Thread: Not a good one!! Any help?

Most likely your technique then. Make sure you angle is twice the width of the spine against your face. If the angle is too wide you will just abrade your skin. I believe the guys recommend a couple strokes every time you shave to learn the process and razor. In other words don't go whacking at your whole face not knowing how to operate that thing.

I'm continually surprised at how much lighter I can go. When the edge is keen, it shaves! Stretching the skin is something else I have to remember to do. So far I'm getting the best result with a WTG pass followed by more lather and an ATG pass. The most trouble is when I get too heavy, go too fast. go too slow or go too long. Short, light strokes wins the day, and a shallower angle is better than a steeper one. No more than two spine widths seems to work best for me.

Other than that, I found that honing helped me get the feel of the razor, and getting a 2nd good razor with an excellent edge helped me know when I got the first one right. It was something of a necessity for me, since I managed to roll the edge on my first razor on my first attempt at stropping.

I'm new to this myself, & it wasn't until my most recent shave midweek that holding the razor started to feel even vaguely normal. That was my 6th or 7th shave & it's such a good feeling when you realise that you're no longer spending 2 minutes staring at the razor wondering which way the sharp bit should be pointing. Don't expect too much too soon & be prepared to put it down & grab your old razor if you feel you're getting out of your depth, it will come to you & start to make sense.

As others have said, it takes practice and experimenting with which grips work best for the different parts of your face and neck. I'm still at the stage where there are places on my neck and chin where I change grips and hands several times before making a stroke. I put it all down to learning and am in no hurry, it'll come just like any new skill.

As far as the end result is concerned, mine differ on different parts of my face & neck. The "easy" places (flat of cheek e.g) I get a nice smooth shave. The "hard" places I don't get as good a shave but I'm not trying for BBS smoothness there. I'm assuming that since I can get a good shave in places the razor is sharp and the bad spots are just down to technique - which will come.

Take your time and enjoy the journey.