Thread: And then the blood flowed like wine....

So I've been on the straight razor scene for about 2 months now. When I first started shaving, despite having a brand new perfectly sharp razor honed by SRP, shaving my chin sucked. So after re-evaluating everything and with more practice with lather, prep, shaving angle etc. I was able to get some really nice shaves! After a while I started to feel pretty confident. Every now and then I would get a small nick here and there, but nothing major. Never really getting those nicks where it's like a startling OUCH and your hand and head jerk away from each other in stinging pain. Well the other day I experienced that......twice in one shave! OUCH.....holy ouch. I basically carved a valley in the area right under my nose and then while shaving down away from my bottom lip towards the bottom of my chin the razor like dug straight in. These are the kind of cuts that once the bleeding has stopped you can see and feel this huge dip in your face! As this was my first time REALLY nicking myself, I thought I'd give the old styptic pencil a try since I hadn't used it yet.......not a fan. That stung like crazy. Wasn't expecting that! Oh and btw, while using it to stop the cut on my upper lip, the styptic/water mixture dripped down into my mouth on accident......that stuff tastes FOUL! So anyway, my question the obviously, What am I doing wrong??? I'm using a new Boker King Cutter (which seems to still be sharp from what I can tell at least) and colonel conk shaving soap.

Here is the jist of my prep: Before I shaved, I took a nice hot shower and even rubbed some conditioner into my beard. After getting out of the shower, I soaked my badger brush (a cheapo tweezerman) in hot water. While my brush was soaking I decided I would strop 50 on the canvas and 100 on the leather as opposed to just 50 or so on the leather that I usually do before shaving. (I don't know, I guess since it had been a while?) I lathered up and shaved WTG. Then rinsed with hot water and lathered up again and shaved XTG. Rinsed with hot water, then lathered up and saved ATG. You would think that this is where I nicked myself, but it was actually while shaving WTG under my nose and down towards the bottom of my chin where it starts to jut out. The razor just grabbed the skin and dug in. Is my razor not sharp enough? Is my technique really THAT bad? Should I maybe be using a DE razor instead? Would I get a closer and better shave with a DE as opposed to a straight? Is colonel conk not a good shaving soap? Should I really be using some hugely expensive gold label cream like XPEC or Spencer and Devon's or whatever? Do good shaves really only come from $350 razors and $85 shaving cream?????

Deep breath....

Trouble shaving chin=normal, nicks=normal

Only you know what happened but I'm guessing you increased the angle and/or pulled to the side.

Pay attention and just try not to repeat that mistake.

If that's not the case, and the blade was skipping and pulling when you got nicked, then I'd be happy to hone it for you.

You can do just fine with what you have, no need to spend a lot.

Good shaves will come, with time.

Michael

It sounds like an angle issue to me - I had the same problem a while ago when I was doing the 'fools pass' (ATG under my nose).
Instead of having the razor flat on my skin it was up at about 5 degrees - just enough to bite me.
I like the Col Conk soap - it works fine for me and I was using a $10 EBay special that I'd restored myself - a lovely shaver.
I find that I have to push my nose out of the way at times to get the angle right, especially with wider razors.

Pressure and angle can be a bugger. Have you watched the Videos out there of others shaving those areas? Watch all you can because what one person does may not work for you and you only find out after trying those moves. Everyone has a slightly different way to shave, angle and pressure will be a constant but how one gets those angles and how one holds the razor can be quite different. Try as many holds and directions to find what works best for you.

Like the other guys said, it's likely to be angle issue, possibly while moging along the edge as well. Let me add that if the styptic is not stopping the bleeding, superglue works miracles. It certainly is not neccessary with expencive gear to have great shaves - not at all - but going slow and paying close attention to angle and pressure is. Neosporin helps the cut heal fast, and will prevent scars. It does sound to me like you got a nice shave prep, so I am guessing it is in the actual shave technique. Slow and steady does it.
Best of luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions.

+1 on the angle suggestions and first aid instruction; however, if you just HAVE to find your solution (or partial solution) in another purchase, I would strongly recommend a tallow based soap like Mitchell's Wool Fat or Mike's Natural Soaps.

Originally Posted by quicksilver

...You would think that this is where I nicked myself, but it was actually while shaving WTG under my nose and down towards the bottom of my chin where it starts to jut out. The razor just grabbed the skin and dug in....

Lack of skin-stretching is usually what's gotten me so far. That jut of the chin may be a very big angle change. Just holding a credit card there, I'd estimate on my face it's an abrupt 45 degrees or more. Hopeless. I can only shave that spot by pulling my lower lip as far into my mouth as possible -- that flattens that bit of skin on the chin. That being said, the last week or so I've come to realize the need for humility while I learn this art. I'm thinking of growing a goatee for a few months. The whole mouth area is treacherous at this stage.

Humility---Respect for the tool. My first good nick happened because I got a little cocky 'I think I had actually bragged' on my 2 1/2 month blood free beginners experienc, combined with the slightly dulling of the blade requiring the gradual unoticed increase in pressure----well, i neosporned it, used only the adhesive part of ban-aid, did not remove for three days. No scar---now. Like the other guys said..patience. Sometimes it can sneek up on you.

Originally Posted by JimBC

No scar---now.

Chicks dig scars though right?

Yea, they do! (but dont go slicing yourself up just for them!)