Thread: Hello

Hello to all, I have been shaving with a safety razor for about 2 years, I wanted to try the straight razor shave and started with a feather SS and I like it. I have done that for almost a year and I just purchased a 5/8 round point Theirs-Issard, I bought it shave ready and I also bought it with a paddle strop. Here is where I could use some guidance. I shaved my cheeks/sideburns only and it felt as though I was pulling whiskers. I stropped the for the following shave 10 strokes on the rough leather and 30 strokes on the soft leather. I kept the spine and blade on the leather the whole time, not to fast of a stroke. When it came to to flip it I stopped and lifted straight off and laid down the razor spine and blade and continued my stroke. I guess my angle is off, boy what a learning curve. It really can knoc your confidence. Today's shave was a bit better, there was still some whiskers there, almost like when I first used the safety razor.
Marc

Don't be to hard on yourself. While learning the strop can be a small challenge there are other things to consider. Your angle and pressure will be a little different from using your shavette. Another thing is shave ready. Who made it shave ready ? This makes all the difference in the world. Factory shave ready is not a popular condition among many, although some feel it's fine.

You can just roll your razor over on it's back when stropping and I would say 70 more laps per shave wouldn't hurt a thing. In fact you may not be stropping enough and everything else I said is secondary info.

I know that we regularly dip into the same well, but...

It is possible that your razor, though labeled as shave ready, was not adequately honed. You might benefit from some one on one time with someone nearby and/or having someone experienced to evaluate your edge and correct it if needed.

Welcome to SRP!
As the others mentioned, who made it shave ready? Factory edges that claim to be shave ready rarely are.
Even with a sharp blade, I typically strop 50 on linen and 50 on leather before the shave and 25 on linen and 25 on leather after the shave to dry the blade.

If you haven't done so already, check out the beginner's section in the library it will answer a lot of your questions. And feel free to ask us anything.

Hi and welcome. +1 to all the above especially blade angle and more stropping. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Welcome to the forum, Marc.

Hello Marc,

Welcome to SRP!!!

Welcome to SRP!! +1 again on assessing whether it were truly Shave Ready but it sounds like your initial shave was good and then degraded and so something may have changed.

- Boost stropping numbers as mentioned before (I do 20 Secondary Material & 80-100 Smooth Leather before each shave...) and I'd maybe stick just to the Smooth Leather until you get good results then add the secondary material back once you are consistent.

- Not that it makes as much difference initially but, are you hand-rubbing a bit before stropping to heat up the leather and add skin oils to improve the finish?

- Are you stropping by hanging the strop and pulling on the handle or using the strop lying flat on a table or counter? That helps by just removing one variable from the process.

Keep at it changing or adjusting one, maybe two things at a time and you will dial in.

Welcome to the forum!