Thread: experiencing some tug.

Just because the blade cuts a standing hair doesn't always mean it's shave ready but................

Maybe your angle is too high ?

Blade should be near flat for tug free shave or you are scraping as opposed to shaving.

Originally Posted by McCormick

I know the blade is plenty sharp I strop it before and after each shave and it will have hair without touching skin.

You know, but we don't. Please tell us how you honed this razor. What did you use and what did you do?

Are you doing the Gillette slide? When I started with the straight my right hand worked better than my left.... still does a bit. When I shaved the LHS there was some pull which was due to technique, had to be, it was the same blade. Maybe your stroke is too perpendicular to the direction of travel and you need to skew as you shave.

As a beginner, I may be having similar problems with the my stroke technique (no jokes please!). What is a 'Gillette slide' and what do you mean by 'skew as you shave'? Since you didn't say to just lay the blade flatter, I'm thinking your saying to subtly alter the angle as you stroke. Is that right?

--Steve

When I have a razor that doesn't shave like it is supposed to I will usually still be able to finish the shave and then I will give it another chance shave because 9 times out of 10 it is the prep or technique that is causing the problem. Pressure in most cases is the cause. I seem to be heavy handed with my dominant hand.

Originally Posted by SteveA

As a beginner, I may be having similar problems with the my stroke technique (no jokes please!). What is a 'Gillette slide' and what do you mean by 'skew as you shave'? Since you didn't say to just lay the blade flatter, I'm thinking your saying to subtly alter the angle as you stroke. Is that right?

--Steve

A Gillette slide is a make and model of DE razor, and skew is another way to say angle excluding 90 and 180 degrees

A Gillette Slide is not a razor but a technique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQco5PWc2JU

Originally Posted by SteveA

As a beginner, I may be having similar problems with the my stroke technique (no jokes please!). What is a 'Gillette slide' and what do you mean by 'skew as you shave'? Since you didn't say to just lay the blade flatter, I'm thinking your saying to subtly alter the angle as you stroke. Is that right?

--Steve

I was talking about the technique - Gillette used to put a little booklet of how to shave in with their razors (that was even before my time) One of the techniques was called the Gillette slide. I use a similar motion with my straight. It's just moving the blade a little laterally when you stroke. Think of it like cutting with a knife, just pressing makes cutting hard, slide the knife and it cuts easier. I found it much harder to do it (safely) with my left hand... so I felt some tugging (minor)... you get better at it.

Do an image search for it - I'm sure you'll find on of the actual leaflets.

DE Slants mimic this by twisting the blade so it is always cutting on an angle.

I had this same problem at first. In all actuality, I was experiencing user error on many different levels and was having trouble diagnosing it because I was doing so many things wrong. Welcome to the addiction! Trying to learn to shave with a straight and trying to learn to hone that straight at the same time can be very counterproductive. Then to add improper lather making technique to the mix? Aaarrgh!

My first major improvement was learning to make a proper lather by lathering in my hand instead of my face. You can better feel the hydration and slickness.

Then I let my beard grow out for a few days and mapped out my growth. I was going ATG on my first pass in several areas. Coincidentally, they were the same areas I was experiencing road rash like symptoms.

Then I had to swallow my pride and send one of my straights off to my local honemaster for a baseline comparison razor. By this I mean that I used this pro honed razor to compare my home honed razors to after shaving with it for a few days.

So what did I learn by extreme analysis of my shave and my ego?

1) My lather sucked and I just didn't know any better.
2) My first pass was in the wrong direction on much of my face leading to severe razor burn.
3) My honing skills needed work.
4) Take the advice of SRP members that have been doing this for many years even if it sounds strange.
5) The first step in learning something new is accepting that you don't know anything.

This is just my opinion and an account of the mistakes that I have made which have brought me to an acceptable skill level. I will be the first to acknowledge that I still have a long way to go.

Good luck and don't give up.

The big mistake I made was going from multi-blade to straight. I highly recommend that newbies buy a DE. I was waiting for my sister to send me my dad's old Gillette slim adjustable from England and couldn't wait... shaved with the straight several times while I was waiting. Talk about blood and rash. Once I got the DE I used it for a few weeks and it conditioned my skin. Now shaving with the straight is a dream.

I was also pressing too hard, even with the DE. Apparently this is a common mistake because we press on really hard with multis to get any semblance of a decent shave. We must un-learn.

I would also recommend a pre-shave cream. I use Proraso green pre-shave and it makes a huge difference... did some tests it works. And a Alum bar for immediately after will keep the bumps down.

And be careful.... those things are razor sharp :-)