A No ‘pulling and tugging’ razor?
I often read about fellows saying that their shave was great with no ‘pulling or tugging.’ I’ve been using a straight for about two years now, and no matter what, I always get pulling and tugging. I recently got one of my razors, a ⅝” Dovo Blackstar, sharpened by a professional from this forum, and he did a wonderful job. It came back sharper and in better shape than ever, but I still got pulling and tugging. I have come to expect this out of my razors, and thought it was normal. Until today, that is…
I shaved with an inexpensive, ‘Made in India,’ shavette today, and was pretty amazed. It was just like what I often read about - a great shave with no pulling and tugging. I had used this shavette a few times when I first started out, but I had a problem with cutting myself, mainly by the sharp, pointy corners of the blade. So when I used the shavette today, I slightly rounded the corners by running them over a sharpening stone. Rounding the corners, along with using a very light touch, gave me a great shave, with no pulling and tugging whatsoever. BTW, the shavette, with its broken-in-half razor blade, is the only razor I have that passes the HHT. When I try the HHT with my straights, even after being sharpened by an expert, they always fail.
So the problems is, how do I get the same shave with my straights? I know that a straight razor is probably never going to be as sharp as a razor blade (from what I’ve read), but as I said, people are getting great shaves with no pulling and tugging, so, do they just have better razors? Razors that take and hold a better edge? If so, any suggestions for a razor that will work better? A razor that will shave with little, if any, pulling and tugging?
I don’t figure it’s my technique that is the cause of my problems. As I stated above, I got a great shave, with the same technique, using a cheap shavette. I’m equally sure it’s not the keenness of the blade, because I had it sharpened (my Dovo) by a true expert. The pulling and tugging I’m experiencing is significant, not mild or barely existent. So all I’m coming up with is that my razor doesn’t get as sharp as some other razors can. Hence, my quest for a new razor begins. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.