Thread: Nublet frustration...

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Okay, so I checked your original post and I think I'm fielding one general question. The conversion from a Shavette to a real straight.

So, is it normal to have problems? Why yes, yes it is. The cause is a lack of understanding and practice.

The most common problem, besides using bad angles and pressure is developing a proper stropping routine.

So, the DE razor is sharp, smooth, and probably coated with Teflon. The straight razor is sharp, probably smooth, and relies on good stropping to replace the Teflon.

Shavettes have a tendency to be rough shaving because that particular blade was not made for "open" use. The straight razor is designed for open use, and is typically honed by hand in such a way that the blade can glide over the face easily. Stropping, good stropping adequately supports this. In fact good stropping emphasizes this quality.

In order to learn to strop, lay the strop flat on a table, use light pressure and do lots and lots of laps. Add a touch of pressure if that fails and then return to lots of laps with light pressure. It takes practice and some more complex understanding but at some point the razor will slide through your whisker without effort and leave the skin with a new born sort of feeling. That, and only that, is the true test of effective stropping.

Ok, so I put the strop down on the table and gave it about 50 laps... I haven't shaved for a couple days so I was a bit doubtful. However, up until I got close to my jawline I only experienced minor discomfort. I did go for a more slack angle with the blade and more passes.

I did puss out and use the shavette for my upper lip after the initial pass tugged a bit with the wedge.
I am using the poor man's strop from whipped dog until I can talk my wife in to letting me drop a bit larger chunk of change on an SRD strop. I think I may also have it almost broken in, but I'm not sure what to expect a broken in strop to look and feel like (and yes, I know every strop will be a bit different)

I almost got a shavette to start then gave in and got a real Dovo. I think with the shavette you start with an extremely sharp thin blade and when it starts to dull you replace it. You must learn to take care of the edge on your straight and strop it properly. It will actually give you a better shave than the shavette, but you have to learn to take a few swipes with it and be patient.

I wanted to go directly to a straight, but the Shavette was a Christmas gift. I don't think my wife quite trusted me to not kill myself so the training wheels were first. I must say that I do enjoy it quite a bit. A lot of people slam them as being harsh but it's a quick and easy way to take care of things, especially on the upper lip and around the beard and hairline (on my neck, I'm 1/3 sasquatch).
I plan on using it as a travel razor. Leave a pack of $2 DE blades at my folks' place and at the in-laws' house and I can travel carry on w/o a problem.
I was hoping that it would at least help me with Technique, other than stropping. I know that part of my problem is stropping, the more I strop the better each shave gets. Part of my other problem may be going from the tiny little shavette to a rather large wedge... I've almost got my Clover cleaned up and ready to get sent out for honing. Maybe that will help when I go to a smaller blade that's more similar to what I started with.
Anyhoo, I've at least been having a blast and learning quite a bit...

I found starting with the Shavette helpful in refining my technique before making the switch to straights. Good luck!

So, it sounds like your having a little improvement. Keep us up on how things are going.

Learning the straight razor art is a slow and frustrating experience. One key factor from here is using a light touch in all activities and being willing to hone, strop, and practice shaving.

A straight razor must be dialed in when used. It is really easy to dork it up in the beginning. It also takes several shaves before it's been stropped enough to provide good shaves.

It also takes several weeks of shaving to get the razor to perform well.

If at any time you feel frustrated, send the blade to me and I'll hone it up for you, strop it, and pay for it to be mailed back, on my dime.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

So, it sounds like your having a little improvement. Keep us up on how things are going.

Learning the straight razor art is a slow and frustrating experience. One key factor from here is using a light touch in all activities and being willing to hone, strop, and practice shaving.

A straight razor must be dialed in when used. It is really easy to dork it up in the beginning. It also takes several shaves before it's been stropped enough to provide good shaves.

It also takes several weeks of shaving to get the razor to perform well.

If at any time you feel frustrated, send the blade to me and I'll hone it up for you, strop it, and pay for it to be mailed back, on my dime.

It's definitely getting better. I guess the old adage really is true "Practice makes halfway decent". My shaves are now good enough for government work, which may or may not be saying much. I'm going to be ambitious next week and try to do the mustache area with it instead of going to the shavette for that part.
However, today I shaved with just the shavette. This was my set up for today:

IMAG0042 by harner.bill, on Flickr

I didn't get a chance to shave last night and my face was all itchy, so I brought the shavette skiing with me and shaved in the shack at the top of the mountain.