Thread: straight razor not shaving

I agree with the previous posts. A straight razor should be able to handle any type of beard, even beards that defy a multi-blade razor. The angle at which you are holding the blade may be faulty. Check your blade angle--somewhere between 15-30 degrees ought to work.

Let us know how things turn out after you have incorporated the advice offered here into your shaving routine.

Well, since everyone has already answered your question, and given you advice on what you should do.... I'll ask about the other side of the issue.

Please tell us what you are doing in terms of:

• Prep (soaps, pre-shave shower etc)
• Approach (including areas you shave, order of those areas)
• Technique (including angles, stretching and strokes)
• Feedback (what does it feel like when you shave?)

Don't be afraid to give full disclosure here... it is easy to give a fix when someone tells us that they are trying to shave with the razor at 90 degree angles, but it gets complicated the more info is held back.
I bet you can see where this is going... lots of factors to consider, lots of room for learning, lots of ways to mess up, but nobody is going to think less of you for not knowing things at the start, or for not getting something right.


That said, you're going to love it when it clicks.

Lots of great advise in this thread, so here is my own 2 cents.

When I started (hell, I'm still pretty much a newb) I focused on 3 things:
Keeping the skin tight,
the touch light,
and the angle right.

I also overdid the beard prep and starting with a shave ready razor, which probably helped a lot.

thanks everyone for your advice! I have been trying better prep, making sure I'm soaking the beard for 5 or so minutes with hot water, lathering a lot. I'm still having problems though.

What I usually do for actual shaving is just do the sideburn with the straight razor right now. Doing anything else hurts too much. Going with the grain doesn't seem to shave at all but just tug. So I go across the grain which still tugs but at least it shaves a bit. It doesn't cut the hairs at the skin though so I still have some fuzz left over.

I tend to be fairly flat, I would estimate about 15-20 degrees angle with the skin. I find that tugs the least (probably the reason I don't slice the hairs right at the skin).

How do you stretch around the sideburns (especially when your face is covered with slippery soap)? I just pull my ear back a bit; don't really find that it helps.

Frankly I think it has to do with the sharpness of the razor. It may have been sharp when I sent it away but I may have dulled it quickly with poor technique.

Also, a question about care - I read to use mineral oil, so I bought some but how is it supposed to work? Do you coat it after you use it then wash it off with soap before the next time?

Originally Posted by Panzer32

What I usually do for actual shaving is just do the sideburn with the straight razor right now. Doing anything else hurts too much. Going with the grain doesn't seem to shave at all but just tug. So I go across the grain which still tugs but at least it shaves a bit. It doesn't cut the hairs at the skin though so I still have some fuzz left over.

I tend to be fairly flat, I would estimate about 15-20 degrees angle with the skin. I find that tugs the least (probably the reason I don't slice the hairs right at the skin).


Frankly I think it has to do with the sharpness of the razor. It may have been sharp when I sent it away but I may have dulled it quickly with poor technique.

Well now, this changes things a bit because it sounds like you are doing things exactly the way you should be...

The Sideburn to Jaw line stroke is the basis of a real shave test, if you are doing this correctly, the razor should cut and cut very smoothly with just a WTG stroke... You still have to do your part, but that part is greatly reduced in difficultly...

You very well might have dulled the razor down, through bad use, I would contact the person that honed it in the first place, and see if they won't tweak it up for you... It takes about 5 minutes to do that for the original honer since they know exactly what they did in the first place...

Can't hurt to ask...

Give it a good stropping, 100x on both linen and leather, if it doesnt get better contact the person who honed as Glen said and see if they wont touch it up for you.

seems to me that if your razor will pop hair, ie. hht. then it should shave. at least your sideburn. take your off hand and reach over your head put your fingers just above the sideburn and dig in and pull up. your proraso is a good one for glide so start with a spine worth of angle and let her slide . if that dosnt do it try 2 spine widths. keep your touch light. just enough to keep it from jumping around. if that works slowly increase your area of safety untill you can do the whole face

Hey guys,

a quick update after using my straight every other day for ~5 months now. I have gotten good enough that I'm definitely now getting a better shave than a cartridge, though I wouldn't classify it as amazing. I find that my biggest adjustment was lots of stropping. I usually do 50x on linen and 50x on leather before I shave. Is that usual or too much?

I think it could still be a bit sharper. Right now I have been sharpening it on a norton 8000 waterstone. I don't have a 4000 to do a pyramid on so have just been compensating doing more strokes on the 8000 (like 100 total). Would this work or just lead to 'overhoning', whatever that is (I am pretty sure I'm not getting a wire edge or anything)?

Also, should I be sterilizing the blade between uses? And is there a good way to keep it from rusting (besides drying it thoroughly) especially by the handle pivot (since its hard to dry between the handle and the blade)?

Originally Posted by Panzer32

Hey guys,

a quick update after using my straight every other day for ~5 months now. I have gotten good enough that I'm definitely now getting a better shave than a cartridge, though I wouldn't classify it as amazing. I find that my biggest adjustment was lots of stropping. I usually do 50x on linen and 50x on leather before I shave. Is that usual or too much?

I think it could still be a bit sharper. Right now I have been sharpening it on a norton 8000 waterstone. I don't have a 4000 to do a pyramid on so have just been compensating doing more strokes on the 8000 (like 100 total). Would this work or just lead to 'overhoning', whatever that is (I am pretty sure I'm not getting a wire edge or anything)?

Also, should I be sterilizing the blade between uses? And is there a good way to keep it from rusting (besides drying it thoroughly) especially by the handle pivot (since its hard to dry between the handle and the blade)?

You have interesting questions .
i have used norton years but never made 100 strokes in single blade.
what will happen if you make it ?
you will know better then me.
what i can tell you is this. if you move to 8 k stone after 6k stone you will need less then 20-25 strokes.
if you have 7k then even 10 strokes will be good enough.
You are using 8k after which grit stone?
after 1k or something else?
if 1k the answer then you should be fine
gl

Your question did make me think a little.
i went and tried to hone without 4k and see what happens.
this is what i did.
i set bevel on 3 razors using shapton 1k.
then i moved to 8 k norton.
it did take more time and laps then usual.
After making 50 strokes i was level of 4k .
then 30 strokes was ok but not where i wanted.
i made 30 more and edge come to close to where it could get.
your last 30 stroke could change it may be 20---60 .
Depends on razor temper , stroke etc.
This tells me you can do sharpen your blade with your method.
gl