Thread: Starting out...again...help?

Hi all,

Long time lurkin', first time postin'.
Attempted to start straight shaving a few years back but to no avail. Wound up frustrated and gave up...sort of. Round about 6 months ago I picked back up on the wet shaving journey with a DE. Went all in from the get go and haven't looked back. Recently decided to go for round 2 with learning the straight: hand v razor...v face. And I've got a question(imagine that, right? Noob with a question)

Here it goes: I've got a 6/8 full hollow that's recently been honed up by a reputable gentleman on the site (thanks again to Glen). No doubt the edge is fine, but the trouble I run into is this. If I try shaving through a couple days of growth, the razor seems to "stall out?" fairly easily and the first pass over an area is somewhat less than comfortable. Pass number 2 over the same area comes with far less effort and I can feel that the edge itself is smooth and there's less discomfort. Or on a consecutive day of shaving, pass number 1 is easily bearable. But couple days growth...not so comfortable.
Is this normal? Should I grab my straw and suck it up until my hands become more practiced? Are there remedies I ought to try? Would a stiffer grind blade make things easier? Excuse me, this became several questions. I'm doing my best to take this easy, follow prudent advice, and not rush the learning curve. I haven't really experienced post shave irritation, so hopefully I'm on the right track.

Any and all advice is is graciously welcomed.

I'm thinking your trying to bite off more than you can chew. Depending, of course, on what you mean by "a couple of days growth". For now lets not attack anything more than just that...Two days growth. Take it slow. And by this I mean do just a few inches from the top of the sideburn down, until you can comfortably handle both sides of the face. I recommend using both hands (but not at the same time), to get your non dominant hand in on the action early.

Angle: Using the razors spine thickness as a guide, hold the spine about 1.5-2 thickness' off your face. Work on the fine tuning from there.

Stalling: Stop! Don't try and push through. You will come off second best. Lift the razor clear and try again with a better angle of attack and a dose of fresh lather, as in most cases it seems to be either an angle issue or the lather is too dry.

Stiffer grinds: will always make things easier, but you still should be able to shave with a full hollow. I think you just need to be a little more patient, and get your technique happening. Give it a week or two of daily shaves doing a little more each time and finishing up with your DE until you finally manage the whole thing with the cut-throat.


Mick

Settle down and work with what I got: check!
I forgot what helped me with the DE was 'working toward better' each time instead of 'perfect from the first time'
Using one hand at a time makes more sense though...hehe, silly me
Here I was trying to justify early stage RAD, barley being a few shaves in. Good call, thank you.
I'll definately slow back down. Apparently full hollows are less forgiving when it comes to proper angle?
I've been attempting to force dexterity into my left hand from the get-go. Hoping it will put me a...cut above!

Originally Posted by flemflem

Settle down and work with what I got: check!
I forgot what helped me with the DE was 'working toward better' each time instead of 'perfect from the first time'
Using one hand at a time makes more sense though...hehe, silly me
Here I was trying to justify early stage RAD, barley being a few shaves in. Good call, thank you.
I'll definately slow back down. Apparently full hollows are less forgiving when it comes to proper angle?
I've been attempting to force dexterity into my left hand from the get-go. Hoping it will put me a...cut above!

Correct .

P.S Don't think I was trying to discourage RAD. I would never think to impose that on anybody!


Mick

Welcome to posting!
MickR gave you some great advice and yes slow and easy wins the race and builds the muscle memory to keep doing it right.

I'm curious about your beard prep and stropping routines. are you shaving after a shower? have you tried a hot towelover the first lathering? have you tried using hair conditioner on your beard when you shower.
usually i find it slightly more satisfying to shave 2 or more days of beard off but i mainly shave every day so perhaps it is just the thrill of an occasion indulgence.

stropping: what are you stropping with and how many laps are you doing?
one last thing i know you are a wet shaver so what soap/cream are you using?

enjoy,
jim

Jim,
Thanks for the welcome! Mick's advice sounds awful reasonable.

Pre-shave: Usually goes along the lines of nice shower and keeping the face under the water a minute or two before getting out. If no shower, I use a hot facial wrap towel for a couple minutes(always wanted to try it over lather, but haven't...dunno why not). Never bothered with conditioner.

Stropping: A Mountain Mike latigo strop is what I've put a nick or two in so far. I'll get around 50-60 laps before I go "dang...ahhhhh...another 10 or so oughta be good". I hope I've been stropping right. Try to keep the strokes steady, not trying to pull the strop off the hook, and enough pressure to keep the razor flat across the leather.

Software: I've been rather partial to a tub of Tabac and a tube of Proraso green(not at the same time). I have a stick of D.R. Harris Marlborough that the mini-wife doesn't like the smell of, and a stick of ogallala sage & cedar I haven't put to much use. I've kind of been proffering the face lathering.

Don't get me wrong, I too love the feeling of knocking down a couple days worth of beard. Just wish I could be as quick at it with a straight. All in time I suppose, eh?

Do you have any cues to aim for while stropping? Tactile or audible? I don't suspect I've been doing it flat out wrong, but I reckon I could be doing a lot better.

Thanks,
Bryan

Stropping problem that I found I had early in the piece, was not making contact with the edge of the razor on the strop. I thought I was, but I wasn't. I had a wicked polish happening on the side of the spine though .
Advice there would be to slow down and have a good look at what's happen...Both directions! Not saying you're as useless as I was, but it's something to look out for.

Mick

Bryan,
Stropping should be fun. you want the strop to be taut but not feel like you are pulling the hook out of the wall. the only pressure you need it keep the blade flat. your passed do not need to be at a lightening quick pace but fast enough to keep it interesting. i tend to strop in an "X" pattern even on 3inch wide strops, 20 passes on the linen and 50-60 on the leather... i've been doing this so long (about 30years) though i rarely count just strop until it feels like i have been stropping long enough.
I like the tabac and poraso but i have a large collection of soaps and creams. Tabac gets used once a week though SWMBO loves the scent. with soap i almost always face lather anymore, creams still get the mug treatment.

Concerning speed that will come with time and practice. work on the angle and making sure that your lather is not too dry and that passes will become smoother.

enjoy,
jim