Need Help with unsmooth Chin

I've been using a DE for years. (I should say over a number of years so someone doesn't think it takes years for me to complete a shave).

After a very botched SR attempt, I decided to start with a Shavette and then switch once I mastered (more or less) the Shavette.

I'm using a Dreadnought Shavette. (A 6/8 Dovo is waiting in the wings). I've shaved close to ten times with it and have become pretty good (i.e., not too many divots) and have avoided the chin until now. I have a mustache, so no need to worry about under the lip, but I have a chin that seems to be a cross between a golf ball in smoothness and the surface of the moon. (Tis but a small shave for man but....).

This AM was my first attempt at that territory and I cut myself twice before reverting to the DE. (You think I look bad, you should see the other guy!).

Somehow, I manage to shave that with a DE with no problem. So, in theory, I should be able to do the same with the Shavette. Why isn't it working?

Anyone whose licked a similar problem chin have some tips on how to shave that area without coming out looking like Frankenstein's monster?

TIA,
Paul

Have never tried a shavette, but I have heard they are not very forgiving, and I certainly had trouble with the chin using a straight. All about the angle, which you need to adjust a lot in that area. It really is a matter of patience and practice, you will get better results. Nothing wrong with using the DE to finish up either, I did that for quite a while.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaBlum

Somehow, I manage to shave that with a DE with no problem. So, in theory, I should be able to do the same with the Shavette. Why isn't it working?

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Hi Paul,

Welcome to the forum!! Glad to have you aboard!! :D

I don't have the situation that you're describing, but you've got me thinking. A DE of course has a leading edge on the razor body that pushes down and friction pulls the skin prior to the blade making contact. Not so with the shavette.

Probably the best thing you can work on is stretching the skin. Pulling down under the chin and left or right to stretch the skin taut and more even.

Then 3 things you can try.

First: Try canting the razor/blade just a little so you're not hitting the whiskers or the recessed areas straight on like an ax would hit chopping wood. With the blade canted and moving the blade straight it provides a slicing action like a guillotine and the blade only hits the irregularities a little at a time instead of just dropping into a depression and the whole edge hitting and digging into the skin. Play with the angle, but don't get to acute or it will slice flesh!! :gaah:

Second: I usually recommend a very low angle of the razor on the face...almost flat. However you're going to have experiment with that and see. In your case it may be the exception. So......

Third: Try a higher angle of the blade on the face. Maybe to the extent of almost scraping across the skin. Don't actually scrape, but tease the limits. This may remedy the digging in.

But, which ever you're trying, the shavette demands very light pressure. So much lighter that your blade just barely caresses the skin. It is sharp enough to shave at that light pressure.

Maybe try variations of these, and....I hope it helps!!

Regards,

Howard :)

I have to say that the angle is of great importance and supporting that angle with good stretching or skin holding is also very important. The chin is a tricky little bit of rubbery tissue. I always hold the skin behind the blade to flatten it a little. It took me a while to be able to figure out against the grain on my chin and opted for across from each side to get it for the longest time. Now I just do it from ear to chin and against the grain. My whiskers grow fairly flat there so with the grain doesn't get them quite as easily.

Until a couple of days ago, I had a goatee, so never shaved my chin with a straight. It certainly takes a bit of getting used to and it can be pretty tricky. I've nicked myself a couple of times, but it's just a matter of patience and practice. I have to stretch the skin as taut as possible and shave with a slightly steeper angle.

My 'tash is staying as I have a handlebar nicely coming along! The goatee will probably make a reappearance before too long. Had it for years so it feels a bit odd without it!

Good luck with the Dovo PaBlum.

Keep trying to work your way in making flat planes a close to the chin as possible: on the sides, above, and below. This at least reduces the remaining, troublesome, curved point of the chin. Eventually, you'll be able to swoop the blade over that bit of curve.

The chin is the last area most guys get dialed in. Don't worry, it will happen over time.

Thanks all with your helpful suggestions.

I've been getting better every day and decided that tomorrow morning will be the day I switch to the Dovo!

Some notes:
-- Someone suggested canting. You know the expression: Never say cant? :-). The Shavette has sharp corners so that is something I won't attempt. Those corners may have been responsible for some of the cuts.

-- Yes, I'll stick to the easier parts of the face and work my way up, again. No sense in paying the price for over-confidence.

-- I suspect that many men got SRs for Christmas. I'll bet that they were delivered by St. Nick. (Think about that :) ).

PaBlum (aka Paul. Yes, it is an acronym)

I got my first straight this Christmas. I got it from my wife, but I suspect she is St. Nick...at least that's what my face says. Rob

When you shave your chin, look at the contoured surface and envision it broken up into smaller flat planes then adjust your angle and stroke accordingly. Hopefully this will help.

BTW, one thing that I neglected to mention which I believe may help other newbies.

Since the Shavette has a removable blade, I practiced with it bladeless on both my face and on a strop!

That helped me learn the proper grips and the proper stropping technique.

I should pass this on to the keeper of the how to learn to shave document, whoever that is.

Tomorrow is now today!

This morning, I shaved with the Dovo 6/8 SR instead of the Shavette! All that practice with the Shavette paid off handsomely. I shave my whole face including most of my chin. I did a one pass WTG and not one cut, nick or scratch! I went over everything with my DE, just in case.

I liked it better than the Shavette. No sharp corners. It didn't feel like it was about to dig into my skin. Perhaps a combination of experience (15 shaves so far) and being extra careful because it was new. While it didn't "feel" as sharp as a Shavette, it must have been as it gave me a really good shave.

Afterwards, I stropped a bit and realized that my fingers tired easily because I was using muscles I didn't normally use. I think I'll strop more later. And, order a 3" strop. (I have a cheap practice strop, expecting the worst). I have no idea how to tell when I've stropped enough. Probably should be browsing the stropping forum for that.

I'll still use the Shavette once in a while. Should be interesting to see feels like after I get accustomed to a SR.

PaBlum

As far as strop ping goes, most guys get along quite well doing approximately 30-40 laps on the strop. I am figuring a lap to be one complete circuit of one side up and the other Side down the strop.
Congrats on today's success!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaBlum

BTW, one thing that I neglected to mention which I believe may help other newbies.

Since the Shavette has a removable blade, I practiced with it bladeless on both my face and on a strop!

That helped me learn the proper grips and the proper stropping technique.

I should pass this on to the keeper of the how to learn to shave document, whoever that is.

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Awesome dude, I'm on 11th shave with my feather DX, I've turned the blade around instead of removing it. So jealous, I wish I had a real straight + strop. Have you tried ATG yet? One handed or both?
I'm doing 3 passes, all WTG, right hand is doing great and I can get good shave on that side in 2 passes, left hand is not great even after 3 passes. Chin is giving me problems too, espcially left side which I insist on (2 days ago) shaving with my left hand.

The Feather DX looks really nice. Enjoy it!

Im still WTG with DE, Shavette and SR. I want to get really comfortable with WTG before I chart new waters.

I'm right handed but find shaving with my left hand to be no problem at all. That came as a surprise. I even pulled a tendon in my left palm a week ago (not while shaving) and couldn't make a fist for days. Yet, it didn't impact my shaving ability.

I'm improving with my chin by following the advice here. Keep your skin taut and imagine the chin as a series of flat planes and work on one plane at a time. At least I don't have a chin like Jay Leno :)

When I lived in NYC, there was a joke that went:
Visitor: How do I get to Carnegie Hall?
Native: Keep practicing :-)

That's the key.

The feather DX has to be seen in person, I was never impressed by pics or videos of it. WHen I first felt it in my hands I was amazed at how well built it is.
I didn't really want it in the beginning, I had ordered the 200 pro blades for the Mongoose razor then saw a good bargain on ebay for the DX.
I'm aiming for a real straight in 6 months, I have my eye on a Thiers Issard, 6/8, Dreadnaught point, festonne spine, shoulderless, full hollow with rams horn scales.

I've been slightly following the curve of the chin using slightly longer strokes rather than a series of flat planes, I'll try your approach tomorrow. I have to get me a huge sponge too as recommended in another thread for wiping off the lather instead of rinsing off with water.

Having used the Feathers and now the Kai Captain, I find shaving my chin a major problem. Much easier with a straight razor. It has a lot to do with the angle. I also found the I try to shave with a diagonal stroke from the center out. At the bottom of the chin it's with the grain.