Slightly demotivated.. The quest for the elusive BBS

[MikekiM]

I've been told it should take me about 100 shaves to get the hang of things.. I am about half through and I think I have a good grip on the overall technique. I get very few weepers or irritation, and generally the shaves are acceptable. DFS for sure. And I love the process..

This morning time was against me so I reached for the Weber DE...

BBS doesn't describe the shave I get from the Weber, regardless of blade or cream selection. Three passes. Done. My face is absolutely clean of ANY stubble. I mean NOTHING!! That clean of a shave. (I'll be faceterbating all day..)

If you know what I am talking about, then please help me. And be honest and frank.. Are straights capable of giving me this close of a shave? Or, is the bar set so high I am destined for disappointment?

[DGilloon]

Don't give up.I got a good single pass shave this weekend from a SE. I suspect it's less about technique now than the edge of your blades and your maintenance program. Come to the meet up on Sunday in Ft Lee and have somebody look closely at your razor. Should get some help there.

[gssixgun]

Yes you can get there and with more comfort then the DE can give you..

Honestly my reason for using a SR is simply comfort, BBS DFS or any other "S" is secondary to me..

But using Scything and blade buffing you can do quite a bit with a SR..

Also Honing and stropping play a large role in this along with you narrowing down the type of razor that works with your face..


Break that all down and what I just said was yes, but the learning curve to BBS is quite steep for many of us that have "real" beards

[UKRob]

This is my third year of using straights - I also have a selection of SE razors and a couple of Kamisoris so I tend to mix up what I use throughout the week. As Glen said, you can get the same level of shave as with a DE - I'd qualify that by saying it will not be as fast.

What I found is that you will at some stage move to a different level with your straights - other people have experienced this - without any discernable change in what you are doing. However, some days are just not as good - I put this down to the fact that lifestyle has an impact on skin condition and sometimes I'm living better than other times.

The offer to get your razor checked out is one you should take up if possible.

[OCDshaver]

Its definitely possible. I do it every time I shave. My first suggestion is to closely identify what you are doing with your DE and duplicate the motions, and angles with your SR. I found that the only way to a BBS shave was really knowing what direction the beard was growing in and how I needed to manage cutting it in order to get it completely smooth. I would also suggest that you focus in on how you might get a BBS shave in one particular area of your shave. When you nail it, because of getting the right angle or blade technique, you move on to another area. Every time you nail one area down, you're piecing together the elements of your shave. Don't try to figure the whole shave out at once. Break it down into smaller tasks that can be accomplished one at a time. Maybe the area under your chin is a problem. So you think about what direction the hair grows, how you manage to get it clean with a DE, and you attempt to mimic that with a SR. Think carefully about how you might need to hold the razor in order to mimic what you were doing with a DE.

[MJC]

+1 to all of the comments above...Having just passed the one year mark using a Straight I can tell that you are on the path..just keep at it.

Now that you have the basic skills down (you no longer look like you have been in a gang fight, and your gang did not show up) the next level comes in small steps.
Great edges, great stropping and coming up with an angle/stretching system for each area of your face just comes with practice.

One day I was watching a youtube of a Japanese barber with a Kamisori. I noted that he shaved in between his thumb and fore finger, tensioning small patches of skin at a time. I tried this on my throat and some other areas and had great results. It's these little things that you experiment with that get the shave dialed in to BBS.

But it is soooo worth the effort.

Good luck and good shaving!

[MikekiM]

Thanks all..

No plans to give up, just don't want to have expectations that are too high.

All of my edges have been honed professionally and I do a decent job with stropping. Sadly, I can't make the MeetUp on Sunday.

I have yet to figure out how to go ATG and that is the major differences with my DE passes and SR passes.

I do use Scything, as well as I can without opening myself up. I've been stretching and tugging and bit by bit piecing things together.. but while my results are improving with every shave, they are miles away from what I can pull off with a DE.. Having said that, I've been shaving with a DE for years and know I have to be patient...

[OCDshaver]

I have yet to figure out how to go ATG and that is the major differences with my DE passes and SR passes.

Ah, there you have it.

[Attila]

It might help you put your journey into perspective to take a look at the Member list under the 'Community' tab. If you do some research there, you'll find that very many and probably most folks who try SR shaving don't get very far. Look how many started posting and stopped rather quickly. That doesn't mean conclusively that they failed to make the jump to proficient SR shaving, but it certainly is an indicator that they tried it, didn't find much success, and then quit never to be heard from again.

SR shaving isn't easy to learn. Most who make the attempt don't.
SR shaving will give you better shaves, but, as you have seen, it doesn't happen right away.

Also, take a look at how many begin their journey with questions instead of studying the Library. Because of that, they start their journey without the knowledge that might help them complete it. Success takes work. Some put it in and make it, but most don't and return to some other way of shaving.

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. You're already a success! Have fun as your improvement increases.

Wow...some great advice here. Particularly the part about doing plenty of research before. Helps tremendously!

[England]

To answer your question, YES you will eventually get that perfect BBS shave from a straight. You will not believe this now but you will eventually surpass the shave you get from a DE.
I shaved with a DE for 15 years and thought my shaves were perfect. Two years ago I moved to a straight and am now getting the best shaves of my life.
You will hit milestones along the way without even realizing it or why but will just notice better and better results as you go.
I can remember about a year ago when I was trying to crack going ATG on the chin and thought I would never completely master it. Nowadays its second nature and I don't even think about it.
As others have said research and practice then research and practice some more but most important of all is remember this =( YMMV ) You will find some things that work for others may not work for you and things that work for you may not work for others. A good example of this is my shave routine which is, 1 x ATG pass + touch-up's. Have not heard of anyone else that does this but for me it works perfect. BBS every time in less than 10 mins.
However YMMV
Stick with it, sounds like you are doing well and things will only get better.