Thread: Help! Confused.

Thanks CaliforniaCajun! Great links too! I've seen both videos and they make it look effortless. I did notice something when I watched the shaving video again though. He is very confident in his strokes. The best shave I did so far I remember not being nervous and being pretty confident in my strokes. Maybe the other shaves I was being a little too tentative and that's why the razor was grabbing. I just wasn't confident.

My only worry though is that when my razor does need refreshing with CrOx that I won't realize it and still think it's my technique. Everything I've read says the only true test is the shaving test to tell when it needs refreshing. Well, you see my dilemma. Razor grabs, technique or refresh? But like Chevhead said, if I'm getting a good one every 2nd or 3rd shave it's probably my lack of skill.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement guys! I've gotten really good suggestions on this site. The most helpful so far is the alum block recommendation for this newb with razor burn. Great site! I'll keep at it.

Yeah, it was actually Vintage Blades brand cream in a tub that was drying out. Ironically, that was the least irritating shave. But I had to keep adding water and lathering constantly.

Stonebraker I know what you mean. It seems my face gets irritated as I'm lathering before the razor even hits hit, then I have to shave over it. It does this in the areas I had problems with the last time. But I also see what carl is saying about longer beard would equal more tugging. Maybe I need to just give the straight a rest for a day and use my cartridge but still use the brush and soap.

sounds like a great plan of attack for now.

I'm new to straight shaving too and i've found that if i havnt had a proper hot hot shower with steam aplenty, pre shave, then the blade dosnt want to glide so much .

Ok, I read the online book "Shaving Made Easy" provided in a link by CaliforniaCajun and there is some advice in the book that is contrary to all the preshave prep I've read on this site and others.

"The popular impression is that the soap is used for the purpose of softening the beard, in which condition it is supposed to be most easily cut. This is a mistake. The soap is used, not to soften the beard, but to produce exactly the opposite effect—namely, to make the hair stiff and brittle, so that they will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor.
Now in this natural oily condition, it is very dif- ficult to cut the hair with a razor, and it becomes even more difficult if the beard be made still softer by the application of hot water. Many do this, and it is no wonder they find shaving difficult. When this is done, the hairs become soft and limp, and the razor will either slip over them entirely, or else cut partly into them, bend them back and sHce them lengthwise, all the while pulling and straining them at the roots, and making the process of shaving most painful.
For the sake of cleanliness, the face should, of course, be washed previous to shaving in order to remove any dirt or grit from the beard, which might dull the razor ; but before applying the lather, the face should be well dried with a towel."

So no hot water, and a dry face before lather. Then later on it says to apply a hot towel after the shave to open the pores and then apply the aftershave. Anyone try this? I know with a cartridge razor when I shaved without first taking a hot shower or applying a hot wash cloth the blade tugged and pulled.

Originally Posted by Jetmech

Ok, I read the online book "Shaving Made Easy" provided in a link by CaliforniaCajun and there is some advice in the book that is contrary to all the preshave prep I've read on this site and others.

"The popular impression is that the soap is used for the purpose of softening the beard, in which condition it is supposed to be most easily cut. This is a mistake. The soap is used, not to soften the beard, but to produce exactly the opposite effect—namely, to make the hair stiff and brittle, so that they will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor.
Now in this natural oily condition, it is very dif- ficult to cut the hair with a razor, and it becomes even more difficult if the beard be made still softer by the application of hot water. Many do this, and it is no wonder they find shaving difficult. When this is done, the hairs become soft and limp, and the razor will either slip over them entirely, or else cut partly into them, bend them back and sHce them lengthwise, all the while pulling and straining them at the roots, and making the process of shaving most painful.
For the sake of cleanliness, the face should, of course, be washed previous to shaving in order to remove any dirt or grit from the beard, which might dull the razor ; but before applying the lather, the face should be well dried with a towel."

So no hot water, and a dry face before lather. Then later on it says to apply a hot towel after the shave to open the pores and then apply the aftershave. Anyone try this? I know with a cartridge razor when I shaved without first taking a hot shower or applying a hot wash cloth the blade tugged and pulled.

How about that? I am a converted cold water shaver. That idea sounded nutty to me and I, too, used a cartridge razor for a lot of years before my shower. When someone occasionally posted that he was a cold water shaver I thought he was crazy. I wanted you to read it for yourself because I couldn't entertain the idea before I saw it documented in this book. Then I tried it and...to my surprise...it worked.

Let me hasten to say that most people can get a good shave either way (which probably means barbers hot towel shave to please customers), but for a new straight shaver starting out, the odds are in your favor if you adopt the method in that book. Instead of a hot towel after the shave, I take a shower and wash my face in warm water.

I started shaving with multiblade razors after I got fed up with my dad's recommended electric. I really think that if you use a razor with 3 or 5 blades that each stroke is like 3 or 5 strokes, based on how it felt. My face was so irritated all of those years that I didn't shave on weekends and holidays if I could possibly avoid it. I didn't try a DE razor until I was 54 and I couldn't believe how much closer and comfortable one blade was as opposed to several. Later I moved to straights because I wanted to.

I'm glad you found out on your own about not using hot water, because you wouldn't have believed me if I told you. Try it, and that will help you get on speaking terms with your face again.