Thread: New razor makes a terrible noise.

Hello everyone,
A year ago I bought a straight razor on ebay and the norton combination stones thinking I would learn to hone and shave at the same time
I never really got it sharp enough for much of a shave at all. After the discouragement wore off Im back at it and took some peoples advice here and got a best quality dovo entry level razor from straight razor designs that comes shave ready.
I put some olive oil on my face 15 min. before the shave warm water and lather. Well my first jawline pass went hhhkkkkhhhhrrrrr. I tried angles from 5 to 90 degrees mostly going for 30. anywhere and anyhow itried it made the awful sound. The first shave was close but awfully painful and not at all what i expected. On the third day I wanted to try again since I am new to this and must first assume the problem is me.
Well four hours after the 2nd shave my face still hurts and the shave is not close at all. I read before the blade should not drag or pull.
What can I be doing wrong? Thanks, Robby

Too steep of an angle(especially when you complain about the shave being too loud, do you mean like velcro getting pulled apart?) and too much pressure are the usual culprits for beginners, atleast it was for me. I kept thinking I was using proper pressure but I realized it was getting less and less every shave. The angle is hard to get right for a while, until you get used to the different grips needed to complete a shave. You should never have to go over 30 degrees and the correct pressure will be practically none, just take the whiskers. Your face will also take a while to get used to being shaved by a straight, it took my face a good 2 weeks and my neck a couple more than that until the severe irritation ended. It will take some practice before things start to come together, but I guarantee that the razor you got from SRD is more than sharp enough unless you have messed up the edge on your strop.

Edit: And give your face time to heal before trying again, I went 2 to three days between shaves when I first started.

Hey Robby,

Welcome to SRP!

Jason's right on. Less pressure is more. Take a butter knife from your kitchen drawer and use it to sweep the lather from your face. Only push hard enough to move the lather. That's all it takes to shave with a shave-ready blade, which is what you got from SRD.

A hollow-ground blade makes more shaving noise than one with any degree of wedge, and it's a normal noise. As you're learning, just shave with the grain. That's the quietest pass. If you're diving in against the grain on your first pass, that'll be extra noisy and also increase your chance of nicking.

Your lather might be on the dry side, too. My shaves run louder when that happens. Make it the consistency of yoghurt, and maybe lather and shave your face in sections so the lather doesn't dry out.

Just some thoughts there for you. Good luck and best wishes.

The sound you are going for involves two less r's and four less h's.
Try flattening the blade a bit.

Did you strop it before you used it?

I believe it was jockeys that said in one of his videos that the razor will make the sound of a knife buttering toast.

Robby,
Low angle, virtually no pressure are just one of the many components of shaving.

Pre-shave: Sounds like you are missing something that most of us use...hot water and plenty of it. Many of us pretty much only shave after a nice hot shower. The hot water softens the beard a lot. I don't know about olive oil part, but do know that hot water works.

Try this: If you don't shower before a shave, at least give your face a nice warm soak with a hot/wet towel for a few minutes, lather and hot towel again for a few minutes, then shave. Leave the oil out of it...

Scott

Originally Posted by robertojai

... I read before the blade should not drag or pull...

The above statement is often made, but in my opinion often misleads. Stated more fully, I believe it better to say...

During the first WTG pass, there might be some resistance.
During the subsequent passes, there should be very little or no resistance.

With a commercially prepared, scalpel sharp razor, when we shave there is resistance with the initial pass thru thick whiskers. And, with straight razors, very sharp straights, there is resistance also.

As an aside, in some areas on my face the blade doesn't ever pull. But, in the toughest areas, the initial pass comes with some resistance and pulling. Peruse hundreds of conversations on SRP from newbies, and you will find this is typically the case.

In my reply above, I said...

With a commercially prepared, scalpel sharp razor, when we shave there is resistance with the initial pass thru thick whiskers.

Coincidentally, the next thread I read made the same point...

Originally Posted by IamtheLaw382

... Getting the chin area has never been easy, no matter the razor. I've used Mach 3's and Fusions, a DE, a Feather, and the TI and there is always a lot of drag...

Again, drag might not occur. But, it is common with many of us no matter how sharp the blade.

Thank you everyone for the help. I will try again tonight paying better attention to the details.

Hey Shooter, So on the 2nd hot towel I would just put the towel on top of my already lathered face?

I do not have a strop yet. It is my next purchase, they are not cheap either. How many shaves can I get from the new SRD razor before needing to strop. I want to keep this blade pristine so I can use it as a bench mark for honing.

So do I understand correctly that some noise is normal even with proper technique and a super sharp blade? (like buttering toast) or with good technique is it possible to shave with no sound at all?
Thanks again everyone, it is very much appreciated.

You need a strop! If interested, PM me your name and mailing address and I will send you one. A PIF strop.