Thread: frustrated with every aspect

It's been a few months since I re-started using the straights and I have to say,that after three or four months all I have learned is that I have a very long way to go with this. Whether I'm shaving, stropping, or honing am still getting mixed success at best. And it's tough to stay positive about the hobby I love when things keep going wrong. I constantly get nicks, and am definately nowhere near where I want to be with the hones. It's pretty uncommon for any of my honing to come out the way I want it to, and have only a few razors that I am willing to even risk trying on for fear of ruining them. I just figured out that probably ALL of the stropping I had been doing to this point was seriously flawed and I am just now starting to do it right.

So that's all. I had to vent a little bit.

-----Michael

You know, it's not easy at all to pull off straight razor shaving. If you're trying to do it all at the same time,
it is even more difficult and certainly can be frustrating. I didn't get it right at all until someone on this
forum met with me and helped me. Luckily, there are plenty of people on here willing to do that. I would
find someone near you and ask for help. You don't have to attempt this alone.

I often find that one of the hidden frustrations of this hobby is that you are stuck reading textual descriptions of what other people believe. If you'd like to chat, either by phone or in the chat room, let me know. Sometimes what you need is someone willing to talk you through the process and significantly re-direct your thoughts about how things should be accomplished.

How did you learn about the stropping variance?

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

It's been a few months since I re-started using the straights and I have to say,that after three or four months all I have learned is that I have a very long way to go with this. Whether I'm shaving, stropping, or honing am still getting mixed success at best. And it's tough to stay positive about the hobby I love when things keep going wrong. I constantly get nicks, and am definately nowhere near where I want to be with the hones. It's pretty uncommon for any of my honing to come out the way I want it to, and have only a few razors that I am willing to even risk trying on for fear of ruining them. I just figured out that probably ALL of the stropping I had been doing to this point was seriously flawed and I am just now starting to do it right.

So that's all. I had to vent a little bit.

-----Michael

Michael,

If I may, I'll be quite frank:

1. Put the hones away, don't touch them until your shaving is going well
2. Send the razors to a person who will be able to hone them properly. Take the sharpness variable out of your equation
3. Practice your stropping, with a butter knife if need be, or a dull razor. Keep the strop taught and the spine of the razor on the leather.
4. Build a good lather. I have nicked myself on occasion when my lather has dried out, because the razor trudges and bumps its way through. Good lather will help with a smooth shave.

When you're getting fairly decent shaves, and you'd like to learn how to touch up a razor, pull out your highest grit stone. It will do the least damage.

If you want to go from the bevel - up, pull out an almost dead razor and sharpen it.

It is a long learning process, as many will admit, however....successful learning comes from manageable tasks, not insurmountable ones. Learning to hone, strop, and shave in the same time frame would be considered quite difficult. Give yourself a break, and some time to relax and enjoy this. Hobbies are supposed to be just that, enjoyable. Learn one thing at a time.

My suggestion would be to contact the above poster as soon as possible. Other suggestions include putting the hones away until you have mastered shaving. Getting one or two blades professionally honed so that you have a constant to work with while learning to shave. Dont give up.

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I think we've all had to walk that lonesome valley for a time. For some it is longer than for others but if you keep at it one day, just like with your new found stropping technique, you'll find the shaves are suddenly closer, smoother and eventually done more quickly. The honing is a skill that just takes practice and if you're lucky enough to find a mentor close enough to visit with, or at least to speak with on the phone. Lynn and Randy were mine and still are sometimes. Take Alan (AFDavis) up on his offer of telephone mentoring. You'll no doubt benefit from his experience.

Michael, I agree with everybody, even more since i was in the same boat like yourself, put the hones away,
get razors professionally honed, and learn to strop!!!!!!!!! stropping is king!!!!
here a great video to learn how to strop, go slow speed doesnt matter!!!
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ing-video.html

Like some others said, try to contact someone who is knowledgeable in your region, I had the luck to meet some people of a straight razor club after I just started out and they where a really big help, I got a real good start from the beginning. It's very difficult to see your own faults. Don't be discouraged, it takes some time.

Not much to add to the great advice you got here.

There are many skill-sets to be mastered from shaving to honing and in-between and you need to learn them one at a time. There are some who are lucky and pick this stuff up really fast and some who do it very slowly so you have to pace yourself. Remember, at one time this was the only way to shave so everyone had to learn.

I have a saying that I've impressed on my 12 year old son. "If you try to do too many things at once, none of them get done right." This is very true when it comes to straight shaving. This is a hobby made up of many detailed steps, so you need to at least be comfortable with one, before moving on to the next. It's been my experience (though I've only been SR shaving a year) that many guys try to do everything at once, have a bad experience, and drop the hobby. I would focus on stropping and technique. Honing isn't anything to concern yourself with right now. The only honing I do is with my barber's hone for quick touch ups. As I've said to others, things will get better.