Thread: How do I get closer

Originally Posted by volleykinginnc

I'll try stropping more times and see how that works. One quick question on the stropping....I put almost no pressure on it when going back and forth. Looking at the videos it seems like the strop deflects somewhat under the stroke...mine is so light that it doesn't visibly deflect the strop at all or maybe ever so tiny. Do I need to add more pressure? I'm scared to death of rolling the edge.

Don't add any pressure to your stropping. Over time you will find an optimal amount of pressure that works for you, but it won't be much. One thing that you can't accurately judge from a video is the amount of tension that the person holding the strop is applying....in other words, how hard they are pulling on the strop handle. Obviously, the amount of tension on the strop affects the degree of deflection that you get. For now, if you aren't getting the results you want from stropping either change strops or add more strokes to your routine.

If you keep your pressure low and you make sure that you never lift the spine of the razor off the strop you won't have any problems rolling your edge.

Originally Posted by nickymcc

It seems like my razor stopped skipping when I started to get the hang of skin stretching. It's still a bit of a challenge, but keeping a good stretch close to the blade makes a big difference. "The finer points of skin stretching" towards the bottom of the shaving passes wiki explains why skin stretching may help you get a closer shave too.

Great point.

Well the shave this morning was muuuuch closer....what I did was with the first WTG shave it was at a very low angle....the 2nd WTG was much steeper and resulted in a lot more stubble off.

I know the whole YMMV deal but anyone else doing similar?

For me it is about multiple passes, and it took me awhile to even do one ATG pass. Some guys can get BBS with one WTG, but they have also been doing it for years.

For me its lather, WTG, relather, XTG, wet face with water, ATG and touch up with water and more ATG.

I've been at this about 4 months now, and can attest that it is easy to get a decent shave early on, and that technique and learning continue with every shave. It took me about a month to get a nice BBS, and they have been coming easier since.

Originally Posted by markevens

For me it is about multiple passes, and it took me awhile to even do one ATG pass. Some guys can get BBS with one WTG, but they have also been doing it for years.

For me its lather, WTG, relather, XTG, wet face with water, ATG and touch up with water and more ATG.

I've been at this about 4 months now, and can attest that it is easy to get a decent shave early on, and that technique and learning continue with every shave. It took me about a month to get a nice BBS, and they have been coming easier since.

That is almost my exact shave this morning. I can get a decent shave with WTG and XTG but sorry for the hatas but after the BBS I was getting with DE's nothing less will suffice in my straight journey. So now I've been tossing in the ATG and man those are tough. With the razor flipped upside down and pushing not only seems awkward but it wants to skip. Practice Practice Practice.

Originally Posted by markevens

I've been at this about 4 months now, and can attest that it is easy to get a decent shave early on, and that technique and learning continue with every shave. It took me about a month to get a nice BBS, and they have been coming easier since.

Do you mean "it is NOT easy to get a decent shave early on"

Because other than my dominate side burn most of the face is still quite tricky.

3 months in now. Easy is such a subjective term... I would say easier, not easy. I have come a long way, but still have a way to go. I mostly use a top to bottom flow, so I can't really say WTG because even where the hair grows in an upward angle, I still flow from top to bottom. Some day I might try fancy angles, but it is really not necessary for me.

Originally Posted by Shoki

Do you mean "it is NOT easy to get a decent shave early on"

Because other than my dominate side burn most of the face is still quite tricky.