Thread: "Break Thru" Night!

Okay so it wasn't the kind of BY JEEVES I THINK I GOT IT! type of break thru but it was an okay i have all this info and i am now gonna try to put it to use, which i think i did rather okay, but now i have all these questions that have arisen on top to trying to "hone" in on all this info and technique. So here goes.........

Tonights shave i realized after pass one probably shouldn't have happend....i did my normal routine~ Strop, Shower, Boil water while smoking and having my little nip of Johnny Green Label, Lather, Shave.....ALTHOUGH it was a DAY EARLIER than normal! I usually shave every 3-5 days but i couldn't wait today for some reason! i really love the prep and the shave of using a straight and figured why not give it a try a day or so early. Not a good choice even now about 10min ater the shave i still feel it more than normal and here come the questions.......

First being a lather question so i felt my lather started a little wet so i loaded a little more soap to the brush and went back to my scuttle....a georgetown pottery one that i LOVE.....and although i felt it made it better it still seemed a little to wet but i gave it a go it went on well and first pass with it it seemed to hold up good. however when i went back to go for pass to the lather had thinned out and looked kinda like a light beer foam, you know that not tight foam that looks very airy, so WHATS THE DEAL where did i go wrong???

Second is grip i have watched many videos read a bunch of post and even a few fellow non-member (don;t know why they aren't i tell them this place is GREAT) straight shavers about XTG & ATG pass grips......is it common to use the oposite hand for these passes...ie Left Hand for Right Side of Face and visa versa. I know a lot of the stuff we do here is personal preference but was wondering if others did this style. Oh also does anyone re-Oil for 2nd and third pass...i haven;t but wondered about it tonight as i did them.

Third angle, pressure and stroping......so i feel like i have a good angle when i shave trying to maintain a 30-40 degree angle with little to no pressure however tonight, as i said earlier, the burn is on full force!!!! the Alum block really hit and not in a good way! so could it be my angle is infact not as good as i think or for likely pressure as i said i feel like there is little to none OR could it be the razor isn;t as sharp as it should be and i f'ed it in the stropping as a newbie i feel this could be the issue! I have used this razor before and didn't have these issues...its a dubl duck satinedge.

So i think that kinda sums up the "Break Thru" of the nights shave and thanks in advance for any help and insite you all ROCK!!!

Jeff

All of your questions could lead to answers you seem to expect. With my experience I would guess that your number one problem is ineffective stropping. Key to this diagnoses though is the number of shaves between when the razor shaved well before and the current problem. You didn't mention this . .

Hi Jeff, good to hear of your breakthrough.

On the lather issue - sometimes I add too much water as well and I do exactly what you did, add a little more soap. My scuttle is filled with warm water, so for second pass I usually have to add a little more water, unless I'm quick. If your lather turned like beer foam it sounds like you just need to foam it up again. If you did not foam it up well to begin with, or perhaps the water in your scuttle was a little too warm, this can happen. No biggie, just work it a little with the brush and it should be good as new.
The grip, just go with whatever feels natural to you. I sometimes do it crossarmed on the atg - then again, sometimes not. For me it's less about the hands and more about maintaining the correct angle and pressure on the edge. Speaking of angle, sounds like your angle is a bit off. 30 degrees or less is perhaps better, and certainly would help minimize irritations. For xtg and atg passes, even lower angles are good. The wiki recommends 30 degrees for wtg, 15 for xtg and as little as 5 degrees xtg. (see The finer points of cutting angles). I think you would find these angles would help reduce irritation.
Pressure should be light light light - it can be hard to keep this in mind at all times during one's shave, especially when one is also trying to focus on hands, angles, stretching and whatnot.
And finally as AFDavis11 pointed out, there is your razor's condition to consider.

Best of luck - it does sound like you are off to a good start tho

Hey AFDavis11,

Good point! It has been a total of 3 shaves the last one with this razor was good and the next two with my Mappin were good and then back to the DD last night.

ok, I thought they were with the same razor. Stropping wise, you could have rounded the edge a bit if you are using too much slack. It's unlikely you have that much irritation that quickly, with even decent stropping though. make sure you are applying oil at the right time. Oil can block the cream from getting in.

if you are shaving every few days maybe your beard is creating a lot more edge damage than typical.

I don't think Ive found your answer, but will suggest stropping 100 passes with the strop on a table and use a little pressure on the first 50 passes. See if that helps.

From the OP you say you believe you had too much water, which might be the case of bubbly lather instead of creamy. It's always better to start drier and add water than to try to make up for too much at the beginning. It's okay to dump that lather and start over if that happens, as consistent lather making is the cornerstone to great wet shaves.

As far as which hand to use when, I use my right hand for the right side of my face and the left for the left side, and while it feels awkward at first it becomes second nature quickly. Also for the angles I find a shallower angle for my first pass more comfortable at about 10 degrees, and the second at 30. I've never seen the need or want to feel the pain of going passed that 30 degrees.

So AFDavis11 are you saying 100 just on leather or some on cloth and some on leather?? As for the water temp you maybe on to something since I had been boiling water putting it in and letting it sit a bit b4 building the lather so it may still be to hot?

Str8nSharp you use right hand side side on ALL passes?

How about reoilling before other passes? Is this not advised as I said I haven't done it but have thought about it.

Thanks!

As for the lather, using boiling hot water in your scuttle will make most lathers break down IME. Just warm from the tap works better for me.

Originally Posted by BenjamanBarker

So AFDavis11 are you saying 100 just on leather or some on cloth and some on leather?? As for the water temp you maybe on to something since I had been boiling water putting it in and letting it sit a bit b4 building the lather so it may still be to hot?

Str8nSharp you use right hand side side on ALL passes?

How about reoilling before other passes? Is this not advised as I said I haven't done it but have thought about it.

Thanks!

I only do wtg passes, but I use both hands to do them, right for right, left for left.