Thread: I've been at this for a week now and I'm hoping you can help me a bit

Originally Posted by timj219

At the beginning of a stroke or sometimes part way through the razor will stop and I have to apply more pressure

I just wanted to write, do not apply more pressure when the blade hangs up. You can back away and try again, sure, but using more pressure will only cause you grief. The only plus side of this is the cool scar you'll get.

You are doing fine after a week. Like so many others here have written, do not attempt to do everything at once. There's no need to go atg or xtg right now. You're a wet shaver, do what you can with your straight and then clean up with your safety.

As you get more comfortable with your straight and gain the proper muscle memory for wtg, then you should graduate to atg and finally xtg. That's exactly what I'm doing. Going xtg was like learning to shave all over again, especially with my off-hand. So it's probably best not to bite off too much at once. A slower progression will pay better dividends.

You can assess your angle when the blade hangs up by dropping the spine lower. If it then cuts easier your angle was too high.

Originally Posted by timj219

I have a week of straight shaves under my belt now and I guess it's going OK but there are a couple things that have got me stumped.

• I'm getting the razor hung up sometimes.
  At the beginning of a stroke or sometimes part way through the razor will stop and I have to apply more pressure or lift the razor away and try again. I think it's more often happening XTG or ATG but I've done it at least a couple times WTG also. I've cut myself once so far on one of these hangups.
• I sometimes skip the razor
  I'll be sliding the razor across my face and the blade will skip over a part of my face and land a fraction of an inch away from where it was.
• My beard grows sideways on my neck and under the chin.
  So far I have not found a way to go exactly ATG here. Am I right that the length of the blade and the configuration with handle at one end is going to prevent me from going exactly ATG and I will have to go somewhere between XTG and ATG? And is it possible to get as close a shave with a straight going X/ATG as I can with a DE exactly ATG?

Am I not being firm enough? Bad Angle? Skin too slack? Not enough lubrication? Or something I haven't thought of?

I have noticed that my WTG and XTG passes - when done correctly - give better results than the WTG or XTG passes with a DE. I have also noticed that the ability to finely control the angle means I can do multiple passes with no irritation - a far better outcome for me than doing that with a DE. On the other hand going ATG without properly reducing the beard is frightening with a straight. So far I have not gotten a uniformly BBS shave using a straight. I get very close on some parts but chin and some parts of the neck are proving very difficult. And if I try too hard, that's when I start to collect nicks. So I'm trying to limit myself to three passes plus one touchup max and just settle for whatever I get for now.

Did you check out the forum's information for beginners? If not, here it is: Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki
and especially this article: First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki

This all takes some time and not to be mean or such, you might be expecting too much too soon. Perhaps slow things down, take your time, and keep in mind it will all come together as you get more proficient with your technique, routine, and more experienced. Those beginners' guides are very helpful and make perfect sense. They worked for me and I still have my not so good shave days, but my good shave days do outnumber my bad ones.
All my best.
Patrick

I second that notion. It was weeks before I had any idea what I was doing. It takes time to bring it all together, so don't expect too much of yourself.

Quite a good read. So much to learn!

Time takes time. Very appropriate here for the learning curve can NOT be shortened. I had to learn that stropping is a art unto itself. I was told to get an old dull razor and to practice turning it in my fingers as I moved it across the leather. I guess I'm a slow learner, for it took almost 6 months before I had a good and confident rythm in hand. During that time I had to learn the growth direction of my beard, something I never heard of nor was it necessary when I shaved the "new" way. It also took me time to learn how to get a good lather, how properly prepare my face for shaving and on top of all of this how to use this wonderful tool. I am most grateful to the many on this site that have shared their learning experiences and I'm suggesting to any who is interested to follow the path laid out so well by Lynn. Take one step at a time. Don't rush, and be happy with your progress. This is a lot of fun!!!

Took me almost a month before I could go ATG and get a smooth shave, but even with everything I have learned, there is one spot on my chin right below the goatee that no matter what blade I use, what angle I use etc always hangs the blade up a bit, I have had to use a scyting motion on it (not really a scythe, more of a rock the blade on the heel when mowing them whiskers) to get it without the blade hanging, I guess my whiskers in that area are just iron or something like that..

Sounds like you are doing fine, just slow down and realize that it's going to take time to build skills, this is a journey, not a destination It will take time, but it's a fun road to travel

Good luck!

I thought the same thing when I started a couple months ago. Some of us are just blessed with faces of steel. Ill second that you are coming along nicely and to not rush it. One of the best parts of the straight road is turning a quickie chore into calm soothing time massaging your face with a nice brush filled with good smelling warm lather.

For the skips and bumps, slow it down and keep a very shallow angle to your face. I find the buffing technique to help those spots.

I feel you about the hair under the chin, good news is that no-one can actually see those hairs even if you can feel them. I would either have to dislocate my should or poke the razor through my throat to get those whisker ATG. But a WTG pass makes them invisible to everyone else's eyes unless your job requires a lot of public staring straight up into the sky. I have tried scything and buffing to no avail, but I am still new. I know how I can get to them, when I am all dry and at work I can stretch the section onto the flat of my jaw, pulling hard and burrying my chin in my chest. Dont work well when the skin is wet though.

Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I can buff my chin until I can see blood spots under the surface. And that dont bother my face, its fine before I can get dressed and leave in the morning.

I feel you about the hair under the chin, good news is that no-one can actually see those hairs even if you can feel them. I would either have to dislocate my should or poke the razor through my throat to get those whisker ATG.

FWIW:

A Shick injector razor has a really compact head, and the blade is a little shorter than a DE blade. It would ideal for cleaning-up that section. A DE razor would probably work OK.

Of course, it would destroy the purity of the straight-razor shave . . . <g>

Charles

I am 10 months in and I am just now experimenting with ATG in a few trouble areas. I am much less brave than you. I also don't have a thick beard, so WTG is pretty darn good as long as the lather is really wet, my angles are right and I haven't killed the blade with bad stropping.

Keep at it, and try taking a step back and slowing the learning curve as the others have posted.