what am i doing wrong?

[deejaykamoe]

so ive been shaving with a straight for a month now, and my razor is SHARP and my stropping is 100%. my razor seems to cut hair quite well. but its still hard on my face! it feels like its cutting the hairs well but scraping my skin, and it leaves irritation. im not pressing very hard at all and im pretty sure my angel is fine. then when its time to try and go ATG i try but it really hurts, but the razor is still sharp! its driving me nuts, im thinking about going back to DE shaving

[xdman09]

Just a few thoughts...and I'm sure someone with more experience can either confirm or correct. 1. Your razor may be sharp, but could possibly be sharper/or finished to a more comfortable edge. If you haven't already, have it professionally honed by someone with a good rep. 2. Don't be so sure your stropping is 100% (not a dig or doubt of your ability/just saying it takes time/practice) . 3. If it is scraping your skin and the 2 previous potential problems are good, your angle is perhaps a bit too steep and/or too much pressure. A good soap/cream with good glide and cushion will also help here. 4. If it hurts when you go ATG, either the razor is not sharp enough, the angle is bad, you haven't preformed significant beard reduction, or your face just cant handle an ATG pass with the straight.

Don't give up. Keep at it, and sometimes if things just aren't clicking, go back to the DE for a while, and you might be surprised that when you come back to the straight things just might start falling into place.

[RoyalCake]

Do you know the razor is sharp (i.e. you received from a professional honer)? Because a razor that isn't shave ready will still cut hairs just fine but can irritate.

[deejaykamoe]

i just bought my newest razor and it was honed professionally. it cuts hanging hair no problem, even really thin hair. and my angle is never too steep, if anything its not steep enough im one spine width away from my face

[Tack]

It sounds like the razor is not truly shave-ready sharp. I would suggest that you have it honed by a pro. When you get it back from honing, shave with it "right out of the box" without stropping. If it still pulls then the only variable left is your technique - either angle or pressure. Chances are that you will get a more comfortable shave with the newly honed blade.

It's easy for a newcomer to dull a blade within a month through some combination of not quite correct prep, stropping, and technique. Most of us have done it. Once you've nailed down the culprit and have a bit more experience, it'll be time to talk about maintaining the edge through a refresh regimen.



rs,
Tack

[deejaykamoe]

nono it still cuts hair really well and smoothly, its just rough reeling on my skin

[OCDshaver]

Frustrating, isn't it? I know the other members are trying to help but I'll take you at your word on the state of your razor and its edge and we'll bypass the idea of honing. If there is discomfort, you're may be applying more pressure than you think OR maybe you're not stretching the skin enough. Another issue may be your soap/lather. Assuming a good edge, it sounds like the razor is catching the skin and scraping. This can be managed by stretching it tight so the razor glides over it, rather than bunching up in front of it and digging in. Also, a slick soap/cream will assist in keeping the razor gliding well. It sounds like that is where you need to look for an answer since the discomfort you are describing is not pulling of the hair but scraping of the skin. Your angle would normally be a question mark as well but you state that you are one spine width from your face. So we can eliminate that as well. One last thing, if this fails to address the discomfort, you might check again on the edge. Look for any small chips in the bevel with a hand held microscope. Chips will cause the edge to cut hair but also irritate the hell out of your skin. Look for any irregularities such as that. But start with addressing the stretching and lather first. The frustrating part is that you are now shaving with a completely custom set up. Its more variable than a manual transmission. EVERYTHING is suspect. You'll have to examine everything and eliminate the suspects one at a time. Let us know if any of this helped or if you're still having trouble.

[deejaykamoe]

what magnification is good to get for a microscope? i dont want to spend much any reccomendations? thanks for all the help

[RoyalCake]

what magnification is good to get for a microscope? i dont want to spend much any reccomendations? thanks for all the help

Honestly I don't think looking at the edge will provide any insight at this stage. I for sure wouldn't be able to tell by looking between a shave ready edge and one that needs touch up.
But besides that, a 30x loupe works for me if you're talking about looking at an edge in general.

I like OCD's recommendations at looking at all the other variables too.

[OCDshaver]

what magnification is good to get for a microscope? i dont want to spend much any reccomendations? thanks for all the help

If you want to look at it, I use one of these.

Amazon.com: Handheld Hand Held LED Lighted 160X-200X Magnification Zoom Lens Pocket Microscope Magnifier Magnifying Loupe: Office Products

The only reason I suggest looking at the edge is in case you have chips in it that are not easily seen without magnification. I've bought razors that appeared to have good edges in that they cut hair efficiently enough, but further review showed them to have a mountain range for an edge under magnification. Edges that imperfect usually end up giving you and uncomfortable shave. I'd still look at your lather and stretchng first. But if you plan to stick with this for a while, you won't find the microscope to be useless. Quite the contrary, you'll use it a lot. But consider that a secondary priority.