Is It The Blade, or Pilot Error?

Hey everybody!

To cut a long story short, I was given a blade by my Grandfather a couple months ago and finally decided to try it out. I google'd how to sharpen it, but quickly figured it would be best to get it "honed" - sent it out, and got it back yesterday. So this morning, I bit the bullet and tried 'er out. End result was a whack load of red irritation (burning), but a remarkably close shave in the un-irritated areas; had about a week worth of growth.

Steps I took this morning:

-Watched an hours worth of videos of youtube denoting, "how to shave with a straight razor"
-Shower
-Wet face with warm water
-Take a peanut sized amount of shave cream (Taylor of Bond Sandalwood)
--Lather with a bit of water in hands, then applied.
-Shaved, but took it extremely slow (grand total was something like 40 mins? I was nervous)

End result was quite a bit of razor burn around my lips, and a tiny bit on my neck. I tried to keep the blade as flat as possible, but I think I might have stuffed that - it felt like it was "tugging" or "catching" around the burned areas when shaving. Would applying shave cream without a brush hinder me? Is there something I should know about lathering up a cream versus a soap? Should I switch hands, depending on what side of my face I'm shaving? The other thing I was thinking was, could my blade be really aggressive? A close friend of mine shaves with a safety razor, and says some are more aggressive then others - this apply to straights too? I don't know much about razors, so I've attached a picture of mine...

http://i42.tinypic.com/28helmr.jpg

Thanks for helping a total newb out!


Oh, forgot that I only shaved with the grain today - about 2 passes.

That's a great blade you have there!! My first "tip" would be take it SLOW and it seems you did! Read the Wiki (or library as it is now called) angle and NO pressure are key when using a straight!

Second would be there is no need to do 2 passes in the same direction!! Once the hair is cut in one direction it won't cut in that same direction and you are just passing a sharp edge over exposed skin!

EDIT: Also don't feel like you MUST shave your whole face the first few times! this is an art that takes a LOT of time to master.....i've got a great hand on it and get great shaves but still am far from mastering it! there are spots that are still hard to get easily (for me it the east and west side of my adam's apple) even if you get just your cheeks with the straight for a pass or two and then finish with whatever you have been using you are on a GREAT path! also ask ask ASK questions you have come to a great wealth of information with a GREAT group of guys that are here to help and support you!

Thanks for the reply!

I just found this guy, and have taken a good read through; I'll look at the wiki next!

Good to know about the 2 pass rule, I'm used to doing that with my cartridge razors (never again!). I really appreciate the help, and I'll be asking away when i have more questions!

I have met this guy and he does seem to know his stuff. LOL There are probably a few variables that can be improved on as time goes by, for one it will take some time to get the hang of this and the other is it will take a few shaves for your face to adjust to the new way of shaving. Dont push it, there is no hurry, the key thing here is that you have fun learning. Good luck and welcome to SRP.

You'll get a far better lather if you use a brush, rather than just rubbing the shaving cream around with your hands.

Apart from that, learning to shave with a straight razor takes time. It'll get better the more you practice.

Also, do you have a strop? You'll need to strop before every shave to maintain the edge.

Good luck, and great razor by the way!

As an aircraft dispatcher I automatically thought pilot error:rofl2:. After reading the post I feel you might be on the right track just keep at it until you get there. Experiment until you find what works best for you.

Yep, some prep will go a long way! Go down to preshave and see.

It takes a little bit of hands on to learn it. Beard prep, lather making, stropping, stretching, blade angle, Direction of shave (WTG..etc), Lack of pressure. Keep it up and you will be getting a DFS before you know it. BTW nice razor

Very nice looking goldedge your grandfather gave you. Thats like getting a Ferrari for your first car.

Pay special attention to the tip as your learning, especially around the ears and neck.

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Originally Posted by poppy926

As an aircraft dispatcher I automatically thought pilot error:rofl2:. After reading the post I feel you might be on the right track just keep at it until you get there. Experiment until you find what works best for you.

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You know what a pilot and a dispatcher have in common?

When a pilot screws up, the pilot dies.. When a dispatcher screws up... the pilot dies.

Cheers!

Think your problem is that rubbish razor. :hmmm:
Send it to me and I will swap it for you :nj

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I have met this guy and he does seem to know his stuff. LOL There are probably a few variables that can be improved on as time goes by, for one it will take some time to get the hang of this and the other is it will take a few shaves for your face to adjust to the new way of shaving. Dont push it, there is no hurry, the key thing here is that you have fun learning. Good luck and welcome to SRP.

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Thanks for the reply! my face is definitely feeling this learning curve - I had no idea it was going to be this drastic! I thought about what I did yesterday, and I think I may have used too much pressure in certain areas as well.

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Originally Posted by tlittle

You'll get a far better lather if you use a brush, rather than just rubbing the shaving cream around with your hands.

Apart from that, learning to shave with a straight razor takes time. It'll get better the more you practice.

Also, do you have a strop? You'll need to strop before every shave to maintain the edge.

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good news is, I found a brush yesterday! So that problem is now cured (:

I don't have a strop, and I didn't strop it before shaving. Would that have made a huge difference coming straight from a honing?

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Originally Posted by bondpunk

It takes a little bit of hands on to learn it. Beard prep, lather making, stropping, stretching, blade angle, Direction of shave (WTG..etc), Lack of pressure. Keep it up and you will be getting a DFS before you know it.

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Guess that answers my pressure question!

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Originally Posted by robellison01

Pay special attention to the tip as your learning, especially around the ears and neck.

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I just finished reading the "cuts" thread, and noted exactly that! I didn't even think of it last time, but next time I will!

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Good luck, and great razor by the way!

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BTW nice razor

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Very nice looking goldedge your grandfather gave you. Thats like getting a Ferrari for your first car.

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Originally Posted by England

Think your problem is that rubbish razor. :hmmm:
Send it to me and I will swap it for you :nj

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Is there something I should know about this razor??? My grandfather is a collector of everything, so we thought nothing too much of it. We only took notice of how nice it looked, and seemed to be in good shape!

Depending on who honed it for you, they usually strop the blade too. The idea is that you can try the edge out without stropping and possibly rolling the edge yourself.

So, you didn't need to strop the first time out necessarily. However, you'll need to strop before every other shave to maintain the blade.

I'd suggest checking out whippeddog.com for quality inexpensive strops.

Also, Dubl ducks are just considered quality razors, especially ones in such great condition. Use it well and enjoy!

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Originally Posted by tlittle

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So, you didn't need to strop the first time out necessarily. However, you'll need to strop before every other shave to maintain the blade.

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Just to clarify since I would have missed read this as a new shaver....stropping should be done before or after EVERY shave, except when being returned from professional honing.

I think you will get better results if you massage some shaving cream with water with your fingers on your face. I remember a youtube video from few years ago where a barber in turkey does just that. I tried it and it worked very well (I still did the brush afterwards). But I don't do it anymore as for me it's messier than shaving brush and I get really good results with just the brush.
Remember that you want lubrication and cushion on the skin and softening of the hairs (they absorb water and expand), so don't let whatever's on your face to dry out, it will not work well.
You will also get better results if your goal isn't absolutely smooth face. It's not a bad idea to do just one WTG pass and leave it at this. It'll still look very presentable, especially after your face dries, the hairs shrink and recede back a little. Irritation is bad, you can get that with any disposable razor, so no point of spending all this effort with a straight razor for the same result.

Luckily neither I nor any of the pilots I have dispatched have screwed up that bad.

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Originally Posted by gugi

You will also get better results if your goal isn't absolutely smooth face. It's not a bad idea to do just one WTG pass and leave it at this. It'll still look very presentable, especially after your face dries, the hairs shrink and recede back a little. Irritation is bad, you can get that with any disposable razor, so no point of spending all this effort with a straight razor for the same result.

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+1. Don't worry about absolutely smooth. Go for good and comfortable. Before you know it, your shaves will be better than you've ever had. Lovely razor by the way, and an heirloom to boot. Lucky man.

So after the gnarly razor burn, I decided to let my face rest up for 2 days. Went back at it again this morning, and it went much much better. It could be that I also picked up a Strop (Dovo), and found a brush...but I think it was down to better technique. I only did one pass today (WTG), but by doing so I've already learned when not to push it. Had no razor burn, but a little mild stinging for about an hour - perhaps my face is still getting used to the blade.

Should also note that I stropped the razor 20 times (20 up, 20 down) on the leather side, AND HOLY WHAT A DIFFERENCE! My shave was pretty bad today (only using the straight), but nothing tomorrow can't fix (:

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Originally Posted by poppy926

Luckily neither I nor any of the pilots I have dispatched have screwed up that bad.

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I'm just ribbin' ya! You Delta, ASA, or GA?

I fly for ASA/ExpressJet. Moving our SOC to ATL has been quite interesting. Thankfully, our DX are, as always, top notch.

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Originally Posted by Sc00ter

I'm just ribbin' ya! You Delta, ASA, or GA?

I fly for ASA/ExpressJet. Moving our SOC to ATL has been quite interesting. Thankfully, our DX are, as always, top notch.

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Oh I know. You gotta have a since of humor in aviation. I am with WOA in PTC.

And this thread is now in Greek. :shrug: I'm just going to sit over in the corner drooling over the razor.

Sorry, didnt mean to hijack the thread. We will keep the aviation talk for PM's.

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Originally Posted by poppy926

Sorry, didnt mean to hijack the thread. We will keep the aviation talk for PM's.

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Don't mind me. I actually understood most of it. My humor is lost. :) One day I shall be a pilot (if not only in my dreams...)

Haha, blame it on me! I made the flying reference (:

It sounds like the first shave was PIO.

I never do less than 50 laps on the strop. If you haven't yet, I'd watch a strop video. You can dull a blade very quickly if you use a strop wrong. Used right it can actually repair micro chips.

I've watched a good number of vids on stropping and I think I'm doing it right. No pressure, flat blade, cross-swipe (blade is too big for the strop), taught strop so no flexing, and flipping the blade on its spine. I'll try doing 50 laps today before I shave and see what it does. Does your 50 include the linen side, or is that on top of the 50 on the leather side?

Also, what's PIO?

PIO -> Pilot Induced Oscillation.

I don't have a linen strop so I am the wrong person to ask. People usually go to the linen between the finish honing and the leather strop. I'm sure some one else will chime in.

Less is often more when learning how to strop. With a freshly honed blade, doing one pass shaves, you can get away with a little light stropping as you get used to it. Then you can start to increase the number on linen and leather as you get a good feel for the edge on the strop and decide what suits. If you develop a nice stropping technique you can strop all day long but when you've only got one sharp blade little but often is a good way to go. I like to strop on leather before the shave and afterwards a few quick laps on linen then leather, in my head the linen cleans and dries up the edge and the leather gives it a quick polish.

Beard preparation and great lather means you have to rely far less on your technique with the razor to avoid irritation and blood. Mantic's lather video might be worth a watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc.
I find if I lather my face before I start stropping, rinse it off when done, and then re lather for the shave it makes a big difference and beats any other pre shave stuff I've tried.