Thread: Technique Help Needed

Chins can be tricky, you'll get better with time and practice. One things you might want to check is your lather. A great shave begins with great lather, and learning to lather is as much an art, as learning to use a DE, especially if you have hard water.

When I was starting out with straight razors, my chin was a problem for me. It was suggested to take a golf ball and "shave" it with a butter knife. This enabled me to visualize two things: I was able to see the necessity of continually adjusting the angle as I moved the blade over my chin and I could also visualize that only a small portion of the blade should be in contact with my chin (when using very little pressure) rather than trying to "cut a wide swath" as I do under my sideburns. After that, I was able to shave my chin WTG, XTG & ATG with no nicks or irritation.

Take the blade out of your DE razor and give it a try. If you don't have a golf ball handy, use an egg. It just might help you to see what you are doing wrong and what you need to change to "do it right."

One last thought. Did you start having problems nicking yourself during your 2nd or 3rd shaves? Or did the problem start after that?

The reason I ask is that some of the folks here on this forum only use a blade three times before tossing it because the blade is already beginning to dull. That was a HUGE bugaboo for me back when I used a Gillette DE adjustable in the late 70s - early 80s. I carved my face up every day because I was trying to squeeze 10 or 12 shaves out of the Gillette Platinum Plus blades made back then!

Six shaves from a Merkur blade is too many, toss it and try a fresh blade. Merkurs are mediocre IMO and I can't get more than three shaves from them without getting irritation.

Try to keep your angle consistant at all times by locking your elbow and pulling the razor straight down. Just like using a straight, pressure and high angle are your enemies and will be the main culprits 9/10 times when using a DE. When used properly DE's can give fantastic shaves. Good luck.

I don't have a 34C but my understanding is they are to the milder end of DE's. many people don't seem to like merkur blades and IME they aren't very sharp. You could try a sharper blade, e.g. any of the 7 o'clocks, Astra SP's and Feathers. I tend to get 3 shaves with 2 or 3 passes before the blade dulls, then you'll start pressing on to get it to cut.