Thread: My shave swing is in a slump!

Man I had a great start. I had eight to twelve weeks of DE shaving under my belt and was loving it as I have always loved to shave, even with the plastic razors. I was using real soap and a badger brush and was getting BBS shaves everyday with no nicks or cuts at all.

Then Carazor gifted me a sweet Dovo Silver Steel 5/8 hollow ground and strop and I'm off to the races! I go to Hungary and end up with four vintage and or antique Flaschner blades. I start off slowly and things go great. Pretty soon( 3 weeks) I'm shaving my whole face with nary a nick.

I used to be a gymnast and spent ten years shaving my calluses everyday with a single edge razor so I wasn't scared of them at all.

SO I buy a Boker Edeweiss 5/8 and a Dovo Forestal from SRD to complete my seven day set and they come SHARP! Seriously, as you guys know.

next thing you know I'm slicing and dicing myself for no good reason,especially with the forestal, which now has me spooked.I'm cutting the upper mid part of my right cheek which is probably one of the lightest hair on my face as I transition the blade! two days in a row.

I can't seem to find the right angle to cut with NOR the right direction of the beard. Ack!The best advice was to lay the blade flat on the skin and go from there and that has helped but then I nicked the cheeks just replacing it for the next pass.

My shave is in a slump.I've been overthinking it and now it has me trying NOT to cut myself instead of just shaving.


just a rant, thanks ) I'm not going to quit and thank goodness for alum block ,lol.

It sounds to me like you are applying more pressure than required. Use as little pressure as you can.

My slump was being caused by poor angles and too much pressure.

My best recommendation (from a similar newb position) would be to take it slow, keep the pressure light, and try to find the best angle of the blade on your face.

The toughest thing, in my eyes, is the patience it actually takes to get there. Rest assured that you're not alone in the razor doldrums.

Originally Posted by ace

It sounds to me like you are applying more pressure than required. Use as little pressure as you can.

you are probably right. I do a lot of stuff in my work with my hands and probably squeeze harder than I should without knowing it.but I know I'm not finding the right angle either. Plus I'm not seeing as well as I want in the mirror as well. a few of the nicks were during reposition trying to see the best angle.

Originally Posted by Hubsche1

My slump was being caused by poor angles and too much pressure.

My best recommendation (from a similar newb position) would be to take it slow, keep the pressure light, and try to find the best angle of the blade on your face.

The toughest thing, in my eyes, is the patience it actually takes to get there. Rest assured that you're not alone in the razor doldrums.

the strange this is that I am cutting myself in places that are not considered 'hard' to shave, like the upper lip jawline or chin( and I have some serious rough bristle there) but on the side burn and dominant arm cheek!

I can only add to the advice given is more of the same, hold the Str8 just enough for control and not with any type of 'FIRM" Grip. also when shaveing don't try so much to shave off the wiskers but just to wipe off the shaving cream. Let the blade do the work, not you. Don't try for an absolute BBS shave, just do some reduction maybe 2 pass's on the easy parts of the face and leave it at that, don't put any pressure on yourself, lots of face prep in a big help also. Aside from that maybe also just take some time off, 3 or 4 day's, use the DE for awhile and then take a deep breath and apply what I and the others have suggested.
Take your time, enjoy the ride, no worries!!

Most Sincerely, tinkersd

Originally Posted by tinkersd

I can only add to the advice given is more of the same, hold the Str8 just enough for control and not with any type of 'FIRM" Grip. also when shaveing don't try so much to shave off the wiskers but just to wipe off the shaving cream. Let the blade do the work, not you. Don't try for an absolute BBS shave, just do some reduction maybe 2 pass's on the easy parts of the face and leave it at that, don't put any pressure on yourself, lots of face prep in a big help also. Aside from that maybe also just take some time off, 3 or 4 day's, use the DE for awhile and then take a deep breath and apply what I and the others have suggested.
Take your time, enjoy the ride, no worries!!

Most Sincerely, tinkersd

thanks man, I thought about that; either letting my beard grow for 2-3 days and see where the whisker direction actually is or use the DE for a few days and relax a bit.I don't ever worry about a BBS shave with the straight though and almost always finish with the DE just to clean up; I love to use it as well.I just have to figure out the angles better, I think it's more that than anything.and getting the skin stretched better.

Sorry to hear of your woes. I think you already have been given a variety of good advice on your post.

The majority of cuts from my straight razor have come when I was positioning the blade to get started. Bummer! Apparently, without realizing it, I was placing the edge directly on to the skin with a sideways motion. Now that I am more aware, I don't do that as much.

It does get better. You have a fabulous stable of razors. Just take a step back and relax.

Happy Shaving!

This is off the wall:

. . . Use _one razor_ -- the one you feel most comfortable with -- until you get back into the groove.

Then introduce other razors.

Your "muscle memory" may not be good enough to automatically adjust to the different blades. So you cut yourself, and then you get nervous, and you start to flinch unconsciously . . . and it just gets worse as you try to "fix" the problem.

Simplify, simplify . . .

Charles

PS -- the blades from SRD are sharp. If you were using a _little_ too much pressure to shave with a slightly-dull blade, that would have been a _lot_ too much pressure for the SRD edge -- you'd get razor burn, or a cut.

Originally Posted by DLB

Sorry to hear of your woes. I think you already have been given a variety of good advice on your post.

The majority of cuts from my straight razor have come when I was positioning the blade to get started. Bummer! Apparently, without realizing it, I was placing the edge directly on to the skin with a sideways motion. Now that I am more aware, I don't do that as much.

It does get better. You have a fabulous stable of razors. Just take a step back and relax.

Happy Shaving!

I think this is what I am doing as well.I will be more aware of that myself now.