Thread: Need advice on what I'm doing wrong

Thanks for the vote of confidence Ryan82, but just because I didn't screwe up the blade via stripping doesn't mean I did not error in another way. If I have learned anything from reading posts on this site it's that newbies like myself screw up in almost every possible way while blaming those that only look to help out... So I am extremly hesitant to point the blame when there is a 99.999% chance that the fault lies with me.

Originally Posted by thehekler

Thanks for the vote of confidence Ryan82, but just because I didn't screwe up the blade via stripping doesn't mean I did not error in another way. If I have learned anything from reading posts on this site it's that newbies like myself screw up in almost every possible way while blaming those that only look to help out... So I am extremly hesitant to point the blame when there is a 99.999% chance that the fault lies with me.

Nice to see humility in a newbie! You will go far here. Practice makes perfect.

First off I would like to thank all of those that responded to my original post, especially those that offered advice and insight into possible problems that I was having. Second and most importantly I am glad to report that I have significantly improved with regards to the TI that I was originally having problems with. I found three main areas where I was able to improve and in doing so impove the quality of my shave and felt that others might gain by me sharing them.

1) Angle- I found that I was attempting to shave with too aggressive of an angle. Although I have read over and over <30 there is a large difference between 29 degrees and 15 degrees. Also the thickness of tang and weight of the razor as a whole caused me to hold it slightly differently then I did my two thinner razors, so I have learned that it is important to experiment to find the best hold for each individual razor.

2) Stroke- I read about scything but for some reason, fear/mental block/whathave you I was having problems implementing it. I'm still not confidant in my stroke but I have improved and it is getting more comfortable each time.

3) Lather/beard prep- while I had good prep I did not have as good a lather as I have begun to develop. Part of this is due to using a higher quality soap a tallow based "Fitjar" which I heartily recomend and also spending more time building the lather.

Well these are the three areas which I was able to improve which drastically improved my shave. Tonights shave in fact was so good that it reminded me to write a follow up to this post. Before tonight I did not understand how people thought they could get a closer shave with a straight that a DE. (ah the mistakes we make when we are young/inexperianced) well now if I had not just eaten my latest slice of humble pie I would say that I "now" know what smooth is. But alas for the time being I have been humbled and look foward to finding I am wrong and there are closer shaves out there.

I was going to write some random mistakes/things I have learned in a seperate post but figure this is a good a place as any, so here it goes keep in mind these are just my thoughts if you think you know better, you probably do and are welcome to correct me.

1) shaving in a new location with distractions is a no-no. Recently I was staying at a friends beach house shaving to start out tge day someone knocked on the door I turned and razor hit the faucet. The words that left my mouth would have made Patton blush but when I calmed down I looked and saw the chip was almost non-exsistant and I was able to finish the shave with no I'll effects though I do plan on getting it honed out eventually though I'm not in a hurry.
2) practice stropping. Though I am not am expert I have found it to be extremly valuable and the more I improve the better shaves I get. You can always send your razors out to get honed, but you cannot AFAIK send your razors out to be stropped. I also find it to be a relaxing and enjoyable way to begin and end my shave
3) this one I learned just tonight. Do not move you gave and the razor at the same time. Maybe this is unique to me but tonight as I was finishing up under my nose I brought the razor it while turning my face for a better angle and SLICE!!!! My best cut so far.
4) alum rocks have a strangely unique and addivting taste. I'm not saying they taste good just that they are like nothing else and that that first taste of your lips after using one is an eye-opener.

Well that's it for today thanks for listening!!