Thread: Shave Ready...or not??

I am new to straight shaving. I was looking for a project during the slow winter months here in Wisconsin and this seemed to be right up my alley. I picked up a Wade and Butcher from an antique store but it was not really sharp enough though it was in good condition, cost only 10 dollars, and will be good to practice honing on once I get up to that point. I purchased a black star Dovo from Straight Razor Designs and a honing stone (planning ahead for my W&B). This razor was supposed to come professionally honed, tested, and stropped. I was confident going into my first shave that it would do the trick. I was unpleasantly surprised that it hung up quite a bit on the first pass. The sound it made was of a metal bar being dragged through a wheat field. I figured it was because it was sitting for a while and needed to be stropped first. So I let it sit for a couple days. This morning I again felt up to the challenge so I carefully stropped the blade and prepped my face. It did a decent job on my sides on first pass though I was still getting some feed back from the blade and it did not seem to glide as I have seen on the videos that I have watched. My neck was a sort of nightmare as I am thin and have plenty of valleys and veins that looked much more vulnerable than I have ever noticed before. I did make the first pass successfully but nowhere near as close as my safety razor. I was set and determined to do a ATG pass but gave up as every whisker I hit snagged and my blade began to jump.
So at this point I am not sure where to go. Does the blade just need to be stropped better? I noticed when taking it out of the package that the wear on the spine was considerable and uneven. I wondered immediately if the quality of the honing job was questionable. I would not have thought anything of it if I was satisfied with the performance but now that it was less than I expected doubt has creeped in. I will wait a couple more days and give it another try, this time stropping it a bit more (40 passes on the first try). It might also be the soap that I am using. It was a gift that from my wife and is locally made. Might now have the lubrication needed. But the hanging up and the pressure needed was a red flag even if there was no soap.
Any advice from anyone on this would be greatly appreciated. I am not looking for a perfect shave on the first run, but I want to know where my folly is coming from and there are so many variables at this point that I don't want to change what is working and would hate to misplace the blame on a razor when it is something much more simple than that.

That sounds pretty much like every ones first shaves.
A hollow ground will make the butter knife on toast sound, that's normal, the Wade & Butcher will probably be quieter. Try lowering the angle and using less pressure

First off, congrats on your first straight shave! It sounds like a pretty standard 1st shave, so don't fret too much.

Getting a good shave with a straight takes more than a sharp razor (and if you got your razor from SRD, its as sharp as they come), but good technique as well. No beginner will have good technique, even if they have memorized everything in the wiki, because the feel and coordination have not developed.

So just be patient, and expect the first few shaves to be sub par. Aside from proper stropping and beard prep, while shaving make sure you are 1) stretching your skin in a way that lifts the hairs up, 2) make sure the razor is less than 30 degrees off your face (about 2 spine widths) and 3) make sure the pressure is as light as possible. If you focus on these, within about a dozen shaves you should be closer shaves than you've ever gotten before. This is part of the joy of using a straight. When you get a good shave, there is a satisfaction in knowing it took skill and dexterity in wielding this godly sharp piece of metal across your face and throat, and you did it.

Also, some areas are easier than others. The cheeks are the easiest. The lip takes a little more time to get down. The chin is notoriously difficult. It sounds like you have a difficult neck as well. Don't be afraid to use the DE in parts that are really hard. If you don't feel comfortable, don't push it. Over time your technique develops more and more and you will be able to use the DE less and less.

Oh, and you will learn to love that butter knife on toast sound!

We see tons of these posts, even more this time of year with the Christmas Razors

Besides the great advice you have already received here is a great thread to read

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...n-apology.html

Let's ya know that you are not alone in this

Like everyone before has said, this sounds like a standard first shave. Play around with you blade angle and shave prep. It makes a big difference. And don't give up..hang in there, it will get better with practice

Thank you to all of those who replied to my very common post instead of just passing me on to other posts. I was really surprised by the amount of people who so quickly replied to my post. As I reflect on my experience today and did some further I am excited to try again in a couple days. I will probably try a different soap as the lather on the stuff that I am using is not quite setting up the way I would like. My angle was pretty off because when I started with a small angle the blade dug in and did not move. This was probably a mixture of too much pressure and a lack of lubrication from the soap. I almost feel like I should keep a log and review it next time so that I remember all the things I thought might be going wrong. Thanks to all of the good replies I can probably just print this post page and I will have all of the helpful advice I need.

Originally Posted by Gritz

Thank you to all of those who replied to my very common post instead of just passing me on to other posts. I was really surprised by the amount of people who so quickly replied to my post. As I reflect on my experience today and did some further I am excited to try again in a couple days. I will probably try a different soap as the lather on the stuff that I am using is not quite setting up the way I would like. My angle was pretty off because when I started with a small angle the blade dug in and did not move. This was probably a mixture of too much pressure and a lack of lubrication from the soap. I almost feel like I should keep a log and review it next time so that I remember all the things I thought might be going wrong. Thanks to all of the good replies I can probably just print this post page and I will have all of the helpful advice I need.

When I was first starting I had the same problem, with pretty much the same razor from the same vendor. I found that I was being too tenative in my strokes, you will be surprised at how much resistance whiskers can exert on even a shave ready razor before it gets moving, especially if the angle is too steep(above a 30 deg angle). It may indeed be your lather, but I feel it is probably more in your confidence level and your angle. JimmyHAD has a great quote in his sig line about the proper way to grip your razor, if you use his advice and get your angle and pressure correct, then make confident strokes, not forcefull, your shaves will improve. Good luck and happy shaving.

Edit: Here is the quote: An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull. Following that advice I have rarely gotten a nick.

Just out of curiosity, what soap are you using?

I think the people on this forum are extremely patient with beginners, even when the questions seem to be repetitive. Straight shaving is difficult to begin with any success because there is a sharp instrument involved, technique required that really can only be developed through trial and error, and preparation issues that may be unknown to the beginner. Nothing urges the beginner to "read the Wiki" better than a little blood in the sink, some Styptic on the chin, and a few hearty laughs from the better half.

The soap I was using is from a local soap vendor that goes by Soap By Mom. She makes it herself and has a website at soapbymom.com. I am very happy with the stuff when I use my DE razor and it smells great (cinnamon) and not too overpowering. The ingredients are Saponified Tallow, Witch Hazel, Coconut Oil, Lanolin, Lye, Shea Butter, Fuller's Earth, Glycerine, and Essential Oils. I will try something different though because I need to take more time with a straight and by the time I get a cheek done the rest is dried. I will keep the soap though because it comes in a handy little sealable container that would be perfect for travel, when I would use a DE anyways. I just think it doesn't quite set up as good as I would like for slowly learning my face with a straight razor. It struck me as funny that the soap actually sets up better when using a cheap Boar brush that came with it than it did with my badger brush.