Thread: First straight razor shave after using a shavette for 5 years, Major pulling, help

So I have been shaving with a shavette for 6 years. Mainly to avoid the pitfalls of straight razor beginners, stroping, honing etc.

At this point i can get a decent a shave in 4 mins with a pocket mirror, cold water and a bar of soap in the bush.

My in laws bought me a razor and strop for my birthday and I took it into the local barbershop that still does straight shaving for a honing. Got it home, over prepared, hot shower, hot towel and a warm lather. Tried the first swipe and it pulled hard.. like skipping and skating all over. Pulled the 3 month old shavette blade and smooth cut. Went back to the razor and pulling again.

Hit the strop (something a surely suck at) a bit better but still pulling like crazy. I had to give up before my face was pizza. I finished my shave in second with the the shavette.

A couple questions. Its a cheap razor, Fromm 72r, the barber said it was hard?!? Like as in steel strength.
Is this just too cheap of a razor?

Or is it more likely a bad honing?

Or am I just too use to a shavette?

Thanks for the help

It can be all of the reasons you mention. Something to consider is the angle and pressure against you skin.
I have never shaved with a shavette so I'm in no way expert in the matter but I have read several other forums post about it.

Hope it helps some!

If it doesn't help changing angles and pressure I would recommend buying a cheap but shave ready from Larry at whippeddog.com. Either the sight unseen or flawed sight unseen. The are most definitely shave ready. There are surely other vendors or forum members that can hook you up with a cheap first guaranteed shave ready straight razor. If you have never stropped before you'll most probably nick your strop a couple of time until you get hang of it, so buying a second cheap strop is recommended.

beginner perspective here...

I recently went from DE (Merkur Futur, ranging from 2.5 to 5 depending on growth) to straight razor shaving...

First, I tried shavettes for a week. The enclosed Shark 1/2 razors were a nightmare. Then I went to my favorite Feather razors in 1/2. I was able to cut hair but the square corner on the blade gave me some DEEP, NASTY cuts where I didn't even have hair, and some infections as a result. Made meeting with customers at work an embarrassment. I mean, I was shaving my lip and got a 1/2" SLICE on my cheek. Yeah, bad blade control, but not much blade visibility and that was my experience.

I then read that shavettes were far less forgiving than a true straight razor.

first purchase was a Ralf Aust 5/8 from SRD, shave ready. I tried to buy a cheap strop from amazon. As recommended I stropped before my first shave and there was much pulling and much 'gliding' over stubble. I bought some CrOx from amazon and a 2nd leather strop to paste it to and tried my best to get a good edge, but each time was worse than before.

I finally buckled down and bought a 'proper' (read, not "lowest-end non-brand") strop from SRD (latigo 3" with d-rings... i like the d-rings because they give you precise finger control of the tightness). I pasted the fabric back side with some CrOx from SRD quite well and followed Lynn's video, except I did 20 passes with the CrOx since I'd nicked the cheap leather strops from inexperience so had some 'repair' to do.

What resulted was a HHT-4 where previous attempts were a HHT-2 or HHT-3 (all same hair samples, please don't flame the HHT ratings as the were combined with daily shave tests to compare). After I achieved the HHT-4 late at night I thought I'd finally hit a stride. The next day's shave was much smoother, with virtually no tugging

What I LEARNED was... don't go cheap on the strop. If you buy a shave-ready razor, buying a cheap strop will destroy it.

If you've gotten to tugging... watch Lynn's video. The CrOx worked mostly for me but I have the Naniwa 12k on order so I can do a better refresh on the damage i'd done early on.

And, with SRD, if you've really damaged your blade in early stages, SRD will do the first re-hone for free.

I have never tried a shavette but I think I read here the new production fromm razors are not that good. That may be the reason. Maybe pick one up from the classifieds here or a dovo from srd. Best of luck.

Based on your experience I'd say your razor isn't sharp enough.

In my experience, the razor you have does not hone well or shave well.

Sorry

I have been down this same path, and if you read through the shavette forum, there are many good posts re straights vs. shavettes. What follows is my own personal opinion and many good folks out there will disagree, so no offense intended or implied:

There is no way a straight can be as sharp as a fresh commercially available razor blade, particularly with the coatings that are in use today. I really wanted to enjoy straights and I had quality razors honed by the best here on the forum, but I could not get as good a shave as with a shavette. I use a very light touch, good control and all the tricks I learned from almost 2 years of actively following this site, and have happily settled into the Feather system and Parker, occasionally Dovo.

Having said that, many have pointed out that sharpness and smoothness are 2 different animals, and have said that a straight, well honed, gives a smoother shave. I don't disagree, a shavette can be harsh if your technique isn't just right. For me, the convenience factor is a biggie. But again, what might be a pain in the butt to me might be another man's hobby and passion.

As many have said, try a bunch of new things and stick with what works for you. Be sure to have fun.

I have a shavette and a straight. A shavette has zero weight so you have to use some light pressure. The straight has enough weight by itself, so make sure you use zero pressure. It also sounds like the barber couldn't get a good hone.

Great responses all! Thanks!

I think I will try a new razor, nothing crazy but well honed and try again.

I started with the shavette to reduce my environmental impact and get a better shave. I will report back when I get a better blade.

Thanks again, I thought I was going crazy.