Greeting from NewZealand best forum around!

[silverloaf]

go to the library section. there will be a section on "shaving with straight razors" immensely useful info there, including some discussion on angle and sectioning the face.

[Danzano]

Had my first shave with the straight last night did my whole face ended up with around 20 cuts lol. The blade was pulling alot even though I stropped it around 50 times and the guy I got it from honed it and stropped it is my technique horrible and I've dulled the blade already? What should I do? Also will post some pics of the shave and razor in a couple minutes :-)

[EisenFaust]

If you got it from TradeMe then it's probably not shave ready, have seen all sorts of things labeled as such on there that definitely wouldn't be.

[Danzano]

If you got it from TradeMe then it's probably not shave ready, have seen all sorts of things labeled as such on there that definitely wouldn't be.

[Danzano]

I took the pics this morning so not straight after or anything I also nicked my strop a couple times last night with I think may have been the cause that and my technique I think I need lots of practice

[Danzano]

Also ignore my improve Bowl I'm going to get a proper shave Bowl at some point :-P the Thiers Issard soap smells amazing and works well though

[silverloaf]

tough call with all the possible factors. trusted honemeister or dealer? prep not sufficient? improper angle?
a nicely honed and stropped razor can feel like crap if the prep isn't done sufficiently, trust me, I know firsthand. I had rushed my prep one day and just about brought tears to my eyes on the first pass wtg. stopped myself, took a breather and prepped well and the same razor had a beautiful glide right though the stubble as if it weren't even there. good prep is a must! improper angle also is a huge factor. its deceiving starting out, it may look fine to you when its not. aim for one to two spine thicknesses between the spine and your face to start. steeper than that and you are scraping the hairs, not shearing them. above all, DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! read as much as possible, watch as many videos as possible, let the face heal!

[Danzano]

tough call with all the possible factors. trusted honemeister or dealer? prep not sufficient? improper angle?
a nicely honed and stropped razor can feel like crap if the prep isn't done sufficiently, trust me, I know firsthand. I had rushed my prep one day and just about brought tears to my eyes on the first pass wtg. stopped myself, took a breather and prepped well and the same razor had a beautiful glide right though the stubble as if it weren't even there. good prep is a must! improper angle also is a huge factor. its deceiving starting out, it may look fine to you when its not. aim for one to two spine thicknesses between the spine and your face to start. steeper than that and you are scraping the hairs, not shearing them. above all, DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! read as much as possible, watch as many videos as possible, let the face heal!

Thanks silverloaf he is a very well respected hone meister and dealer here in NZ. I think it comes down to me doing things wrong more than the blade but I tried the hanging hair test again this morning after about 20 laps on the strop and no go so I may have screwed the edge last night and need re honing.

Don't get discouraged is not an issue I put to much money in to throw in the towel part of the reason for getting the straight was big up front cost cheaper long term and smoother shave I can't give that dream up!!!

Gonna see the honemeister tonight see what the damage is and get it re done if need be then try to never a nick the strop again or b have horrible technique and practice practice practice

Will be getting a proper Bowl and a linen strop with paste next pay day but pretty happy with my little kit so far and loving the info and people on this site amazing stuff and great support :-D

[silverloaf]

before rehoning try more laps on the strop. go for 50-80 lapa and see if that has any affect at all. also too slow a stropping will not be effective enough. some people may disagree with me on that but the fact is that the metal is conditioned and the edge religned much better when a little heat is generated from the strop. prewarm the strop by rubbing your palm up and down the surface til you feel the heat build up. the oils from your hand are also beneficial for conditioning the strop. and remember the hht is not necessarily indicative of shave readiness, however you should be able to notice some effect from the extra laps. if nothing then id say have the honemeister check it out.

[Danzano]

Will do thanks silverloaf