Thread: Help with Feather folding DX

So yesterday I completed 3 passes WTG including chin and above the lip no cuts and while the shave is still not great it was slowly improving. COnfidence was getting high.

Day 8 (today) I put in a new blade cut myself fairly early and panicked a little, got frustrated and had a very poor shave. Half a pass, gave up then finished up with a DE.

There is no room for error, any mistake WILL BE PUNISHED WITH BLOOD.
Either I learn QUICKLY or my face is going to be covered in little scars in a matter of weeks.

VERY FRUSTRATED, yesterday I was feeling so great about it, today feels like a HUGE stepback.

So what do you do when you have a bad cut? I felt like the way I was going immediately after the cut, if I carried on I would cut myself a few more times, better to call it a day and try again tomorrow?

Take heart...the "three steps forward, one step backwards" process of learning how to use a Straight is normal, the Feather makes those steps forward and backward a little more profound.

Some points:

Change the Blade - Was it dragging or did you just want to try a new blade? The more experience you have with the Feather the longer the blades last, but many of us feel that they are at their best after shave 3 or so, and are in the zone for shaves 3 to 14+ when they may fade. We have members who get 30+. So don't be in a hurry to change blades...

Cuts and Blood - There seems to be three types of blood events with the Feather:

Too Much Pressure - the rest of your technique is good but you have too much pressure and you get weepers - shaving some skin to expose a capillary - and some burn thrown in. The weepers will close with cold/ice water (for me) but if you have to many you need to back off a day or two to heal.

Landing Errors - Unlike a regular straight that can be more forgiving - if you make first contact with the skin too fast and edge first you are going to get a cut, severity varies...again - avoid the area for a few days so avoid re-cutting the scab or high spot.

Basic Straight Razor Errors - You loose focus and you move the blade in the same direction as the edge and you slice yourself. These can be some of the worst cuts you can get. The Wiki will have some notes on wound care, you can use super-glue or a commercial wound care "glue" to close the "flap" and of course if it won't stop bleeding seek medical attention. Most of us have done something like this at least once to varying degree.

Again, avoid the area until it heals (I strike off the lather with my fingertip to remind we where it is) and sometimes the lather alone will start the blood to flow if it is recent and particularly bad)

If you can - keep using the DX on some part of your face each day/shave so you will keep growing your skills.

And remember that shaving with a Straight - any straight - is a fine motor skill that takes time to master.
I recently commented that this is like learning how to play the piano and also tune a piano by correspondence course (shaving and all that goes with maintaining an edge). The Feather eliminates much if not all of the edge care - the trade off being the learning curve for those fine motor skills is much steeper.

The Tribal Wisdom is that it takes "100 Shaves". For many getting to 25 shaves is the the most dramatic first step. Shaves 25-100 are when you get to all the passes and don't need any DE help and for me shaves going from 45 minutes to under 15-20 minutes and falling. (or the time is because you like to drag it out - but it takes me about 10 minutes - I strop the night before)

I had been shaving with a straight for 6 months when I tried the Feather system and the first week was very traumatic (read: Bloody)
From your posts you are doing very well to have started with the DX as your first Straight.
In this day and age its hard to explain sometimes that there are tips, but no shortcuts (hacks) to take the place of experience.

And 25 or 100 shaves is really a blip on the time scale when you think that someone in their 20's for instance might have 20,000+ shaves/days ahead...

Smooth Shaving...

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. It really shows through that you know exactly what I'm going through and I'm so greatful for the support.

I changed the blade because I had "blunted" it by taking the edge to a toilet roll for a few swipes, then I read somewhere else that a blunt egde is worst, somewhere I got confused and changed the balde last night LOL. I reasoned to myself (rightly or wrongly) that a blunter blade will give me a false sense of security and I would be better off with a new blade.

After the cut I knew exactly what I did wrong. It was a landing error, I came in at the wrong angle and felt it straight away. It was a lapse in concentration for a second. My previous cuts healed by the next morning, I shaved over the cuts and they didn't reopen. This one sadly for me appears to be worst. I'll access how bad it is in the morning. I might just take a day off as it's been maybe 2-3 weeks since I've last not shaved.

How many shaves in do you recommend before attempting the ATG pass? Almost all my hair grows downwards except a tiny part at the bottom of my neck and the sides of the throat so ATG is 95% south-north which terrifies me no end.

I think at this point I just need to remind myself to stay pateint and not get ahead of myself.

Thanks again and happy new year to everyone.

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. It really shows through that you know exactly what I'm going through and I'm so greatful for the support.

I changed the blade because I had "blunted" it by taking the edge to a toilet roll for a few swipes, then I read somewhere else that a blunt egde is worst, somewhere I got confused and changed the balde last night LOL. I reasoned to myself (rightly or wrongly) that a blunter blade will give me a false sense of security and I would be better off with a new blade.

After the cut I knew exactly what I did wrong. It was a landing error, I came in at the wrong angle and felt it straight away. It was a lapse in concentration for a second. My previous cuts healed by the next morning, I shaved over the cuts and they didn't reopen. This one sadly for me appears to be worst. I'll access how bad it is in the morning. I might just take a day off as it's been maybe 2-3 weeks since I've last not shaved.

How many shaves in do you recommend before attempting the ATG pass? Almost all my hair grows downwards except a tiny part at the bottom of my neck and the sides of the throat so ATG is 95% south-north which terrifies me no end.

I think at this point I just need to remind myself to stay pateint and not get ahead of myself.

Thanks again and happy new year to everyone.

And a Happy New Year to you and yours...

My Feather shave routine is basically at the most a two pass, N-S and S-N.
This ends up being a mostly WTG N-S and a mostly XTG S-N.
I don't need to do a pure ATG pass with the Feather - but I am using a heal forward "snow plow" for some of it (please don't try this any time soon)
The Feather is so sharp that with good stretching XTG handles just about everything.
And the truth is that the S-N pass on the neck, with the good visibility that this pass has, can be an effective and efficient pass.
My neck problem/extra attention is the adams apple area - if I don't focus on the tension there I cut a nice strip of skin off. (I made to "cut of the day" with that one once)

An again, you can use the no-blade "shave" to work out the hand holds, pass patterns and stretching. When you do start, treat the sides of your neck like the side of your face to get the hang of it. The center of your throat can be like shaving your chin in that it takes some extra care with stretching/angles.

Above all take your time. Most of my cuts come from trying to do too much too soon.
As Obie says - Comfort over Closeness.
If you focus on Comfort the Closeness will come before you know it.

Smooth Shaving..

Your making great progress RedGladiator. The learning curve gets easier with each shave. Watch how geofatboy does it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFseSLNae_o

Originally Posted by feltspanky

Your making great progress RedGladiator. The learning curve gets easier with each shave. Watch how geofatboy does it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFseSLNae_o

Thanks, I've seen loads of his videos, don't know how I missed this one.

Originally Posted by MJC

And a Happy New Year to you and yours...

My Feather shave routine is basically at the most a two pass, N-S and S-N.
This ends up being a mostly WTG N-S and a mostly XTG S-N.
I don't need to do a pure ATG pass with the Feather - but I am using a heal forward "snow plow" for some of it (please don't try this any time soon)
The Feather is so sharp that with good stretching XTG handles just about everything.
And the truth is that the S-N pass on the neck, with the good visibility that this pass has, can be an effective and efficient pass.
My neck problem/extra attention is the adams apple area - if I don't focus on the tension there I cut a nice strip of skin off. (I made to "cut of the day" with that one once)

An again, you can use the no-blade "shave" to work out the hand holds, pass patterns and stretching. When you do start, treat the sides of your neck like the side of your face to get the hang of it. The center of your throat can be like shaving your chin in that it takes some extra care with stretching/angles.

Above all take your time. Most of my cuts come from trying to do too much too soon.
As Obie says - Comfort over Closeness.
If you focus on Comfort the Closeness will come before you know it.

Smooth Shaving..

What is a "snow plow"?
I've been doing the no blade shave, I found it quite helpful.

SO yesterday I went ahead and shaved over the cut and it didn't reopen, I completed 2 passes and started to attempt an ATG pass (which looking back was quite foolish) and quickly had a tiny weeper so I stopped realising I was not ready. Finished up with DE.

This morning I actually had a decent shave on the right side other than the chin area. I attempted to shave my left side with my left hand with NO HELP from my right hand and after 3 passes WTG not too great but I'm getting more confident and understanding the angles better. I'm no longer shitting myself when bringing the blade to my face. Finished up with DE, pretty happy with progress today.

So If I used right hand only, I think I could manage a decent shave with 2 passes WTG and minimal touch up with DE. I'm finding using both hands will probably be better for me in the long term.
Today is shave 11. What is typical to start XTG and ATG?

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

What is a "snow plow"?
I've been doing the no blade shave, I found it quite helpful.

SO yesterday I went ahead and shaved over the cut and it didn't reopen, I completed 2 passes and started to attempt an ATG pass (which looking back was quite foolish) and quickly had a tiny weeper so I stopped realising I was not ready. Finished up with DE.

This morning I actually had a decent shave on the right side other than the chin area. I attempted to shave my left side with my left hand with NO HELP from my right hand and after 3 passes WTG not too great but I'm getting more confident and understanding the angles better. I'm no longer shitting myself when bringing the blade to my face. Finished up with DE, pretty happy with progress today.

So If I used right hand only, I think I could manage a decent shave with 2 passes WTG and minimal touch up with DE. I'm finding using both hands will probably be better for me in the long term.
Today is shave 11. What is typical to start XTG and ATG?

"Snow Plow" is another term for leading with the heel or the toe of the razor.
You can also learn how to "chevron" - a stroke that moves diagonally as traverses the area (not slicing, check the wiki and I will try to find a link)
Get past 25 shaves before you try them but check out the Wiki.

My Feather routine is a N-S that is mostly WTG and using the left hand on the left side and the right hand on the right side.
The S-N starts for me at the base of the neck, strong hand on the weak side.
Using stretching and head tiling to get above the jaw line.
Most of the time I do the neck in three sets, weak side/dominant hand, strong side/"weak" hand (switching hands) and then center, using the swallow and hold to flatten my adams apple and pulling the skin to either side. Low pressure, low angle.

As you get in more shaves the "problem areas" will shrink down to a couple that are the size of your thumb pad or a matchbook - and this will be the "touch up" with the DE at first and the DX before you know it.

The strokes, stretches, hand positions and head tilts will just become part of a routine - you will have to stop and think about what you did because your "beard map" and stroke pattern will merge in to your muscle memory.

You can shave with your dominant hand only, but for me it is much much easier to use both hands, and the sooner you learn that the easier it comes together.

If no-blade practice has been helping you then "weak hand" passes might be a place to focus on.

One of the things that helped me was switching from rinsing the blade in the sink to stropping off the lather on a damp cloth on the counter.
I would focus on the sink and faucet and it not only slowed me down, in the beginning I would have to ask myself "what was I doing last?"
If you watch a Barber shave someone they never turn to the sink, they clear the blade on a towel or even their forearm.
The hot water rinse is saved for the end.

And from your posts you have made great progress without the benefit of an in-person mentor.
Keep doing what you are doing and by February you will have the hardest part long behind you.

Smooth Shaving and Happy New Year....

Originally Posted by MJC

"Snow Plow" is another term for leading with the heel or the toe of the razor.
You can also learn how to "chevron" - a stroke that moves diagonally as traverses the area (not slicing, check the wiki and I will try to find a link)
Get past 25 shaves before you try them but check out the Wiki.

My Feather routine is a N-S that is mostly WTG and using the left hand on the left side and the right hand on the right side.
The S-N starts for me at the base of the neck, strong hand on the weak side.
Using stretching and head tiling to get above the jaw line.
Most of the time I do the neck in three sets, weak side/dominant hand, strong side/"weak" hand (switching hands) and then center, using the swallow and hold to flatten my adams apple and pulling the skin to either side. Low pressure, low angle.

As you get in more shaves the "problem areas" will shrink down to a couple that are the size of your thumb pad or a matchbook - and this will be the "touch up" with the DE at first and the DX before you know it.

The strokes, stretches, hand positions and head tilts will just become part of a routine - you will have to stop and think about what you did because your "beard map" and stroke pattern will merge in to your muscle memory.

You can shave with your dominant hand only, but for me it is much much easier to use both hands, and the sooner you learn that the easier it comes together.

If no-blade practice has been helping you then "weak hand" passes might be a place to focus on.

One of the things that helped me was switching from rinsing the blade in the sink to stropping off the lather on a damp cloth on the counter.
I would focus on the sink and faucet and it not only slowed me down, in the beginning I would have to ask myself "what was I doing last?"
If you watch a Barber shave someone they never turn to the sink, they clear the blade on a towel or even their forearm.
The hot water rinse is saved for the end.

And from your posts you have made great progress without the benefit of an in-person mentor.
Keep doing what you are doing and by February you will have the hardest part long behind you.

Smooth Shaving and Happy New Year....

Great tip on wiping off the lather, I used a sponge and it was great.

Had a mixed shave today, tried a different soap. I forget the name of it but the lather disappears very fast but funny enough it's still slick even after it disappears, I want to use it all up ASAP unless I can find another use for it. I just want to use my cella again. So anyway I had to keep re applying the lather which was very annoying. Completed 2 passes WTG, right side great, left side needed touching up, thought I would do the touch up with my right hand using the DX rather than the DE. Nice to break free from the DE. No cuts today.

Will do some blade free practice for ATG, still waiting for the proguards before attemting this, sure to be bloody.

I don't have any wine corks as I rarely drink wine but like the idea of this.

Thanks again guys.

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

So yesterday I completed 3 passes WTG including chin and above the lip no cuts and while the shave is still not great it was slowly improving. COnfidence was getting high.

Day 8 (today) I put in a new blade cut myself fairly early and panicked a little, got frustrated and had a very poor shave. Half a pass, gave up then finished up with a DE.



There is no room for error, any mistake WILL BE PUNISHED WITH BLOOD.
Either I learn QUICKLY or my face is going to be covered in little scars in a matter of weeks.

VERY FRUSTRATED, yesterday I was feeling so great about it, today feels like a HUGE stepback.

So what do you do when you have a bad cut? I felt like the way I was going immediately after the cut, if I carried on I would cut myself a few more times, better to call it a day and try again tomorrow?

Most shavers can get ten or more shaves from the feather artisan blades. Your handwork is going to pay off. Once you get the pressure and angles correct you'll be rewarded with fantastic shaves. The Feather Artisan Club Razors give exceptional quality shaves.