First shave was great....Second was terrible

I got my first straight in the mail, stropped it, lathered up and shaved. I got a pretty close and clean shave with just one small little nic. I tried to only do my cheeks but it was uneventful and the rest of my face was too tempting so i did the rest WTG and ATG.

Then, a couple of days later i go back again. I stropped the razor, lathered up, and had the worst shave of my life. It was rough, and i cut myself up pretty bad.

I don't know if it's my technique, or if i had dulled up my razor (probably a combination of both). Anyways, here is a little more info. During my first shave I bumped the tip of my razor against the sink a couple of times when i was washing the lather off of it. Also as I was stropping for the second shave i accidentally rolled it on the edge a few times instead of on the spine but i caught myself doing that and fixed it.

I'm guessing the first shave was pretty good because my razor was still sharp (i bought it from SRD) but i had been dulling it gradually and by the time i got to my second shave my razor was badly dulled by the time i put it to my face.

I tried the nail test and the blade seemed to glide easily over my nail so that seems to indicate i dulled my razor. Should I use my 1 free honing from SRD after only shaving with it twice?

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Originally Posted by vededju

I got my first straight in the mail, stropped it, lathered up and shaved. I got a pretty close and clean shave with just one small little nic. I tried to only do my cheeks but it was uneventful and the rest of my face was too tempting so i did the rest WTG and ATG.

Then, a couple of days later i go back again. I stropped the razor, lathered up, and had the worst shave of my life. It was rough, and i cut myself up pretty bad.

I don't know if it's my technique, or if i had dulled up my razor (probably a combination of both). Anyways, here is a little more info. During my first shave I bumped the tip of my razor against the sink a couple of times when i was washing the lather off of it. Also as I was stropping for the second shave i accidentally rolled it on the edge a few times instead of on the spine but i caught myself doing that and fixed it.

I'm guessing the first shave was pretty good because my razor was still sharp (i bought it from SRD) but i had been dulling it gradually and by the time i got to my second shave my razor was badly dulled by the time i put it to my face.

I tried the nail test and the blade seemed to glide easily over my nail so that seems to indicate i dulled my razor. Should I use my 1 free honing from SRD after only shaving with it twice?

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If your blade wasn't completely dull, the nail test probably finished it off. You only do the nail test while setting the bevel to make sure no chips are left in the blade.

You probably need to send it back out for sharpening. When you get it back, slow down on your stropping. Watch a couple of videos and then don't try to do it as fast as they do. Until you get the muscle memory down you are going to miss strokes, dull the blade, and take chunks out of your strop.

Sorry you have this setback.

Thanks, for the advice. I'll contact SRD and see about getting it rehoned. Hopefully this won't be a weekly occurrence for me. Does anyone have any advice on how to not spend a fortune on getting a razor professionally honed every week when starting out?

Practice stropping a bit, and never bump it on the sink. You should be fine.

I'd be happy to hone your razor free if you dull it again.

Michael

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Originally Posted by mjsorkin

Practice stropping a bit, and never bump it on the sink. You should be fine.

I'd be happy to hone your razor free if you dull it again.

Michael

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Thanks Michael, I appreciate it. I'll practice stropping for a while before i send it to SRD for my one free honing from them that way when i get it back nice and sharp hopefully i won't spoil the edge right away.

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Originally Posted by vededju

Thanks, for the advice. I'll contact SRD and see about getting it rehoned. Hopefully this won't be a weekly occurrence for me. Does anyone have any advice on how to not spend a fortune on getting a razor professionally honed every week when starting out?

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You always run the risk of bumping it on the sink or faucet if you rinse the blade between strokes. You might put a towel on the sink and just wipe the blade off and save the rinsing for last.

Hello,

questions:

1. Was strop bought from the same place? If yes what strop you have?
2. What razor you have?
3. How was your prep work? Would you tell me more? Hot shower? Hot towel... etc...

Instead of rinsing razor in sink use sponge. Wipe off leather over sponge. This will also save your razor from rusting. I get my shave pretty much with almost dry razor (I mean not rinsing).

Br

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vededju

Thanks Michael, I appreciate it. I'll practice stropping for a while before i send it to SRD for my one free honing from them that way when i get it back nice and sharp hopefully i won't spoil the edge right away.

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I think the problem with this plan is that any amount of stropping is not going to get back a shaving edge and you are likely to just pile bad shave on bad shave. If you really do think the edge is dulled I would get it re-honed.

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Originally Posted by UKRob

I think the problem with this plan is that any amount of stropping is not going to get back a shaving edge and you are likely to just pile bad shave on bad shave. If you really do think the edge is dulled I would get it re-honed.

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yeah what i mean is, before i get it rehoned and start shaving i'll practice stropping for a while and shave using my old disposable razor. That way i don't get it rehoned now just to mess up the edge with bad stropping technique.


Also, something i forgot to mention....even with the current condition that the razor is in, i can easily dry shave hair on my arm. Does this indicate that it is sharp and maybe the big problem is with my shaving technique (arm is easier than face)?

I would definitely recommend that you just shave from one sideburn down to the jawline for a few days. Strop the razor before shaving. Remember to keep the razor vertical in your hand and use short little strokes followed by a couple longer clean up strokes. See how that goes as technique is most important and it does take most people a couple weeks to start getting the hang of shaving with the straight razor.

You can always send it in for re-honing, but it will probably be worth working on your technique a little to see if you need to right now.

Have fun.

I just wanted to post an update, I spent the last several days working on stropping. I tried shaving again last night and it went much better than last time. I think a big part of it was my stropping technique. I'm pretty sure the stropping i was doing before didn't really do anything.

Now if i can only figure out how to get a good lather. It seems like the soap is really hard and not enough of it transfers to the brush.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vededju

I just wanted to post an update, I spent the last several days working on stropping. I tried shaving again last night and it went much better than last time. I think a big part of it was my stropping technique. I'm pretty sure the stropping i was doing before didn't really do anything.

Now if i can only figure out how to get a good lather. It seems like the soap is really hard and not enough of it transfers to the brush.

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As with most things, practice makes perfect. Try stropping with a butter knife for practice. Works wonders.

What soap are you using? I've found that with a soap like MWF, letting a bit of warm warm sit on the puck for a while helps soften it and will let more be picked up by my brush.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vededju

I just wanted to post an update, I spent the last several days working on stropping. I tried shaving again last night and it went much better than last time. I think a big part of it was my stropping technique. I'm pretty sure the stropping i was doing before didn't really do anything.

Now if i can only figure out how to get a good lather. It seems like the soap is really hard and not enough of it transfers to the brush.

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You do not need a lot of soap on the brush. A little will go a long way. I dont even bother trying to scrape the soap anymore.

here is what has been working good for me. YMMV

hot water and wet the brush, shake off excess and quick swirl on the soap

bathe

properly soak the brush in water, let drain and a bit of a snap downward to force a bit more water out (i find it easier to add more water than basically start over making lather)

i absentmindely swirl the brush on top of the soap for like a minutes.

I then continue the swirl but add a pumping motion. i normally add a little splash of water to it here if it is still resistant to the pumping motion after a few pumps.

when it loosens and the bristles start going up the side and lather starts to form, i add a twisting motion to the swirling pump. i notice i seem to have a rhythm that dont fully lather the brush and the twist gets it all lathered up.

continue with this for a few moments and it should swell considerably, maybe a few more drops of water if its looking too dry.

ANSWER: Practice, trial, error & try different things.

DISCLAIMER: My HOT water is just hot, a bit beyond warm & not scalding hot from the faucet.

Another possibility is that because the first went so well you dove in and tried to accomplish too much on the second shave. Take your time and be patient. Its all about muscle memory.

Don't give up though, Str8 razor shaving is by far the best feeling shave you will ever get. Plus when done successfully it makes you feel like a real man.