A Bad Beginner

Have courage! You'll get there. I started about 3 months ago, and the bathroom looked like a murder scene... the guys here got me on track pretty quick and now i only nick if I rush. One of the biggest things that was hurting me was shave prep, i.e. good lather and working it in. It can make a big difference on how much burn you get and how much hair you get off cause the blade wont drag or skip. Youtube mantic and watch his videos he has really good starter info for skin stretching and lathering.

Don't worry guys, I'm not giving up. I never cliff dived, but I have willpower and will make a good shave.

Thank you so much for the stropping advice. I was afraid to pull the blade off the leather before stoping at the end and rolling over on the spine. I saw somewhere here that lifting before finishing the pass was bad. I am an amateur machinist, so I do know a lot about sharp cutting tools and the anatomy of a blade and that sound I was hearing isn't what I thought I should hear. I will revise my stropping method to get it right.

I will say that I can't blame my first shave on a bad stropping job..unless Lynn gave me a bad blade and I'm pretty sure that's not the case. I followed his instructions of just rinsing the oil off on the blade and not stropping as it as it was already ready to use. It's just my technique and something I need to adjust. Now the second shave could have been bad stropping--good thing I have free honing for life. If you're a beginner, buy from SRD now so they can hone your mistakes if you make them!

It's a common rookie mistake to attempt shaving off multiple days growth the first time out. The thought of this sharp blade literally wiping away those pesky long whiskers without any resistance seems pretty cool, right? And then it doesn't go as planned; the blade seems to get caught in the whiskers, pulls like mad and hardly any hair is removed.

It is possible, it just takes experience and practice. Try shaving with only a days growth, two at the most, and see what happens.

Oh, and how do I know so much about the aforementioned "common rookie mistake"? Because I did it too, over 2 years ago now....

Ryan,

You described the first attempt spot on. Glad I wasn't the only one.

I am only trying with one-day's growth at a time.

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Also, a question about stropping. I am keeping the blade flat (mostly), and have not nicked by leather.

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A suggestion, from someone just past you on the experience scale.

Don't worry too much about stropping rhythm, and "keeping the blade moving".

Hold the strop tight, put the spine down on it toward the bottom of the strop. _Gently_ rotate the blade so the edge is in contact with the strop. Move the blade up the strop, with almost all of the (light) pressure on the spine, very little on the edge.

When you get to the top, stop. _Gently_ rotate the blade so the edge is in contact with the strop. Move the blade down the strop . . .

That's one "lap". Repeat 30 times (or more) before shaving. Keep the strop tight _all the time_.

Don't rush it. Your muscles don't have "muscle memory" yet, you've got to use your brain to control the process. Rotating the blade _while it's moving_ involves tricky timing, and leads to nicks in the strop when you're learning the motions.

+1 on not trying to shave off a beard. That's what electric clippers are really good at.

Charles

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

The blade never stops on the strop, ever!

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This is worth repeating.

Hesitation cuts come from a stopped blade.

Ideally you should have the skills & muscle memory down pat before putting a sharp blade to a strop. A strip of newspaper & a butterknife are great tools for initial practice.

When I strop, near the end of the stroke, i have lifted the blade rolling on the spine. when I move the other direction, the blade lands down on the strop when it is already in motion. All in one smooth movement so that the blade never moves toward the strop or stops on it. Only the spine is touching when at the end of the stroke. Once this smooth motion is learned, you will never nick your strop.

Enjoy....:beer2:

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Originally Posted by steammaker

Also, a question about stropping. I am keeping the blade flat (mostly), and have not nicked by leather. I am going slow to improve my technique. When I roll the blade (spine only, I have not used the edge yet--yea!), I hear a light "ping" sound when I roll the razor and have the blade in full contact with the strop. It sounds like it is picking the strop, but it is not being moved backwards on the edge at all (like honing). I stop the blade then roll on the spine. Is this right?

Thanks so much for your help!

Matt
Still working to become qualified enough to call myself a beginner...

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The blade not only failed the HHT, it was very rough on my arm and really didn't cut any hairs. This was after 50 on the cloth, 50 on the leather.

There are three pieces of good news though:
1) I now have a practice blade that I will practice with before sending back to hone. The butter knife was just too different for me. After using it then going back to the razor, it just felt too different.
2) The free honing for life will pay dividends for me already while I learn. It's what made me pull the trigger and go for it. Thanks SRD!!!!
3) A shave ready razor is on its way courtesy the donors of the December giveaway. I will get a second chance. Thank you all.

Steammaker, please be patient. While you may well have damaged your razor during stropping, you should still be expecting sub par shaves while you are learning. Getting a good shave with a straight is so reliant on technique that its near impossible for a beginner to get the results an experienced straight shaver will get in the first dozen shaves or so. Expect bad shaves for a little bit, and look for all the different ways you can improve.

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Stropping -- No, that is absolutely not correct. The blade never stops on the strop, ever! Keep the blade moving and begin moving the blade in the opposing direction before the edge contacts the strop.

Blade edge contact with the strop must always be done with spine leading motion.

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I used to nick my strop all the time, but what I did was start a stroke, then stop, turn the blade, move the razor, stop, turn, and so on.

So I do disagree with you here. Eventually, he can get the proper stroke down, but I found that stopping the razor really helped me.

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Also OP, my razors don't cut arm hair easily, nor do they ever pass the HHT. Feel free to make use of the free honing for life deal, but I'm just letting you know that your razor still could be good to shave.