Thread: Hi From the Mid West

Hi all,
I have been DE shaving for the past several month and about a month ago I began to learn the art of straight razor shaving. What a nice challenge every morning! I have been going at it slowly by starting with the side burn, wtg, jaw line etc. I am now getting to the point that I can shave my whole face now, wtg, first pass and have noticed that stubble remains. I am having trouble figuring out how to hold razor for different grain approaches. I am gaining and I welcome any help etc. the good news is that it is feeling a lot more comfortable and I realize I am not going to slice my face all up, I can even see openings thru my hand to actually see the blade on my face, not that is improvement. I am stropping with my beginner strops but I am looking for any suggestions on what to get for my first 3" strop. My routine is to do my first pass with my straight and finish with my DE, a good combo for a beginner. thanks for having this site, I found it by watching video demos.

Hello, Ron, and welcome to Straight Razor Place. A little at a time, as you are doing, is a good idea. Watch your angle, about 20 to 30 degrees generally, although that varies in certain spots, and remember to use no pressure at all. By the way, if you need some one-on-one tutoring, I live in Milwaukee and you are more than welcome to stop by the house.

Glad to see you found SRP. You will find someone always willing to answer any questions. Welcome.

Ron welcome to SRP this is a great community to get to know. I'm new here also and have been given such great advice and I've gotten to know some fantastic people. Obie is a mentor here and has extended you an invite to visit him for some one on one mentoring, my advice is to take him up on it, you won't regret it. Also try to find out if there will be a meet in your area soon, I just attended my first and I can't tell you how great it was. I met some wonderful people, got some great instruction and was offered continued support. After a week of struggling with just about everything I got just what the Dr. ordered. I was mentored by a group of very helpful and generous people and can't thank them enough. So give a shout out, take a drive and meet some great people that will help you turn the corner and turn your experience here into a great one. All the best FrankC

Welcome to SRP Ron. Glad to hear that you are having a great time straight razor shaving, as we all do here.

With the grain of your beard is a great beginning. I noticed the same thing when I began using a straight razor. That is, there was some stubble left after a first pass. Remember that shaving is more a beard reduction than a total beard removal process. With-the-Grain initiates the beard reduction process. Across-the-Grain removes a little more and finally Against-the-Grain removes even more. I usually only do the WTG and XTG myself, but on those occasions when I want an extra smooth shave--especially on my neck where my beard grows all kinds of ways--I will finish there with an ATG pass of the razor.

Try stretching the skin of your face as you shave too. I have found that stretching is very important to getting a close shave--even with a WTG pass.

As for 3" strops...I have found that you can't go wrong purchasing one from one of the vendors who advertise here--either Vintage Blades or Straight Razor Designs. I have purchased 3' strops from both and never been disappointed. My first was a Latigo strop, but moved up to a SRD Premium Leather strop. I've been very satisfied with both of them, although the Latigo is cheaper than the Premium leather.

Take care. Hope you will have many more smooth shaves.

Hi and welcome. Sounds like your progressing just fine and in time your technique will improve and your shaves with it. There are many great strops to be had. The site vendors will all have something to offer and then there is the artisan strop makers with the top of the line stuff. Any way you go as long as its quality leather you cant go wrong. Have fun searching

Challenging and fun is right!

One tip on wtg passes. Wtg doesn't necessarily mean north to south. Its hard to tell which direction facial hair grows if your a daily shaver. But on the areas your noticing more stubble after your current wtg route try attacking those spots from a slightly different angle. Trust me the smoother you get with a wtg pass the less likely you are to get razor burn and irritation when you start going xtg and atg.

If you ever wander in the direction of Rochester, MN, I can help you with just about anything shaving-related. I have a few razors, and brushes, and soaps, and strops, and even a few hones.

I can probably help you with any of those things. If you are in the market for a strop I could provide you with an opportunity to try a variety of strops to get a sense of what kind of draw you may prefer.

Welcome Ron? Try Utopian, he has been at it a long time! I am up at Menomonie and if you ever get up this way, let me know.
~Richard

Welcome to SRP

It was just about 1 month ago that Utopian and me went thru the antique stores in La Crosse!

If your ever in the St. Paul area come on over and spend a few hours.
BTW, Utopian has enough hones to build the foundation of a house!...... and knows how to use them.