Thread: Pure Beginner with the Straight

OK... I am new here, and this is my first post.... and my second day trying with a straight.

Over 50 years of shaving under my belt and so I know what I am doing with prep, soaps, etc. But this was a whole new world!

My chosen hardware and software for today:


That's a nice old Cadman "Bengall", all shave ready and stropped carefully. Following advice.... just start with one cheek, from sideburn downwards a little way. Try to keep the blade at about 30 degrees...

Well.... I shaved a small area WTG in small short stokes, but stopped half way down the cheek when the razor stopped! Like... stopped dead against the one and a half day stubble. Common sense made me cease the exercise right there and then. No way was I going to push against that resistance.

OK.... I'm going to blame the tool.
A bad workman always blames his tools. Right?


So I finished the task with my trusted Fatboy and Feather blade. Well it was sitting there ready to take over the task anyway. (That even took hair off the area on its first WTG pass that the straight had left).

Was I taking it too carefully and too slowly?
Common sense tells me that this razor will have shaved a face many hundreds of times, and it can't be that difficult?

Rod

It's a learning curve, but it could be a bit of you and a bit of the tool, if it wasn't truly shave ready.

I'm new too, so I'll be interested to hear some opinions on this. I know what you mean about coming to a complete stop; I'm still getting that along the chin and under the nose. I don't know whether to push through or pull back and re-attack. So far, this is where I've got my nicks - from pulling back and losing my reference.

time n patience..my 1st razor was a large 7/8...yeeesh!..took me 4 months to get the angles down just right

Originally Posted by jerrybyers

I'm new too, so I'll be interested to hear some opinions on this. I know what you mean about coming to a complete stop

The only time I have ever felt the "complete stop" sensation is with a particularly aggressive veteran Gillette "New". So I suppose that "angle" has something to do with it.

Rod

I was 62 when I started so age isn't an issue in case you were concerned. Sometimes you can feel a bit intimidated by the razor and that's normal. And wise. But remember, the expressions "no pressure" or "no effort" are just that. Figures of speech to convey the importance of a light and sensitive touch. But - you do have to use basic physics to get the blade through the hair and it sometimes (always) involves a bit of self confidence. There's no way to learn it other than trial and (hopefully minimal) error. I wish you the best of luck but with enough information we don't even need luck. Keep us posted!

First shaves are problematic not only because technique issues cause you to question the blade's readiness for shaving, but also because there is no way to have confidence in what you're doing so early into the process.

I think "pushing on" when a blade doesn't seem to be shaving well is a mistake. Keep trying by resetting the blade's angle and use short strokes. If you are absolutely sure your razor is "shave ready", then keep trying. If you're not sure, then send it off for honing and eliminate that variable. There are enough variables to get right in straight shaving, including prep, angles, etc. so it is best to eliminate the ones you can. The first shaves are the most difficult.

I would have to say you did the right thing in stopping. It you do not have the confidence in your razor bad things may happen. I am a newbie and take my word for it.

Suggestions:

1. Stretch the skin in front of the razor. Otherwise, the angle of attack _at the edge_ will change, and the razor will be trying to dig into skin, instead of cutting hair. Not good !

2. Use a lower angle (flatter blade) than you think is correct. If razor just glides over beard, make the angle a little steeper.

3. If there's _no_ angle that works, I'd suspect a dull ("not shave-ready") blade.

4. I have had good luck using CrOxide pasted strops to fix slightly-dull edges. But that introduces another possible cause of trouble for a beginner, so I don't recommend it. If your stropping technique is good, 100 - 200 laps on a leather strop might help. If your technique is poor, it will do more harm than good.

That razor may have shaved hundreds of faces in the past. that doesn't mean that it's sharp enough to shave your face, today.

Charles

Hi Neep,

Yep, it is a whole new world. You've got a good head start, though... you already know how to make lather, and from what I've read, double-edge razors aren't very plug-and-play either. As others have said, you were wise to stop. Just keep at it, expand your straight-shaving range as you become more comfortable with it, and eventually you'll abandon the DE completely. It took me about three months to transition from disposables to straights.

Good luck with it!