Thread: Newbie from Vancouver needs a little advise.

Hi everyone.
This will be my first post although I've read plenty of wiki's and posts from the site. I began wet shaving with a vintage DE Gillette adjustable, feather blades and a badger brush about two months ago with great success. I've always had problems with disposables and cartridge type blades giving me moderate razor burn/bumps and general discomfort after shaving. Since switching I've never felt a closer, more comfortable shave.

Now just over a week ago I purchased a 5/8" J.A. Henckels Friodur and dual linen/leather strop. The razor supposedly came "shave ready" but I will admit that I did make the razor purchase on eBay so who knows. So after doing my full prep it came time for my first shave ever. I had a hundred things racing through my head at the time, angle, pressure, grip, tension but I proceeded with confidence. Right away I should have known something wasn't right but I continued on. The blade definitely cut the hair but felt like it was met with resistance. In the end I had a half decent shave that I felt good about, until the burning began. The next day I had the worst razor burn I'd ever felt that ended up lasting five days.

Now I know most beginners blame the blade and I myself have recognized this problem. My blade seems sharp and will easily knock down forearm hair with no effort when laid nearly flat and run across hairs dry. This has lead me to believe it is my technique and possibly not my blade. Today before my shower/shave routine I gave the blade 30 passes on the leather side of the strop. I decided I would only do my cheeks this time and try concentrate on using extremely light pressure and lowering the blade closer to my face. I did one WTG pass and it still felt like I had to "push through" and left a fair amount of stubble. I finished up with my DE and called it a day. No irritation what so ever this time. So now my questions for you wet shaving vets is.

1) Do I continue to slowly work on my technique little by little and believe that it's not my blade? Or do I have someone hone it to use as a benchmark for sharpness?

2) When I use my DE with a fresh blade it cuts hair like a "hot knife through butter". Is this how a straight should feel when everything is done right with a sharp blade?

3) Does anyone think progressing from a DE to a shavette or feather straight would be easier for learning technique before the real deal? Thus eliminating the sharpness question.

Well thanks for listening and any advise for a newbie would be great.

~ Justin

So many questions!

First, the Friodur's have good reputations, so it's probably not a problem with the razor's quality.

Second, don't bother _shaving_ arm hair -- any razor will do that. If it _pops_ arm hair, with the edge raised 1/8 - 1/4" off the skin, that's a reasonable test of "shave-readiness".

Third, it's difficult to get a straight razor as sharp as a Feather blade. However, "duller than a Feather" is still sharp enough for a good shave. There are some people on this site who prefer a Feather "straight" to a real straight, but they're in the minority. IMHO, since you have the Henckels already, you should learn to shave with it, rather than going through some intermediate step.

Having a "known-good" razor would simplify your life -- you'd be able to say either "I'm the problem", or "the Henckels is the problem".

I prefer shaving with a straight razor to shaving with a DE, but I must admit that a new Feather DE blade pulls less than any straight razor I own.

I thinks that your second shave offers much hope. The usual cause of razor burn is "too much pressure". And there are two causes of "too much pressure":

1. Poor technique (not realizing how hard you're pressing on the edge), and

2. A dull blade, that _requires_ pressing on the edge to shave.

Since you got that second shave without razor burn, your technique is improving and will continue to improve.

It's very frustrating to shave with an "almost-sharp" straight razor, and that may be what you have. Suggestions, FWIW:

1. Strop more. 30 laps between shaves is a bare minimum. If you have a linen strop, try 20 linen / 50 leather before the next shave. If that seems to help, try 20 linen / 100 leather and see if there's improvement.

2. If you can arrange a CrOxide pasted strop, or get a barber hone, see if you can bring the edge to "really sharp" with those. "Really sharp" is when you don't use any pressure, the razor squeegees the lather off your skin, and your beard comes with it. [That is, almost like a Feather DE.]

3. Buy an inexpensive, known-good razor for comparison. Larry at Categories , or the "Classifieds" here, are good sources -- or:

4. Send the razor for honing by one of guys here.

I sympathize with your situation. My first razor was an antique-store find that I honed myself, not very well. It was only after I got a Dovo from SRD that I realized what "sharp" meant.

Charles / Richmond, BC

PS -- I'd be happy to look at it -- send me a PM.

Originally Posted by OldSchoolVancouver

1) Do I continue to slowly work on my technique little by little and believe that it's not my blade? Or do I have someone hone it to use as a benchmark for sharpness?

2) When I use my DE with a fresh blade it cuts hair like a "hot knife through butter". Is this how a straight should feel when everything is done right with a sharp blade?

3) Does anyone think progressing from a DE to a shavette or feather straight would be easier for learning technique before the real deal? Thus eliminating the sharpness question.

Hello Justin, welcome to SRP from a fellow Canadian!

To answer your questions:

1. For now assume that your blade is fine and your technique needs work. Start by increasing your stropping laps, concentrating on good form. At this point deliberate stropping is more important than speed, so slow down if you have to. And just work on areas of your face you feel comfortable with, get it down pat and then move on to other areas.

2. It's best to not compare DE blades to SR's. The feel is completely different. DE blades are double beveled and coated, and will feel quite different than a straight blade.

3. The jury is still out on the merits of starting with a shavette. Some say it's beneficial; some say disposable straights and the real thing are so different that you can't compare them. Shavettes aren't as forgiving, that's a fact. The only way you will know is by trying it out. IMO, you should just concentrate on your technique with your existing razor, since you already have a proper SR.

Keep us posted.

not that i'm an expert or anything even close, but i figured i'd chime in here:

first: he stated he go the razor off ebay and that it was supposedly "shave ready".. while it's known that the friodor is a great razor, almost every thread i've read here in the beginners section says that, to paraphrase, no matter what the ebay ad says, you should always send it to get honed, since a) you dont know the reputation of the person that honed it, and b) different people have different definitions of "Shave Ready".. why, in this case, have multiple people jumped straight to assuming the blade is fine and it's his technique? even cpcohen, who mentioned sending it for honing, didn't mention it until the last option in the list. Not to say that technique couldn't be a great part of the problem, but is there something i'm missing here that's making everyone so far assume that the blade is shave ready and jumping straight to technique?

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Hello Justin, welcome to SRP from a fellow Canadian!


3. The jury is still out on the merits of starting with a shavette. Some say it's beneficial; some say disposable straights and the real thing are so different that you can't compare them. Shavettes aren't as forgiving, that's a fact. The only way you will know is by trying it out. IMO, you should just concentrate on your technique with your existing razor, since you already have a proper SR.

I'd have to disagree with you when you say that shavettes aren't as forgiving. i've been shaving with a dovo shavette with murkur blades for the last month while i've been acquiring razors and getting them honed, and did my first 2 shaves with my actual straights the in the last 3 days. i can get close to bbs with the shavette with very few, if any nicks or burn... even with a blade that's been used once or twice already. the straight that i used was honed by lynn and is known to be a great edge, but i nicked the crap out of myself and at one point, couldn't even get it to cut much hair.. as a beginner who is just starting with an actual straight, I picked up the skills needed to get the shavette working much quicker than i am the straight.. within 2 shaves with the shavette, i wasn't getting burn and was pretty smooth.. after my 2nd shave on the straight (engals full hollow), i'm not nearly as smooth..

I do agree that they are different beasts, and since he has a great straight he should probably skip the shavette, but that being said, the ease of use and forgiveness of a shavette (at least with the merkur blades i was using) is quite possibly different for each person.. sure was alot easier for me.

fwiw, in my limited experience and month or so of knowledge gained from reading every thread i can on here, i'd say that getting it honed will allow you to negate the possibility that the blade isn't shave ready and then know that it's your technique you need to work on. it was $20+postage to get it honed by lynn and his reputation will allow you to know that once you get it back, the blade is in the best shape it can be in..

Josh