Thread: Straight Razor Shaves Everything But The Face. Too Thick, Too Coarse.

I've read all the threads I can find on "coarse hair" and "heavy beard." Nobody ever provides any conclusions, it's like they ask, get answered, and disappear. Maybe they cut their throats, never to be heard from again. I'll see this thread through. It'll either end up happily ever after, or I'll settle for the mediocre results, or I'll have an over-priced box opener.

I ordered a no-name straight from the SRP Classifieds. I stropped it, maybe inadvertently ruined it in the process. It took some hair off my sideburns, but dragged and snagged my goatee area. I got the same results several times. I suspected the blade was good, but my face hair is too thick, so I try it on my arms and the dang thing was smooth and effortless.

I ordered a new Dovo from SRD, pro honed and everything in the hopes it would provide satisfactory results on my face. I stropped it, maybe even ruined the edge in the process (I'm a slow learner). Gave it a try several times over a week when I wasn't in a rush to get out of the house, stropped every time. The Dovo looked and sounded purdier but barely gave better results. The sideburns and cheeks are OK, it looks like I shaved maybe a while ago, but the goatee area gets snagged and dragged. I don't push it, I patiently re-lather and try different angles over and over like a crazed and obsessed shaving maniac. I thought to myself, maybe my facial hair is too thick for this blade, so I tried areas of my legs that won't show when I wear clothes, and it was effortless. It was so fun, I was tempted to keep going but I don't want people to ask questions about my legs.

My prep routine is to run the blade on linen a few times, then 15 laps on the leather. I take a shower, oil the beard with Musgo REal brand, boar brush lather with either Dr. Bronner's or that cheap shaving soap at drug stores.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks ya'll.

Souriya

Given that you tried two different razors with the same results, and given that you are having more trouble with a more difficult area, I wouldn't be surprised if it's simply a matter of shave technique. My advice would be to spend a while practicing on just your sideburn and cheek areas, because these are easier, and put off your chin for a while.

It's been said before that the hair on your chin (and moustache, I believe) are the most coarse of all the hair on your face. On top of that, it's the most difficult to keep the angle correct. As Holli said before me, I'd give some time perfecting the technique on your chops and cheeks, making sure the blade angle is 30 degrees. I've seen alot of videos where even 'experienced' shavers are at a much steeper angle than the recommended 30, and the sound it makes sounds...awful, to be honest.

Or maybe your beard needs a wedge. A big, Sheffield wedge. (But that's an even more expensive option. Lets stick with technique, for now.)

The main things preached to me when I started were: Prep, pressure and angle.

Now for the stropping.. I have a routine I use to make sure I don't ruin the edge of my razors while trying to learn proper stropping technique. Lay it on a flat surface, a table, your headboard, whatever, as long as it's flat and secure. Then I stropped my razor in a slow, easy fashion. Pre-shave I strop 30-40 on the wool (linen), then strop 50-75 on the leather. Then I shave with it.

When done shaving, after I have dried the blade and scales carefully, I run it on the strop again, but this time I do 15-20 on the wool and only 20-25 on the leather. This makes positive sure the blade EDGE is also dried and straightened. Then when that razor comes up in the rotation again, I do it all over again. This has made it a lot more consistent for me. But you have to find what works for you... but don't mess up your edge with bad stropping techniques. The shaving techniques also come better with time and practice.

Maybe you do need a wedge. I have 3 4/8's wedges and I love them all!!! They could cut down a redwood they are so sharp!! (Thanks Kelly!).

Good luck mate!! Work up to those hard spots slowly, and don't be discouraged if you don't get the results you expect immediately. It WILL come as long as you don't give up!!

Happy Shaving!!

M

Not sure if the advice of a fellow newb is worth anything, but... i started straight shaving about 3 months ago. like you i found my first razor tugging and pulling. Convinced that the razor was the problem and not my method or stropping i took it to the new hones i had purchased as well. needless to say my first razor is still ruined and waiting for me to learn to actually hone (thats a long story). fortunately i had ordered a second razor and it came almost immediatly after the first. again i experienced the same problems. it seemed, much like you that i could shave my side burns and cheeks but it pulled everywhere else, especially near the corners of my mouth. fast forward a mere 3 weeks later and i could shave my entire face. i took it in small steps and just tried to shave different areas or more each day. what really helped me was learning to shave my jaw line. now 3 months later; currently i'm struggling with the hairs on my neck (i can shave them but i have no idea how to get that area smooth lol) and sensitivity all over my face after i shave (though its like 100x better than what used to happen with my old mach3).

anyways i babbled on there. good luck and have fun... you'll get it

I found learning to shave with a straight razor quite difficult. There is so much to get right (blade sharpness, stropping proficiency, angle, technique, preparation, etc. etc.) and a misstep in any of those areas makes for a lousy shave. If you get more than one of those factors wrong, then shaving well is just about impossible. Nobody gets it right immediately. In my case, the first 10 shaves were lousy, the next 10 were less bloody but still bad, and it wasn't until about the 50th shave that I had any proficiency at all. At about the 100th shave I started to get results comparable to what I could obtain with a DE. I didn't feel really proficient until about the 150th shave. It took me about half a year of it to get to the point where I felt it was starting to get easy and fun. Before that it was all work.

My recommendation is to get a properly honed blade and not to strop it before you shave. That will probably teach you that your stropping technique was bad. Everyone's stropping is lousy at first. It all takes time. You'll also learn that your shaving technique is lousy. Nothing personal here, but how could it possibly be good right off?

They talk about a learning curve here. It is long and it is steep at first. Believe it or not (and I questioned this many times), it is worth it to persist and keep at it. It took me a long time to get where I am now, but it was an interesting journey, and I'm glad I kept at it. I can now get a quick, good shave with a straight razor, and I have a great time doing it. Like anything else that requires proper tools and skill, it can't be done without lots of practice and work. Get a proper blade, learn to strop slowly and carefully, and the results will come. If it was easy to pull all this off, I doubt anyone would even bother with it. If you are persistent, you will be rewarded with good shaves, in time, and you will have acquired a skill that only the patient and persistent can employ. It is a difficult learning experience, but if you want to know whether it is worth it, the answer is definitely YES. You'll find plenty of help and encouragement here, and you will probably need it. Without this forum and the help it provides, I'd probably have a beard.

Originally Posted by souriya

I've read all the threads I can find on "coarse hair" and "heavy beard." Nobody ever provides any conclusions, it's like they ask, get answered, and disappear. Maybe they cut their throats, never to be heard from again. I'll see this thread through. It'll either end up happily ever after, or I'll settle for the mediocre results, or I'll have an over-priced box opener.

I ordered a no-name straight from the SRP Classifieds. I stropped it, maybe inadvertently ruined it in the process. It took some hair off my sideburns, but dragged and snagged my goatee area. I got the same results several times. I suspected the blade was good, but my face hair is too thick, so I try it on my arms and the dang thing was smooth and effortless.

I ordered a new Dovo from SRD, pro honed and everything in the hopes it would provide satisfactory results on my face. I stropped it, maybe even ruined the edge in the process (I'm a slow learner). Gave it a try several times over a week when I wasn't in a rush to get out of the house, stropped every time. The Dovo looked and sounded purdier but barely gave better results. The sideburns and cheeks are OK, it looks like I shaved maybe a while ago, but the goatee area gets snagged and dragged. I don't push it, I patiently re-lather and try different angles over and over like a crazed and obsessed shaving maniac. I thought to myself, maybe my facial hair is too thick for this blade, so I tried areas of my legs that won't show when I wear clothes, and it was effortless. It was so fun, I was tempted to keep going but I don't want people to ask questions about my legs.

My prep routine is to run the blade on linen a few times, then 15 laps on the leather. I take a shower, oil the beard with Musgo REal brand, boar brush lather with either Dr. Bronner's or that cheap shaving soap at drug stores.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks ya'll.

Souriya

Well, finally someone has it figured out. All those guys who come and go. They didn't follow our advice and used too much pressure on their necks thinking they had to in order to cut those hairs and they sliced their throats. Their blood drained bodies were found crumpled on the floor hours later.

One thing I can guarantee is that is no matter how tough you think your whiskers are they are no match for any proper sharp razor. Just start slow like has been said starting on the easy areas of your face and progress as your skill permits. You just need to develop the skills. A year from now you won't believe you started this post.

Maybe you should go to a barber shop and get a shave there. You can then see how the barber does it and prove to yourself that it is possible to get a BBS on any beard type. That's what I did.

+1 to all the 'don't give up' comments. Just take it easy to begin with and move on the to the tricky bits when you feel more comfortable. I think everyone who shaves with a straight has a similar experience to begin with.

Let us know how your progress goes.

Good luck.

Stu

souriya,

If you can, could you please let your beard grow for around three to four days.

When you then come to shave, wash beard well, lather it and use hot a hot towel over the lather and let soak on your face for a few minutes. Re-lather up and let lather sit on face for at least three minutes; touch up lather and shave as normal and let us know how you got on.

This should give you the best odds of softening your whiskers and getting a comfortable shave.

Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ