Thread: A quick message from one newbie to another...

I am no stranger to wet shaving, I've been shaving for years with a DE and all sorts of SE's.. As a kid, there always straights around the house as my dad was a collector and appraiser of anything with an edge..

I took to straight razors a few months ago, starting with a Feather non-folding razor, a few shavettes and finally traditional straights. My first was a nicely restored Henry Sears & Sons 7/8 faux frame back.. The restorer claimed it to be shave ready and it was, indeed the sharpest edge in the house.

The edge was in great condition, but I decided to send it off to be honed by pro none-the-less.

As we get started, we need a good frames of reference.. lots of them. How much water in my lather to keep it from drying down? How much pressure? How much angle to the blade? How sharp is the blade?

The Henry Sears & Son came back a few days ago. I scoped the edge and it was mirror-like. Gotta admit, I was a little scared so I did my first pass tentatively and with a very light pressure and here-in lies my message. Because the blade was fresh and coming from a known honer, I was exceptionally light-handed. I don't think I knew just how much pressure (or lack of) I should be using and with the combination of apprehension and ultra sharp edge I finally found it. Viola!

My point is two-fold... Whether or not you THINK your edge is sharp.. get it honed. Soon enough we'll be able to tell if it is in good order, but while we're new, take that variable out of the equation and get it honed. Splurge the $20. Second, when you read "very little pressure" it means VERY LITTLE PRESSURE!! It's almost like you are trying to scoop the lather from your skin without touching yourself with the blade. It's THAT light. It's a delicate balance between barely touching skin (counter-intuitive, I know) and confident forward motion so you don't stall.

Not sure if anyone will find this useful, but I thought worth sharing.

t's a delicate balance between barely touching skin (counter-intuitive, I know) and confident forward motion so you don't stall.

Very well put. Many new straight razor shavers expect the razor to act like some kind of light sabre that will plow through your beard with a simple swipe. That might the case if your beard consists of peach fuzz.

The stroke requires a light touch, yes. But to really cut the beard effectively, short steady and confident strokes will work best in my view. You need that momentum, so that, as Mike mentioned, the razor wont stall.