Sadly...my best shave in over a month.

So, I have been shaving exclusively with a straight for over a month now. I have 4 razors, 2 of which are vintage blades I purchased on the classifieds here. It turns out, that so far, those are my two go to blades and seem to shave the best.

Anyway, last night I attempted to shave with my new Boker Edelweiss. After the first pass on my right sideburn, I looked and noticed that a lot of hair was left behind. I continued on the right side of my face moving on to my cheek, right side of my chin and just above my jaw line. Same result. The blade simply was not removing hair and was not 100% comfortable. :shrug:

Okay, so not having a good shave, I decided to put the straight down and pick up my old Gilette Fusion. Sadly, one WTG and one XTG pass from my fusion gave me the closest shave I have had in over a month. :cry:

This was disappointing and disheartening. I know I am still in the learning process, but I had been shaving comfortably with a straight for over a month with relative success. Last night was a step back and I was very disappointed. Is it normal to have these "setbacks" from time to time?

I would say that any learning process comes with setbakcs from time to time. Don't be discouraged, as you said yourself, you are doing great for a month now! GET OUT THERE AND SHAVE :)

It will get better as time goes on. Don't give up.

The setbacks are indeed normal. Try not to be too disheartened. You can't just pick up a straight & get perfect shaves, & if you could, this forum probably wouldn't exist.
It's a slow process. Stick with it & be prepared to try new techniques when things aren't working for you & you will reap the rewards. There'll be times when you wonder why you bother, but there'll also be times when the breakthroughs make you realise exactly why you do. Try to remember them! :tu

I have had enough "breakthrough" moments in my one month + of straight shaving to feel good about everything. In fact, I transitioned rather easily and was feeling really good with my shaves up to last night. I guess it was a combination of being excited to use my spanking new razor and having so much success early.

After the first uncomfortable, unsuccessful pass on my face, it was like a punch to the gut!

I am certainly not going to switch back to the cartridges. That is a no-no. :nono:

I'm looking forward to my next shave and putting this past one behind me.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

I'm looking forward to my next shave and putting this past one behind me.

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That's the spirit! That's what it takes to get good at it. Everyone's learing curve is different. Think of it this way. You're not learning to shave, you're re-learning to shave. You've been using a different method all your adult life and gotten good at it. Now, you're learning something completely different. As other members have suggested from time to time, if there is another member nearby, you might see if you can get a personal critique. Good luck.

Like learning anything else its just a matter of persistence and time!

This is when a "Shavette" comes in handy, It gives you a feel of what a very sharp razor is and something to shoot for when honing and stropping your traditional straight razor. Just my opinion.

Mark :fim:

It took me a good 4-6 months to really get the hang of straight shaving. I would shave with a DE every few days to get calibrated to what close is. Then one day I noticed there was no difference anymore, now the straight is better and closer.

Hello, Fbones24:

You will have more setbacks, as well as successes, and one day mostly successes. That's how it is with straight razor shaving. You are in the learning process of something known to take some time to master. We've all experienced what you have. This is normal. Stay with it, and take your time. It also helps to evaluate your technique regularly and see if it needs adjustment. Piece o' cake.

Regards,
Obie

The very knowledgable Obie said It perfectly.
It sums up my experience perfectly for the last 7 months of straight shaving.
You seem to be wanting to hang in there, and I salute you for that.
It will become better and better, the setbacks are all part of the learning curve.
Good luck to you!

I agree with everything everyone has sad. I too have been shaving for about a month. I had a shave recently that wasn't that great, and on those days I just look in the mirror a little less often haha. I just keep reminding myself of the reason why I am doing this... not only because of the beautiful artform that is SR shaving, but because the planet could really do with a little less waste (and cartridges produce TONS of waste). In the end, thanks to support on here, combined with setback stories like yours, I am confident that we all experience these setbacks, but all triumph in the end.

Keep up the shaving! And thanks everyone for continuing to be supportive of new guys like us!

Have you used the new Boker successfully before or was this its maiden voyage ?
Just wondering if it arrived shave ready & if you stropped it.... Or if you had a bad lather day :)

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Have you used the new Boker successfully before or was this its maiden voyage ?
Just wondering if it arrived shave ready & if you stropped it.... Or if you had a bad lather day :)

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I used it twice. The first time I did not strop it.....shaved with it straight from SRD so I am assuming it is shave ready. I did not have a good result my first shave with this razor.

The second time, I stropped it before my shave. I did my usual routine for pre shave prep and built up a good lather. Same result though.....the razor was not removing hair the way my other razors do.

Again, this is still all new to me, so I'm questioning my technique. :shrug:

I'm going to give the Edelweiss another run tomorrow morning and I will post results. :)

I t may well be your technique especially if it is a different grind to your familiar ones.
Hang in there.

Okay, I shaved this morning with the Boker Edelweiss that had given me problems and I am happy to say the result was much better!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shave...tml#post612988

Basically, before beginning my shave, I took a deep breath and said that I was in charge and that I was not going to let the razor control me!

It worked and while not the most comfortable shave I have had, I did get a relatively close shave with two WTG passes and one ATG pass. The one thing I noticed was that I had to increase the angle on the blade with the Boker. My other blades are all half hollow or below and have been giving me close, comfortable shaves on two passes. Is a steeper angle necessary with full hollows?

I'm not sure whether it was the angle, mindset, prep or a combination, but it definitely was a much better result than the last time! :)

Fbones24 hang in there. It may be time to just take a good honest look at things. Is the razor really shave ready? A good sharp razor can be a pleasure to use. How is your stroping? Do you keep the strop tight? keep the razor flat against the strop, make smooth passes and turn the razor on the spine each pass? Do you use a good lather?
Are you using the right angles when you shave? Is the razor able to shave with light pressure?
What equipment do you have? Are you able to refresh the razors edge?
Answer these questions and we will help you.

Silver2:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silver2

Fbones24 hang in there. It may be time to just take a good honest look at things. Is the razor really shave ready? A good sharp razor can be a pleasure to use. How is your stroping? Do you keep the strop tight? keep the razor flat against the strop, make smooth passes and turn the razor on the spine each pass? Do you use a good lather?
Are you using the right angles when you shave? Is the razor able to shave with light pressure?
What equipment do you have? Are you able to refresh the razors edge?
Answer these questions and we will help you.

Silver2:)

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Razor was ordered from SRD so I am assuming that it is more than shave ready. I currently own a strop, two sided strop with paste (Crox and .25 Diamond), and a barber's hone.

My prep, stropping and technique are good. I know because I have been shaving with other razors for over a month without much of a problem. It was just my last two shaves with this Boker that had given me a problem.

This morning was an improvement though so I'm happy.

Ok, do I understand correctly. You have 1 strop, but it is pasted on both sides?

Silver2

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silver2

Ok, do I understand correctly. You have 1 strop, but it is pasted on both sides?

Silver2

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No, I have a 3" Latigo strop and a two sided pasted strop.

It sounds like your razor is not shave ready to me.
I would try giving it 5 to10 passes on the diamond wipe it off good and give it 5 to 10 passes on Cro-ox if it is pasted lightly. If the Cro-ox is pasted too heavy it can dull the blade. Use light pressure.
Then wipe it off and strop it on fabric 50 passes and 50 passes on leather then test shave it and see how it does. Is it better? Does it need more help? if it does go back over it again.

full hollow blades do not need more angle. Using to much angle can dull the edge of the best razors. You might try using a scything motion on you shaving strokes. Razors really cut better when they are slightly sliceing the hair off instead of hitting it straight on. You will notice a change in the sound of the razor.

The Bokers have given me some of my very best shaves. When I got my King cutter new it was not sharpened by a pro. I gave it some passes on a pasted strop then hit the leather. It just wiped the hair off after that.

Let us know how it goes.

Silver2

Thank you for all the advice. I will try to give it a few passes on the paste. So you're saying I should run it over the diamond first, followed by the CroX? Just want to make sure that is correct?

When I say I was increasing my angle, I meant very, very little. I have been using a 20 degree angle (estimated) with my other blades with good results. Today, I increased the angle to maybe 30 degrees and got better results with this particular blade.

I will take your advice and give the Boker a few passes on the paste prior to my next shave and see what happens.

Yes, strop on diamond first then Cro-ox.

Yes up to 30 degrees is fine on WTG.

Give a try at using a very slight slicing motion on you shaving stroke.
Made a big difference in my shaving.

My shaves were so close on 2 passes one WTG and one ATG that I had to stop using the ATG pass because of ingrown hairs.

Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out?

Silver2

Just bear in mind any possible stropping faults will be magnified on pasted strops so easy does it.
Also it may be just semantics but DON"T do any kind of slicing action or slicing is what you may achieve :p All you need do is angle the blade so heel or toe hits the hair first followed by the rest of the blade.

I did the same thing for a bit and fell into a slump after about a month of shaves...some good CroOx, and nice laps on the leather, and no distractions, and BBS once again. I think some of it may have to do with your beard getting used to the STR8 as well. Senior wise can jump in on this one. I used electrics a long time ago and it would take a few week b/f your beard get used to the razor and start shaving closer once again. I'm about 2 months in on STR8's and it's getting better every time...

Okay, I'm convinced that the Edelweiss is not as sharp as it should be. I have shaved with it at least 5 times and each time I have gotten a terrible shave. Irritation, tugging and not enough hair being removed.

Yes, I have only been using a straight for two months, but I have three other razors that I shave with no problem, so I am almost certain (99%) that it is not my technique. I just cannot get a close, comfortable shave with this blade.

I'm going to send it out to be honed and see what happens from there.

Yep learning what sharp is a learning curve all by itself, when you get into honing your own straights and learning what sharp and smooth are ,then the shaves get real good, but take your time and have fun ,you will get there.