Thread: First shave with a "real" straight

Good tip about the sample wedges. I will try that. Man, I gotta say I LOVE the Mama Bear soaps. I can smell it all day!

Excellent tip about using the back of the arm. I'm gonna try that for sure but obviously my beard whiskers are FAR thicker.

The blade was stropped and is sharp. It passes the HHT.

Small strokes are all I can possibly do. I mean honestly no way I could push more than 1 cm on the first pass. Once the hair is cut down, it works much better. But I'm watching guys shave actual beards on Youtube - I can't imagine.

Stretching - I'll try more. but again, I'm watching videos where some guys don't do alot. I mean take the chin area. These guys aren't stretching more than curling their bottom lip. I'm doing the same thing. Having a hard time pushing my blade thru it.

I will definitely keep at it and I really appreciate the tips!

If your beard is truly that coarse you may want to try doing a mini-prep before your shower by lathering your face as if you were gonna shave then jump in the shower and try to rinse that lather off at the end then start your normal routine. I usually don't shower before I shave but I always lather my face then shave my head then hot towel over the lather on my face then re-apply lather and shave.

That may help soften your beard enough to make a difference.

I have been shaving with a straight for some time now and I can tell you that a three day growth is a lot to deal with. I don't like cutting that much hair and it takes a certain amount of technique to wander through that much hair. Sounds like your blade angle is about right when you said you laid it down flat. Such an angle means that your razor must be in very good shape. Hang in there you will make it.



Take Care,
Richard

Originally Posted by riooso

Sounds like your blade angle is about right when you said you laid it down flat.

What do you mean by that, Richard? Others above are saying I shouldn't be laying it that flat.

Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech

What do you mean by that, Richard? Others above are saying I shouldn't be laying it that flat.

Not sure what he meant but between twenty and thirty degrees is what you should be looking for.

I'm still a newbie too and am only just getting passable results WTG. Like the others I think it's probably angle and maybe skin stretching. A couple of times I've skipped a day's shaving and then I've not had god results with a straight. It just glides over my beard then gets stuck without really cutting, it's definitely much easier if I shaved the day before. The technique is taking a lot longer to learn than with a DE and in the videos of people shaving a thick beard they are obviously experienced straight shavers.

the flatter the angle on a first pass the harder it will be to shave. Make sure you are staying around a 30 degree angle. Also it sounds like you might be applying to much pressure, what I try for is to almost not feel the razor touching my face, just use the blades weight to apply pressure. It is also possibly a stropping issue, you could have rolled they blade while stropping, I did not see if you stropped before your first shave or not. Hope this helps and just take your time it takes a while to get good results.

The 'between 20 and 30 degrees' suggestion is good but it took a long time for it to sink in for me. Someone finally told me about one to two spine widths off the face and when I tried that I realized that what I thought was 30 degrees was more like 45. As soon as I adjusted the angle it was like I had a whole new razor.

I also have a heavy beard and sensitive skin, bad combination. I found that showering first and using a good face wash soap really made a difference. I then use AOS preshave oil and then their shave cream, the shave cream made a believer out of me but I did find that if it is not wet enough the shave quality suffers. I found that erring on the side of too wet is better than too dry. I also swirl it on with the brush for about 3 minutes, really work it in and soften the beard.

I'm also wondering if the razor was simply not honed properly. I know that Whipped Dog does quality work, no one has a following like him without earning it; however, anything is possible. He could have had a bad day, or maybe even sent you the wrong razor by mistake. I had the wrong razor sent to me once, it happens. I couldn't hurt to at least send it to someone for an evaluation. There are so many variables to getting a good shave you need to eliminate all that you can. Maybe your stropping technique is bad, and evaluation could tell you that.

A good blade, good prep, and good technique should give a great shave. If you are not getting that then one of the three is wrong. Good luck sorting it out. It's worth it in the end.

Stretching is critical to a good shave, I think. It stands the barbs up and keeps your skin from piling up into a little dam in front of the blade.

You should not apply more pressure or force than it takes to just scrape away the lather. If your beard prep is good and your razor is properly sharp, the whiskers follow the lather off of your face as a side effect of the lather removal. If you haven't tried this gentle of a touch, do so. Keep the blade spine elevated a spine width or two above your skin, so you're not fighting stiction, and just aim for the lather.

Best wishes and happy shaving

Egg,
I am sure your lather is correct, if not it would have been an issue with your Shavette. When a new shaver gets started in the world of straight razor shaving there are some mistakes that happen right off the bat. Did you Strop the razor? 95% that if you did you lost your edge, which is what it sounds like because you shouldn't have to push or pull on the blade no matter what angel you are working with. 30 Degree and light pressure should be fine. So I recommend if you are still having issue's even after all this advice from your fellow members, it's time to refresh that edge and try again. Send it to your Local Honemeister in your area and make sure you get some info on them before you send it off. Let them know you are a new shaver so they give you a little wiggle room so if you dull the razor again (which is likely) they might let you send it in for a free follow up hone. It takes practice but in a short amount of time you should get it down and have a great shave in no time! Have fun!!

Kind Regards,
Phil & Jane
The Classic Edge Shaving Store