Thread: My very first straight shave (help!)

Ok so i got all my gear warmed up the face applied the lather and attempted my first shave.
The razor i purchased was honed by invisible edge (UK), however it didnt 'glide' as i expected. There was alot of pulling, the razor was gettin caught. I had to finish my shave with a mac3.

The only problem i can think of is that the razor wasnt sharpe enough, i dont have any honing equipment only a russian strop with canvas backing.

Am i right about the razor?

what would u guys reccommend i do next?

If you got it from InvisibleEdge it was probably sharp. Did you strop it before you shaved with it for the first time? It is usually recommended to just rinse the oil off the blade and dry it, not strop the very first time(if it is shave ready)

Category:Beginners - Straight Razor Place Wiki

How did you prep for your shave? Shower/Hot towels?
Category:Face Preparation - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Were you getting pulling on your With The Grain(WTG) pass? I would recommend only going WTG. Maybe on only your cheeks for now.

You need to make sure you are not using pressure. Pressure on a mach 3, good. Pressure on a Straight, styptic or ER.

You also need to make sure to stretch your skin properly and use proper angle.



Category:Shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Time and practice = success. If you didn't cut your nose or ear off you did good. There is a lot of help here. Look at the videos and read all you can. I have learned that stropping is a big key but it takes time to do it correctly. You can master this, it just takes time and practice. Don't give up, it will get better. There is no shame in using your Mach till you get down the road a bit. Shave 1 inch at a time till you get that inch good. Then do 2"s. There is no rush, you will most likely be shaving for a long time to come.

I had a hot shower and applied a hot towel before shaving.

I tried the 'hanging hair' test and it wouldnt cut the hair, unless i held both ends and pulled the hair on the blade.


Can stropping it to make it sharp enough?

If its your first shave I would look at your technique/blade angle before I judged the razor. Its just a matter of time and practice/experience and you will be an old pro. Keep up the good work.

i spoke to the guy at invisibleedge and he said he'll hone the blade for me again for free!

what a great guy!

Im starting to think maybe i wasnt stroppin right and it messd up the blade, also i'll take my technique into consideration.

Thanks for the help guys

The HHT causes loads of problems with those new to straights. Everyone likes to see their razor pass the test, but it's absolutely no indication of shave readiness! A blade can pass the test off an 8k stone & then go on the finer stones & become so refined it will no longer do the trick, yet give the most fantastic smooth shave. Disregard the HHT for now. It may be useful in future, but not now.
When you get the razor back from Steve do nothing with it apart from shave. It will NOT need stropping. Shave & see how it performs. Next time, strop, then shave. If it's not the same it's down to your stropping. If it is the same, be happy! After all, you're new to this & it's an achievement to have stropped successfully.
Stretching's a really important factor in getting a smooth shave & keeping the razor from skipping & tugging the stubble. Learn the best way to stretch your skin.
What are you using for lather? If it's canned it just won't be good enough. If it's soap/cream & a brush it may be that it's not quite right & you're not getting the glide. There's a lot of things that need to come together to experience a good shave with a straight. Just keep at it & you'll get there!

I have learned if I have a 2 or 3 days growth my beard is tuff to shave. That first pass will be little short strokes to get the beard cut. This could also be my newness to the straight?? After I get that first pass the second pass is very smooth. Now if I shave every day I don't have that tuff shave problem. Early on this situation had me thinking it was a dull razor, as it turned out the razor was fine. To verify this, I have used a new double edge razor that we all now is sharp and had the same problem.

When you get that first complete shave with a straight you will be very excited. It only gets better after that.

Have fun,
Rick