First Shave - Why so much stubble left?

Should there be a tremendous difference between how much a single pass with a straight removes and how much a DE removes? I did my first shave with a straight this morning. Last shaved yesterday so a normal amount of stubble. Shave ready vintage straight from a well regarded source. Followed instructions and did not strop it prior to first shave. First pass removed very little stubble, nowhere near what I'm accustomed to. Second pass similar. Finished with a DE. I tried to keep the proper angle, could it have been too shallow? Or too great an angle? I thought I was being pretty good with the angle although I was a little less cautious on the second pass, one weeper just below my lower lip. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Thanks.

The best advice I have heard is that shaving with a straight or DE is more about preparation and more beard or stubble removal rather than shaving for clean face.

Keep it up, you will learn plenty, you know a lot from reading but now you have to learn your face the best. Find what is fun and comfortable then let it bring you to how it take more and more beard off.

My WTG passes leave quite a bit of stubble, but the XTG and ATG passes remove it rather quickly. I always start WTG to level the stubble out and make the XTG or ATG passes doable! Which direction were your original passes done?

There is a learning curve with using a straight razor. Have you read the beginner's guide in the SRP library here ? Read Lynn's "First Straight Razor Shave." :gl:

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Originally Posted by carpedm

My WTG passes leave quite a bit of stubble, but the XTG and ATG passes remove it rather quickly. I always start WTG to level the stubble out and make the XTG or ATG passes doable! Which direction were your original passes done?

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That is exactly what I am finding too. I think I do get more stubble removed with the first pass using a DE. At the end of 3 pass the result is very similar with a DE or straight though, a good close shave. The difference on the first pass is less now than when I started with straights so I am guessing as your technique improves you will also see less of a difference. Just switching to a straight won't guarantee an immediate better shave in the beginning if you are good with a DE in the first place.

Bob

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Originally Posted by carpedm

My WTG passes leave quite a bit of stubble, but the XTG and ATG passes remove it rather quickly. I always start WTG to level the stubble out and make the XTG or ATG passes doable! Which direction were your original passes done?

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Mostly WTG, some XTG on my neck. Thanks, it helps to have something specific to try or keep in mind when I try again tomorrow.

Keep at it. Using a straight takes a long time to adapt to. Angle, pressure, direction and even speed of travel play a big part. Beard prep is more important too.
I have been using the straight for close to a year and I still haven't had the "perfect" shave.

The first pass is kinda like clearing the brush, the second and third are like getting the stumps then roots... you know what I mean? Work on mapping your hair growth and go with that. I never go for complete BBS b/c it irritates my skin sometimes regardless of what I use to shave w/. Just focus on technique, comfort, and not looking like a battlefield casualty for now; the rest will just kind of come together w/ time and patience.

Thanks for all the replies. It's interesting, you can read all kinds of things, watch videos, etc. but you never get the full sense of something until you actually do it.

New to this, too, and insight seems to come from everywhere. Started with a Dovo stainless and now I just tried a C-MON Cadillac. Pretty significant difference - less irritation with the C-MON, but that could just be me getting better with each shave as well. Gotta go back to the Dovo now to confirm it. I only get one shot at this per day, so it's not like other pedagogical skills where you can double up and hit an acceptable plateau of results early. Everything in its due time...

It takes time (to get the technique) but pretty soon your cheeks will get pretty smooth on the first pass with a straight.

That's generally the first sign of improvement. Nothing (in my limited experience) is going to be as close as a DE on the first pass.

It shouldn't feel like you haven't shaved however :)

I will say that the MAIN thing that helped me to get a really smooth feeling face (on side burns and cheeks anyway, chin is still a bit of a hard spot i sliced it a bit there) is getting the ANGLE correct. 30 degree's or less when doing a WTG pass and if im not mistaken even less angle when doing Across the Grain and Against the Grain. (pls correct me if I'm wrong veterans =]). Also adding that slight slicing or scything, or diagonal push whatever you want to call it seemed to help me a lot too. I'm using a shavette which is apparently less forgiving on the face as I'm still waiting for my straight to arrive from whippeddog dot com. hope this helps

EDIT: Also correct prep seemed to help alot too, I think one of Lynn's post's or videos where he uses a hot towel on the face before lathering, and then after lathering using a hot towel again to let the lather really soak in to the face. then lathering up again and just taking the time to give yourself all that extra special treatments. I think face prep has been a big factor in the success of my shaves. Although if you're already shaving with a DE before this you may know face prep already I was only using electric clippers for my head to shave before this.

Interestingly, I find the more stubble I have the smoother the first pass is.

When I removed the Movember growth with one WTG pass it was really smooth - of course it got smoother with the other directions.

I used Uberlather for prep, which I haven't used in a long time, so it may have helped too.

Are you stretching your skin? If you watch some of the videos posted in this forum, notice how the person shaving stretches his skin to really nail those whiskers. This is all going to take some time and practice so be patient. I have been SR shaving a year and a half and recently I have gotten to the point where I pretty much nail everything, but now and then I'll have some stubble, but I don't get wrapped around the axel about it. SR shaving is a lifelong learning process.

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Originally Posted by mderenal

Should there be a tremendous difference between how much a single pass with a straight removes and how much a DE removes? I did my first shave with a straight this morning. Last shaved yesterday so a normal amount of stubble. Shave ready vintage straight from a well regarded source. Followed instructions and did not strop it prior to first shave. First pass removed very little stubble, nowhere near what I'm accustomed to. Second pass similar. Finished with a DE. I tried to keep the proper angle, could it have been too shallow? Or too great an angle? I thought I was being pretty good with the angle although I was a little less cautious on the second pass, one weeper just below my lower lip. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Thanks.

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