Thread: HELP!!!!!

so i am a poor college student, so i decided to buy my first straight razor and see how it goes. i was able to get a boker cut throat, i went and got it sharpened. i have my strop and my lather, but everytime i try and use it, it just feels like im running a sharp knife on my face and not cutting the facial hair. am i doing something wrong or is it the razor?

I am a three-month Newbie, so take my advice with a grain of salt. My first couple of attempts at shaving with a straight sounds much like yours. The razor didn't cut the hair. I did the wrong thing and pressed down hard with the result of looking like I had shaved with a cheese grater. Is your razor able to shave the hair on your arm? If so, it is probably your technique rather than the razor.

At the beginning, I found it is important that:
1. The razor is truly shave ready. (honed by a professional)
2. The shave prep has been well done. (hot shower, wash face, good shaving cream)
3. The angle of the razor be correct. (not more than 30 degrees)
4. Shave only the sides of your face until you master comfortably using the razor.

I suggest you read the Wiki for beginning straight shavers and watch the videos by Mantic. Watching videos is really helpful.

I bought Lynn Abrams DVD, "The World of Straight Razor Shaving" and found it immensely helpful.

Don't be discouraged. Do more homework and try again. A really great and rewarding experience awaits you.

Take your razor back to where it was sharpened and ask to see it used in person. At worst you'll find out it wasn't sharpened properly and at best you'll find out it is working great and get a shaving lesson at the same time

I'll agree with the previous posters. If you got it sharpened by someone who sharpens regular knives, it is the sharpening that is the problem, and you would do well to have it sharpened by someone who knows about straight razors. Check the classifieds for people in your area.
If, on the other hand, it was sharpened by someone who knows straight razors, it is probably your shave prep and technique.
If the razor is really uncomfortable, it may be that your angle is off and the razor is in need of a thorough stropping.
I'll include a link to an awsome stropping video: AFDavis11's stropping videos

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Take your razor back to where it was sharpened and ask to see it used in person. At worst you'll find out it wasn't sharpened properly and at best you'll find out it is working great and get a shaving lesson at the same time

+1 One on this. This was my first thought. You stated that you got it "sharpened" which is a term most commonly used when referring to knives. But you don't sharpen a razor, you hone a razor. This is a little bit of semantics, but there have been some guys who've come here to SRP who had their razor sharpened by a machine or by a knife specialist and they come here with nearly identical posts.

(FWIW: You hone a knife as well, but the common terms are different)

Don't give up!

Peace,

+1 on the technique tips described above. And remember to stretch whatever part of the skin you are shaving. Also, use very light pressure. Keep the blade against your face, at an angle no more than 30 degrees, but don't press the blade into the skin like most people do with a disposable razor. Use short light strokes.

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Take your razor back to where it was sharpened and ask to see it used in person. At worst you'll find out it wasn't sharpened properly and at best you'll find out it is working great and get a shaving lesson at the same time

+1 on this. It may well be that your razor is "sharp", but it's not "keen." The difference is in the quality of the edge on it. As has been pointed out, "sharp" in the sense of a knife is not the same as a razor edge.
Like others have said, find someone in the "Member services" section of the classifieds, to find someone who knows how to hone a razor properly, then try it again. Once you get the hang of this, you'll really enjoy it. I know I sure do, to the point that if I feel I'm going to be rushed, I wait until I have the time to take my time with it. (Guess I need to get me a DE for those days :P)

Just adding my two cents, though its probably only worth half of a cent. When i got my first razor, it had been honed by Lynn. I had my new brush and soap and strop and was ready to get my shave on....and let me just say that it made my eyes water. I know that it was honed properly...i mean, Lynn did it...enough said. =P Long story short, i figured out that i was screwing up the edge while stropping. It may not seem like a huge deal, but if you take a freshly honed razor and strop it while not keeping good tension on the strop...you may as well go shave with your kitchen knives. Once i worked on my technique, i was having dream shaves and feeling awfully good about myself i might add. So maybe its worth checking out some videos and comparing it to your stropping technique. As i said, I'm only adding my two cents. I agree strongly though that it may be as simple as having it sharpened not honed. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Be sure to let us know if things are improving

thank to everyone and their advice! so i tried again and changed my angle and such and it did cut the hair, but i think by what i have read in the post, it was sharpened, not honed, i could be mistaken but there are like grind marks on the razor. i will keep working on it!

Originally Posted by snickerdoodle09

thank to everyone and their advice! so i tried again and changed my angle and such and it did cut the hair, but i think by what i have read in the post, it was sharpened, not honed, i could be mistaken but there are like grind marks on the razor. i will keep working on it!

This is dancing around semantics, but if you see grind marks, your razor was probably sharpened on too coarse of a stone. Any "grind" marks (flat spot along the spine, bevel along the edge of the blade) should be mirror finished. If there are grind marks that look like scratch marks along the edge of the blade I'd guarantee you your razor has not been properly finished on a hone.

At this point if you could take up close pics of your razor blade and post them that could help.

Peace,