My third straight shave. Honemeisters input needed.

[gnomore]

My third straight shave went much like the second. 15 minute shower, 50 laps on my brand new dovo strop. And the best lather I have made so far. Was frothing out of the bowl with only an almond sized amount. Mmm it felt nice....Until the straight went to the cheek. I had about a days worth of growth on my cheek. First n to south pass.... Very discomfortable, it was like it was cutting half way into the hair and pulling the rest. I had to do 4 passes n to south and on the fourth, it glided down with no pulling. But no where near smooth. I then had to do a west to east towards my sideburns, and pain, discomfort. I pretty much did a n to south pass on the rest of my face, but everwhere else except my cheek which took in total about 10 passes to get what a mach 3 would get it feeling like in 1. My chin and neck hair are about 1 mm, my lip hair is about .5 mm. My face feels like sandpaper. Actually my face hair is getting longer each day. The razor cant keep up with the growth. Except on the cheeks if I do 10 passes.

On my post for the day two shave, most came to the conclusion that my razor was not sharp enough. I guess I wanted to give it one more try to make sure it wasnt my technique.

Just a recap.....
While I was waiting for lynn to sharpen this straight up, I let my hair grow for 5 days. When the razor arrived, my first shave was terrible. I couldnt shave even my cheek hair with the thing, using the word pulling is an understatement, it just got plain stuck and if you pushed any further.... ouch. I thought maybe the hair was too long, so I shaved it with my electric. After that I could at least get the straight "moving".

Day 2:
15x linen 80x leather

Better shave, but I wouldnt call it a shave. Compared to day 1, 95 percent less pulling, but it could still only shave the cheeks decently with many passes. It was able to shave the upper lip, which was impossible on day one but this was because on day one I got the upper lip smooth as a babys butt with my electric razor. And even though it was able to move over the surface this time, I wouldnt necessarily call it a shave.

Day 3:

50x Leather

Lip hair is twice as long now, so is chin hair...razor still moves over it, but it feels exactly like it did before I tried shaving. And when I say moves over it, there is much pulling involved in it. 5x passes down 5x passes to the east to get my cheeks somewhat resembling a close shave.

And when I say pulling, its about the same feeling as taking a pair of tweezers to your eyebrows to about 10 lashes, and pulling them taught, almost to the point they come out... That type of pulling...

Im trying to figure out what my next step should be. Should I buy a shave ready razor from bill? And contact lynn to see if he can find out how I screwed my razor? I am actually kind of worried that maybe I got a lemon razor. Tracing my steps back, I did nothing that would harm the edge. When stroping I always kept the spine on the strop. And applyed just enough pressure to keep the entire edge on the strop. And at the end of the swipe, flipped the spine over, and drug back.

What do you guys think, should I send it out for more work? Or try some more. Im guessing I need a second razor... Bill do you have anything that will shave a thick beard that has a rounded tip? Or maybe I should buy a feather razor?

Whatcha guys think?

[garythepenman]

Well I'm a newbie like you.
I've got 2 razors from Bill and one from Lynn. My strop hasn't arrived yet but I've used the razors anyway. No problems, all were shave ready. I've used the one I got from Lynn twice and still got fantastic results. I'm only shaving twice, both times with the grain.
I can't imagine why your first shave with Lynn's razor was so bad ?. Lynn's was really sharp and very smooth to use, he doesn't send out duff blades and I've no idea what you've done to it, if anything.
I haven't stropped yet but can only imagine some technique glitch, maybe.
Can't help any more and I'm sorry your'e having problems, lets hope you can get it sorted and not get put off.

Gary

[canerunner]

I don't have any idea why a blade that he inspected and sent out as finished wouldn't shave you properly. My first inclination would be that the razor might have had the edge come in contact with something that dulled it before you shaved with it. Laying it on a countertop in such a way that the edge slides on the surface would do that.

It sounds to me like you might have stropped the edge down from it's maximum sharpness, to a point where it's pulling hair now. All it would take is letting the spine rise off the strop, or letting tension off on the strop, to make this happen. I think most of us don't realize how easy it is for a hardened steel edge to be dulled by a seemingly soft, flexible piece of leather.

It is possible that Lynn made a mistake, as I know that none of us is perfect, so I would contact him and send it back to him for his review. If it's not right, he will make it so.

[JLStorm]

again, your razor is not sharp enough. PM Lynn, I would assume he would like you to send it back to him so that he can inspect the edge.

[xman]

... When you guys say no pulling should occur. Describe this for me a bit.

For me it's literally like a hot knife through butter. There's a little resistance, but only a very little. Not enough to say it pulls, but just enough to let you know you're not moving through air any more.

Be careful with your stropping. It's not about fast, it's about perfect. You may have knocked the edge off. I did this myself starting out.

The razor may be a lemon. What is it? Getting a shave ready from Bill is a great idea. It'll give you something to compare with. If you're having the same problems, then it's clearly your technique.

Speaking of technique; if I'm remembering correctly you are a burly sort. Using a straight push with the razor (where the tip and heel move forward together) will likely cause more pulling than with most gents. Try a 20º-30º cutting angle where the tip leads the heel slightly. That cutting action should help you out.

On pressure ... NO. That's not an answer, it's a recipe for a whole wack of new problems. Ones that leave you rashed at best or with permanent reminders at worst.

X

[randydance062449]

What angle are you using? I am referring to the distance of the spine of the razor away from the face.
30,45,60,90 degrees?

Are you on any medications that would make your beard very stiff? I take several meds and my beard has become much harder.

By all means take advantage of Lynn's generous offer.
It is possible that something happened to the edge while in transit or when you stropped it.

Keep us posted,

[superfly]

Get a Shavette, you'll have a benchmark for your edges, and it will allow you to work on your technique without worrying about the sharpness of the blade...

Nenad

[EdinLA44]

gnomore,

Don't give up. I know you must be very frustrated. What razor do you currently have (I forgot)? Anyway, send it back to Lynn for checking and possible re-honing. If you have a very heavy beard, you might want to try a larger razor like a 7/8 or 8/8. I've heard those size razors work better on heavy beards.

Ed