are 40 days into this and since after 6+ passes, you cannot get DFS, I suggest a more tangible approach. Something is definitely off in your routine...any of us can venture guesses here, but at the end of the day, they are just guesses. Now, here's what I suggest (I am not even sure if this is doable, but worth the try):

Hook up with a senior member near you (that is one who is willing) and have them watch and critique your technique...This is the only quick way (without going through another 40 shaves without results) that you will get to the bottom of it and identify the culprit in your technique (and it's most probably technique).

I wouldn't want to feel frustrated to a point where you quit and think this whole exercise is futile and useless.

Just a thought

Thanks for responding Al.

I really think I have all your points covered. While it's possible I rolled the edge on my Wosty a month ago, Coachmike loaned me three shave ready razors that I shaved with unstropped at first just to see if there was a difference. There was an oh so slight improvement. I've studied every stropping video available and I'd be very surprised if I'm doing it wrong at this point. Besides, I eventually stropped all three of Coachmikes razor without feeling any loss of shave quality. I'm very comfortable holding the razor in either hand now and have experimented with every possible angle and pressure...and I do stretch my skin while shaving...especially my cheek and yet that is where I get the least hair removal.

I really wonder if I just have difficult to shave hair grain.

Thanks Robert. I thought of asking Coachmike, but he's been very busy lately and I already feel I took too much of his time when he actually drove to my wineshop to hand me his razors.

I was actually thinking of video recording myself while shaving and posting it on the forum, maybe I can get my wife to hold the camera to get the right angles.

I get confused a little.
1 why you hone shave ready blade again?(or i got this wrong)
Now 6 passes way to much you are lucky or you are using right pressure while you shave(no pressure at all). that is why you don't get razor burn.
you shouldn't make more then 2 passes in my opinion.
Stretch skin and try to go only wtg and xtg .
if this wont help let me know your mailing address i will send you razor try it out. of course if this helps you.
Send pm.
take care.
Gl
Some people out there is perfectionist. you may one of them .

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

I get confused a little.
1 why you hone shave ready blade again?(or i got this wrong)
Now 6 passes way to much you are lucky or you are using right pressure while you shave(no pressure at all). that is why you don't get razor burn.
you shouldn't make more then 2 passes in my opinion.
Stretch skin and try to go only wtg and xtg .
if this wont help let me know your mailing address i will send you razor try it out. of course if this helps you.
Send pm.
take care.
Gl
Some people out there is perfectionist. you may one of them .

No, I didn't hone any razors. I sent my first razor to Lynn to get it shave ready, I only stropped the three razors that Coachmike loaned me.

I do stretch the skin, and I don't seem to be getting razor burn from the straight, I do get occasional razor burn from my Mach 3.

Thank you so much for offering to loan me a razor but I already borrowed from Coachmike and I think it's safe to assume the razors are not the issue.

I might be a perfectionist, but I don't think expecting to see all the stubble removed with one or two passes is being a perfectionist. I'm not complaining about how smooth my skin feels, I'm complaining about seeing lots of uncut beard hair after many passes.

Originally Posted by WineGuyD

I'm complaining about seeing lots of uncut beard hair after many passes.

This shouldn't happen. Even after your first pass you shouldn't have so much hair left.(in fact none uncut)
You making 6 passes there is still uncut hair?
Why it happens?
Dull razor(you ruled out this by saying your razor's come from Lynn and Mike)
wrong angle( if this is the case then you should have really bad time using straights. it will be painful shaving experience)
stretching -you said, You have done it?
Now you say what else could be?
i am clueless.
what i mean perfectionist is Some people loves Perfect shave as they used to get from safety blade.
It takes time to get exact result. Practice ,and face needs to get used to straight razor.
Gl

Originally Posted by WineGuyD

I really wonder if I just have difficult to shave hair grain.

The hair under my jaw and on my neck grows from under my left ear, down across under my jaw and up toward my right ear. WTG & ATG passes there are quite challenging, but I'm perfecting my technique.

I had the same problem you describe, with the neck and under-jaw area inboard of my right ear until I started using the following technique.

In chapter 5 of the 1961 Barbering Text that you will find here, the last paragraph on pg 33 describes a particular cutting stroke that is illustrated in figure 27 on pg 34. That cutting stroke slices off the whiskers rather than chopping them like a hatchet. That's finally enabling me to get that troublesome spot I was never able to reach before. Not quite yet BBS, but I continue to make progress. Give it some thought. I'm liking this new cutting stroke (new to me).
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Just gat back from Lynn my recently acquired WWI Clauss USMC 4/4 and My G. Wostenholm Pipe 3/4 that he re-honed. I decided to shave with the Clauss USMC first, un-stropped, and what a difference from the past, it cut down my stubble like squad of ****ed off Marines taking down the Taliban in Kandahar! There wasn't a blade of hair left standing after two swipes...I even managed to give myself a healthy nick near my ear because I wasn't prepared for how keen the razor was. I did a partial opposite cheek with the Wosty just to see if it was as keen and it was. All in all, for the first time, I completed a full WTG & XTG shave quickly and without having to make more than a double pass.
This is what I had expected from day one and I'm so relieved that the problem is solved. From this point on it's just about fine tuning and figuring out the right hold for an ATG shave. On that note, can anyone point me to a video showing the right way to hold the razor for ATG shaving? I tried this morning in my euphoria but couldn't do more than an inch or two before the blade started catching and scared me that I was about to slice myself.