Thread: little pull on first pass.. does this require a honing already?

Now this might sound a little silly but hear me out. I started my shave today, first time in a few days and my beard was getting a little length to it. I did my regular prep to my face and did a little strop work and began shaving .. I found that it pulled a bit. it was a bit uncomfortable and figured maybe it was time to get it honed.. however I've only done about ten shaves on it and honing where i live seems to be a difficult find.

Anyway i went on to do the second pass and all was good. Felt great and went smoothly. Does the first pass with a little extra hair growth tend to pull a bit? i know this sounds silly because the obvious answer to me would be yes because theres longer hair... However i am new to this so I'm thinking maybe it just wasn't sharp enough... Any comments would be greatly appreciated..

In my experience a beard with more growth does feel different. It should not pull, but you will definitely feel the blade cutting the hairs. A little extra skin stretching goes a long way on these first passes. YMMV!

thank you i will give that a go

Beginners tend to dull the edge quicker due incorrect form while shaving and stropping. We've all been there

Most likely your razor needs a touch up on crox or a pasted strop instead of honing.

Originally Posted by TucoRamirez

Beginners tend to dull the edge quicker due incorrect form while shaving and stropping. We've all been there

Most likely your razor needs a touch up on crox or a pasted strop instead of honing.

Tuco is correct, but I'd advise to try adjusting your techinque before assuming your edge is dull. If you'd stop on some paste and thn experience the same pulling, you'd have another variable to deal with (is techinque at fault, or did you strop poorly on the paste & dull the edge?).

As is the case with any , new , straight razor user , because of your inexperience , your stropping is not as effective as it could be . Try giving your razor 50 laps on the linen/cloth side of your strop , and 100 laps on the leather , and see how it shaves . If you don't have a linen/cloth side , just give it 100 on the leather .