Thread: Razor "skipping"

Concur that the blade is dull. It is pulling and your hold makes it let loose, skip and grab again. Touch up the edge.

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

Totally agree with Oz and mainaman. Very low angle, and if you're comfortable with it a little toe leading (cant) stroke on that AGT on the cheeks. Not too much, or you risk a slice, but a little to give the razor a better cutting angle on the whisker. It helps to eliminate that catching and skipping also. Better lather!
Good shaves!!

Regards,
Howard

Seems SirStropalot is a time traveler who commented on this in 1969. Impressive!

Originally Posted by medicineball

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Got a question for the group: I've been shaving with a SR since early October, and in general it's going quite well and is fun. One problem: when I go ATG, the razor "skips" as it goes across my skin. I've attached a picture that shows the lines in the lather produced by the skipping. Any ideas what I'm going wrong? Thanks!

I used to have that problem, where the razor would drag, hop off the face, and come in for a crash land.

For me my lather wasn't slick (wet) enough. Your lather looks thin to me. I suggest you add more water and lather your face more generously.

This is what my lather looks like:

I always found that a lighter touch and short buffering strokes while going atg alleviate any skipping.

The skipping you describe looks scary. I agree with those who have posted that your lather looks thin.

I like this thread. I have experienced this skipping at times and am interested in the responses.

I can verify that my razors are plenty sharp, but now that you mention lather....I will start paying more attention to the conditions that exist when the skipping happens...it may well be with one of the products I occasionally use that seems to result in thinner lather.

I also know that stretching (or lack of) has been the cause in the past for me. My fat face rolls up like an area rug and things get bad quick...its pretty easy to identify and eliminate that problem

I have had this problem. What has been working out for me is:
-keeping my lather wetter,
-better skin stretching,
-using a lower angle of attack (spine closer to the skin),
-lighter razor skin pressure,
-changing the direction of attack. On my cheeks, cutting from my nose towards my ear is especially prone to stick and skip which can lead to a sudden slice. I cut my face vertically three times this way on different occassions. For awhile, I thought that I was going to bear a Heidelburg scar, but it soon dissapeared. Now I minimize or avoid cutting from nose toward my ear on the cheeks and will do so only after major beard reduction, and if the stars all seem to be aligned for me during that shave.
-switching to a sharper razor or restropping/honing. Skipping is more apt to happen when blade sharpness of a bit off,
-letting my attension wander for an instant while foolishly thinking that I really have achieved control of the razor/shave is when I usually get nicked, especially if my skin pressure, angle, and skin stretching is off. Fortunately, I have not been sliced for a while and my Str8s probably nick me less frequently than my DEs. All the above factors are somewhat interrelated and improving any of them can help compensate for minor deficiencies in other areas.

If the str8 shave is not going well on any given day despite quick fixes, I will finish my shave with a DE.

This has happened to me as well. Almost everytime it skips, I have got bit. I chalked it up to my angle being too steep, but there are probably other factors at play too. Hasn't happened in a long time.

About the lather... There are soaps and creams out there that help by being extra slick. T&H rose comes to mind as being "extra" slick. There are others out there that are slicker than others. Make sure you are using a very slick lather with plenty of cushion. That picture of your lather seems to be really thin and it looks a little dry also.
1. Slick lather with lots of cushion
2. Very sharp edge
3. Technique, technique,technique.
Relax and know that it will happen, don't sweat it!