Thread: New SR: doesn't seem sharp enough?

Its a common tendancy for a beginner to blame failing on the blade instead of their techinque. If it was honed by lynn, you can bet its as good as its going to get. The HHT is pretty unreliable. Some blades can pass it, but will still give a bad shave. Other blades won't pass it, and give great shaves.

Getting a good shave with a straight razor is very dependant on your technique, not just the razor. Being the first few shaves, you should expect it to not be as good as you were used to with the easy convenient disposables.

If you are getting a lot of pulling, I'd suggest a few things.

1) Lower the blade angle, often beginners go for 30 degrees, but end up with 45. Flatten that puppy down to your face, and then raise the spine up by 2-3 spine widths.

2) Don't move the blade totally perpendicular to the edge, angle it a bit. Look at my profile pic for details.

3) Understand that learning with a straight is a skill that takes time. Be alright with that. Make sure you do a good beard prep, then focus on keeping your angles right, your skin tight, and your touch light.