Thread: Questions, Comments, Concerns...overall Woes and Thoughts after 2 weeks

Mike, it looks like your blade requires a quick touchup on the paddle. That should get it back up.

Is that normal? About 8 or so shaves before having to go to a pasted paddle?

I'm sure some of the other members will chime in here but...

The number of shaves in between touch-ups really varies person to person and razor to razor. Some growth is thicker and tougher then others. Different steels hold different edges for different amount of times. I believe there was a survey a some time ago polling the times between touch ups, see if you can find that and you will have an idea what the "average" time is.

On a side note, for a newbie I would expect that you will have to touch up the razor more often. This was the case with me, poor stropping is the core culprit, the better my stropping got the longer the time between touch ups. I used to have to touch up every week for the first couple of weeks. The more I got better at stropping the longer between touch ups, I can go about 15-20 shaves about every month and a half to 2 months. Once I feel the whiskers on my upper lip pull I go back to my Norton and give it 10 laps.

Don't get disheartened, you will get to were you want to be. When I was learning to strop I would use a test razor and try to get a consistent sound from the razor. When it sounded good I started to get a feel for it. After I got the feel, I didn't have to listen, my hand would feel and react with out thinking.

Hope this helps,

John

Hey Mike

I also joined the forum mid-January and started shaving with a straight round about then. In terms of getting as good as my Muck 3, I have only just achieved that with the last three shaves. Up to then, I might have a good-ish shave followed by a few horrors (nicks, razor burn, missed patches, certainly not BBS). And using a strop is harder than it sounds... I'm sure I dulled my blade through bad stropping and only really achieved sharpness again through the use of hones and my trusty coticule. (Others prefer a pasted paddle.)

What I'm saying is that despite the obvious enjoyment I got out of the soaps, lathering, prep stuff, post shave stuff, etc. like you I always harboured a suspicion that I would not get as close as a Muck 3.

I was wrong. Don't lose heart. You CAN get BBS off a straight, and with less burn and about a thousand times more enjoyment. But you've got to play the patient game.

One more thing. There's only so much you can learn through reading about it. The guys on here, especially the more experienced, have given me such incredible tips, help, and information. But there's nothing like rolling up your sleeves, taking it steady, and really learning from doing.* Sure you'll make some mistakes, we all do, but that's part of learning. Your face is a unique shape and form, so at some point you need to apply the lessons you learn from reading and start practising like you would any other skill. As you get more confident, you'll try things that feel right and with each step you get closer to the goal.

It's like learning how to ride a pushbike. No matter how much you read about how to do it, and no matter how many Youtube vids you watch of others doing it, you won't really master it until you get on the damn thing and take the falls and tumbles until one day... Eureka!

*Example: despite the dire warnings and holy scriptures of "Thou shalt not shave ATG on your top lip",** I found that the only way I could get a satisfactory shave there was to do exactly that, go ATG. At first I was nervous, and didn't do a good job, and suffered a couple of minor nicks. But I've learned loads about the shape of my top lip and can now shave ATG there, and very smooth it is too!

**Xman is the exception regarding the Scripture of the Top Lip.

Wow, what a great thread! Find a way to update the razor and strop lightly.

Originally Posted by Bear

Is that normal? About 8 or so shaves before having to go to a pasted paddle?

It's normal for some of my razors. I have coarse beard, and my razors find it hard to keep up, so I often refresh the razor after 10 or so shaves...

Nenad

Well grasshopper you've unearthed the ultimate truth in straight shaving and thats why Mr gillette was able to turn millions to the dark side. Convenience and consistancy.

Straight shaving is a skill that takes quite some time to master. In your case as the others have told you your blade needs refreshing. Usually blades should last longer but that's assuming they were honed to the max if they weren't they will fail early and also it depends on your beard type and shaving technique. For me about 10-15 shaves and its back to the hone for a few trips.

On top of everybodies advice, I wanted to add that 'WTG' can be deceiving.
Right under my nose, WTG means means straight down, but near the corners of my mouth, WTG means almost sideways.

The best way to get to know your face is to let the hair grow for 2 or 3 days, and then examine the whole of your face with your fingers to find out which way the hair is growing.

And I usually don't go ATG under my nose because after WTG and XTG, there is nothing left to shave most of the time.
The razor has to be REALLY sharp too because otherwise it can skip and you'll end up cutting into your nose from below.
ATG under the nose is not something you should attempt unless your technique is good, and you are very familiar with your face and your razor.