Thread: How much pressure and swipes?

How many times do you swipe the same section of face with a razor? I'm new to this and am rather timid cause I don't want to cut myself. I don't seem to be shaving much if any hair off. It might be due to my hair only having grown for 24 hours.

I don't seem to have shaved much hair off the right side of my face. Thoughts?

First off welcome !!!! If u read the Wiki here u will find TONS of info that is very useful. Also here is a pretty good vid of our own jockeys shaving. ENjoy!!
YouTube - jockeys41's Channel

I pulled my skin but i forgot a bit here and there to do it and keep it up. also I was only doing one pass. like I said I didn't have much hair since it had only been a day so I don't know if more than one pass is needed to get the stubble to go away. I don't know exactly how much pressure to apply without cutting myself. guess I'll figure that out while trying.

Jockeys videos are really good they helped me alot and he says often that you use almost no pressure. Welcome good luck and have fun
Glenn

Also might i add, what razor did u use and where did u get it? IT might be that the razor is not "shave ready" . As for pressure u really shouldn't use any pressure just enough to keep the blade on the face, and short downward strokes slightly overlapping each other work very well for me.

I use a c-mon blackie razor, one of those beginner types I believe.

I'm really new, btw, only on my fourth shave, but I use very little pressure, in some spots the shave is very close in others not so close. That tells me the pressure is fine, it's the angle I need to work on.

Originally Posted by ArchLobster

I use a c-mon blackie razor, one of those beginner types I believe.

Well I know that the vintage C-mon blackies are great shavers and I myself own a vintage C-mon and its shaves superbly, but Im not sure if the newer C-mons are as good as the old ones IDK( maybe one of the Veterans will chime in) Did u send it out to get shave ready or was it already "shave ready" and where did u purchase it?

Hello and welcome!
I am new here but I've learned a lot over the last month. I want to second reading the Wiki.

When I started I was using way too much pressure, especially on my cheeks and did get some real nice cuts. Be sure and read the Wiki and especially look at the images. For me, I found angle was my real problem at first. I was holding the blade near 40 - 45 degrees and that caused me to push into my face rather than to slide along my face. The Wiki indicates 30 degrees for your With the Grain pass (your first north to south pass).

Try this for your first pass and don't worry about things like WTG/XTG/ATG until you get comfortable with the angle. I found that the first pass which would be following the natural flow of how your hair grows, called With The Grain (WTG) should be about this angle and when I got that working, everything else started to fall in place.

XTG is a much smaller angle (closer to 15 degrees) and I am currently working on Against the Grain (ATG) which is about 5 degrees. In fact I am laying the blade almost flat with this last angle and it is starting to work.

But, thats after a month of practicing with the 30 degree angle.

I remember a lot of razor burn before I found this as well.

To start, I usually lay the blade flat on my face. In fact, I try to make sure I get a little foam (from my face) on the back of the blade (to make sure I get this angle) as I put the blade against my face, then I roll the spine out just a bit, leaving the edge against my face and start waving the blade downward. Just a bit, very very little pressure inward. Just enough to get the blade to kiss my face then move it downward. The mirror can be a bit deceiving when I do this and I felt many times like I needed to 'push' the blade against my face, but don't. This is why I lay the blade against my face before I start, then roll the spine outward. Any pressure you use is downward and if possible let the weight of the blade do this for you.

If you find yourself 'pulling' against the beard then maybe your blade is not sharp enough. I did experience this and found a few laps on my barbers hone stopped that.

Since then, I have found that with less and less pressure, I usually get closer and closer shaves. Once you get comfortable with this angle and the pressure, then start on the XTG or across the grain passes. Last work on the ATG or against the grain.

Hope this helps

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm starting to get the hang of it, not quite as timid to make the razor gllide so I'm getting somewhere.

I keep forgetting to stretch my face with my Hand, I do do it with my jaw, extending it and such, but I keep forgetting to use my spare hand.

I manag to get a decent shave, but there was still stubble. I'm being patient about it though so I really want to be able to feel comfortable with the WTg pass first before I get too fancy. Been following Lynns advice and been only shaving one side for practice. I thought the waiting would kill me at first but now I think it's for the best.

Loving it so far. Really like the whole brushing the face and lathering it up thing. I feel like a badass doing that for some reason. Can't wait to get enough practice so I can get supeer smooth shaves and get a nicer razor.