Thread: 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?

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?

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

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

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.