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

I just got my first straight razor from Vintage Blades - a nice Dovo "Best", honed by the Honorable Lynn Abrams. So, I realize I'm treading on uncertain grounds, being a novice used to a Merkur DE.

I felt a *lot* of pulling on my first shave. Much, much more than with my DE, for example. I reviewed 'The World of Straight Razor Shaving', and the 'hanging hair' test doesn't work.

Advice? Is it plausible I got a less-than-ready blade? Any ways I should test this, beyond the 'hanging hair' test?

I'm a bit reluctant to hone the blade, because at this point I'd assume technique is the issue. But the 'hanging hair' test makes me wonder. I don't want to get discouraged because I'm combining a dull blade and poor technique!

While there is a microscopic chance the razor is not sharp enough, the overwhelming likelihood is that your technique has a lot to improve. Pulling often is the result of too steep an angle of the razor to your face. The spine of the razor should be lifted a little less than half-way to being perpendicular. About 30 degrees or so. Steeper than that and it will just scrape along your face and pull.

You could also be putting too much pressure on your face. Just guide the edge along your face with as little pressure as possible.

You might also have stropped poorly and dulled the blade some. We all did that when we started out.

Hope that helps. You'll definitely get lots of better advice from others.

This never seems to work for me as well. I dont know if its because the hair is to fine or we use to much conditioner in my house. Did you strop your blade? Does it shave hair off your arm? What was your pre-shave?

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.

Thanks to the four who have replied so far (in seconds, seriously!)

That's just the advice I needed. My only way of testing the blade was what I've read, so knowing that those tests are not 100% is useful. I hope my post conveyed my feeling that my technique was probably to blame!

Notes:
I didn't strop the blade, because the notes included specifically said not to because someone with way more experience than me had already honed it.

I'll just give it some time - I'd rather work on technique than risk messing up the blade by honing it in an unprofessional way. I have some experience honing chisels, but have never tried to shave with them!

(BTW, to get four replies in such a short time is amazing - you guys are amazing.)

All great advice. I have four blades, all sharpened by Lynn. None have passed the HHT. But they are all wicked sharp and shave great. I am convinced it is my fine hair!

Originally Posted by Elendil

All great advice. I have four blades, all sharpened by Lynn. None have passed the HHT. But they are all wicked sharp and shave great. I am convinced it is my fine hair!

Ah, good point! My hair is pretty fine, so maybe that's the issue.

Anyway, as I said - no offense to Lynn intended at all. As my Japanese teacher used to tell us: 'Even monkeys fall from trees', ie, even experts take a tumble from time to time. So I thought I'd ask.

I purchased my second new razor that was honed by Lynn. I thought I would give it a go with no stropping. It did not cut well. It seemed to pull slightly and was not to comfortable. I then gave it a good propper stropping and it shaved like a hot knife through butter.

I went through the same thing as you when I starts some months ago. i cursed the the blade and blamed everything but my own hand. I ended up buyign a stone, trashing a new dovo, cutting the living S**T out of my self. I took a week off (let my pride and face heal) and read tons of SRP WIKI. I then rehoned my blade and then started shving at night so I hand no rushing. I had all the time in the world and time to truely look at my angle, my beard direction, and preshave rituals.

Stick with it! it will all pay off and (at least for me) I felt I grew a little myself. Good luck and and happy shaving!!

Of course thats just my 2 cents and thats about what its worth

Echoing from above, I think your first WTG pass should typically be with the blade almost flat on your face. After that, relather and shave WTG again, but with the blade at about 30 degrees.

Starting my first WTG pass at 30 degrees works for some portions of my face. For the tougher parts, no way! I have to start flatter.

I strongly suggest that you read this thread. Lynn is human. It is possible that he did not get the razor up to snuff. I'd put the odds of that at about 1/1000 and the odds of the the bad shave being your fault at 999/1000. The hanging hair test is useless if you did not remove the oil from the blade. It also varies depending on the blade and the hair and the tester. The shave test is all that matters.

I'd suggest that you keep practicing and read as much of the beginner's advice sections as possible. It takes a while to learn how to use a straight.