Thread: Still a blotchy bad shave.

For a 3-4 week beginner is it still normal to have a vast majority of the stubble/whiskers still left on the face after many passes?

The razor is a full hollow and I can hear a gratifying sing as if it slicing through the whiskers on each pass. But after a many pass shave trying different angles and stroke directions nothing much has been shaven off (looks like a blotchy 1 day growth at best) apart from a fine whisker powder that is floating in the basin I would think nothing has been taken off. I grab the DE and the whiskers are cut off at the base which can be seen while rinsing the blade in the same rinse water.

When I use my straight on my finer arm hair I am able to scoop off a pile of hairs but maybe as they are finer.

I know everyone on the forum has been great (thank you) in response saying the technique will come and I am trying to relax and just enjoy it but I would have thought I would see some results by now so I may get someone to check the honing just in case I have damaged it.

Originally Posted by planetocean

For a 3-4 week beginner is it still normal to have a vast majority of the stubble/whiskers still left on the face after many passes?

The razor is a full hollow and I can hear a gratifying sing as if it slicing through the whiskers on each pass. But after a many pass shave trying different angles and stroke directions nothing much has been shaven off (looks like a blotchy 1 day growth at best) apart from a fine whisker powder that is floating in the basin I would think nothing has been taken off. I grab the DE and the whiskers are cut off at the base which can be seen while rinsing the blade in the same rinse water.

When I use my straight on my finer arm hair I am able to scoop off a pile of hairs but maybe as they are finer.

I know everyone on the forum has been great (thank you) in response saying the technique will come and I am trying to relax and just enjoy it but I would have thought I would see some results by now so I may get someone to check the honing just in case I have damaged it.

Are your passes WTG, XTG, and/or ATG?

Sounds like your razor is not sharp enough. Even with 2 WTG passes I can get a near BBS shave.

Originally Posted by carazor

Are your passes WTG, XTG, and/or ATG?

Sounds like your razor is not sharp enough. Even with 2 WTG passes I can get a near BBS shave.

Yeah I am shaving with all the grains. When I wipe a portion of lather away and I zero in my eyes on a single whisker or a concentrated small group of whiskers and make an attempt to shave it/them off it does not matter in what direction the razor is angling I still cannot cut that single whisker/whiskers and that is when I am really focusing on it at an almost pointblank range with the skin pull tight.

Perhaps the razor is not sharp enough as I have damaged it by a possibly few bad technique strops or something else that I am unaware of, I thought it was just me and my technique, I am really not sure.

At this point, I would say it's a good idea to get the razor checked, or just get it honed.

Are you keeping the blade at about 30 degrees for ATG strokes?

Originally Posted by JohnJ

Are you keeping the blade at about 30 degrees for ATG strokes?

Yes from 20 to 30 and degrees around this to see if makes a difference. I have read to keep the spine about 2 widths from my skin but I also vary this to experiment to see if I can get a closer of more comfortable shave. After the approximate 4 weeks now I think I am holding the razor almost second nature (or a lot better than I was) and I do not even realize I have swapped my razor from my right dominate hand to my left so I can’t justify why my shaves are that bad.

I will get the razor honing checked again and if it’s still alright that only means that it is still my technique that needs honing.