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When i use my straight razor i experience some tug. I know the blade is plenty sharp I strop it before and after each shave and it will have hair without touching skin. also I build customs knives for a living so I am well versed in edge geometry. I use a shave soap and build a good bowl lather. Would a pre shave oil be something i should look in to?
Maybe try some preshave, but I tend to have my best shaves with shave creams.Quote:
Originally Posted by McCormick
maybe an angle thing while shaving?
Tugging is a symptom of a not sharp enough razor. Of course technique could play a role too.
Very often knife makers discover razors are a very different animal as opposed to knives and their experience with knives can actually be a detriment.
Just saying.
maybe build more cusnhion in the lather,
I think there have been some good points. For me a good shave has several factors beyond my edge. I use Noxema for a little extra glide and skin protection, it is suppose to soften whiskers too, I am not an oil fan but that being said I still recommend you try some, some people swear by it, and your face is not my face. After prep there are a few while shaving things that make a difference, angle is huge and skin stretching is essential. I don't remember skin stretching being a big deal when I was young but it sure is now. I did take a twenty year hiatus from shaving. There is also the whole beard map that will help you find what stroke work best where. It is kind of multi faceted so if you can eliminate a few variables it certainly narrows the field. Who sharpened your razor might be a good question.
I would go back to your 1K stone and reset the bevel. It sounds like your blade isn't sharp enough. Investing in one of these will help your S.R. honing skills.
A wetter, thinner, lather works better for S.R. shaving. A thick lather creates more suction resulting in the blade sticking to your cheeks.
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I dunno, if you add a preshave you might be masking the real problem by doing so. I'd be inclined to suspect the edge and/or technique contributing to the tugging if the lather is good.
Bob
Are you properly hydrating your facial hair? If not it could cause some tugging too. Try shaving first thing after you shower. Keep you face wet until you lather it.
I think Shaun (Rezdog) has captured the possibilities. I'd bet on stretching and angle if your lather seems right. Oils don't do anything for me, but there are place where you can get samples, which might be something to try. Good luck!
http://www.maggardrazors.com/product...shave-samples/
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.
You know, but we don't. Please tell us how you honed this razor. What did you use and what did you do?Quote:
Originally Posted by McCormick
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.
A Gillette slide is a make and model of DE razor, and skew is another way to say angle excluding 90 and 180 degreesQuote:
Originally Posted by SteveA
A Gillette Slide is not a razor but a technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQco5PWc2JU
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveA
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 :-)
I whent Dr m a multi to a straight no probQuote:
Originally Posted by ian452
[QUOTE=ian452;1518502]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.
Are you talking about scyting, its a old but fairly advanced technique:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ng-motion.html
Read the 7th post down it mentions the Gillette slide.
I believe so - I always call it the slide, which I learnt in the 70's on DEs. Once you get it right it is very obviously better. I also think pre-shave cream does a lot to help. Certainly more than I originally thought - the difference with to without is quite marked.
And be careful the slide makes cutting skin easier as well.
Yeah, I used to take a little sliver off my jaw line when I was learning, once you get the hang of it you are ok though.
I have a little scar on my jaw that is probably a match for yours... took a small rectangle of skin so thin I didn't even feel it. When I was learning my business partner said I looked like I'd been in a knife fight... actually that was only a few months ago - still learning.
BRI. It'll go way , don't pull or scratch it to muchQuote:
Originally Posted by ian452