Still learning

[dleonetti]

Question from the Rookie, Seems as though my razor begins sharp at the beginning of the shave, but gets dull after 20 or so strokes. I have been following the various techniques, but face still raw after the shave. We need another meet in Denver!!!

[BobH]

There are just too many possibilities of what may be going wrong and too little info on what you are doing to begin to comment. Your best bet would be to have some one on one time with a member in your area if possible.

Bob

[Aerdvaark]

Are you finishing with x strokes?

[dleonetti]

No I am not. Good Point. I assume you mean finishing on the smooth side of the strop.

[RayClem]

Sometimes people with tough beards have to strop a razor after the WTG pass before starting another pass, especially before shaving ATG.

You have not provided a whole lot of information and like BobH says, there are numerous possibilities. However, the two most likely possibilities are that you are either holding the razor at the wrong angle, or you are trying to shave with too much pressure. Either could cause the delicate fins at the very edge of the razor to roll over. If that happens, you are going to get a poor shave.

It is common for new shavers to roll the edge when stropping the razor, but if you consider that your skin is a type of leather, you will realize that it can roll the edge as well.

Rather than trying to scrape the whiskers off your face, use just enough pressure to scrape off the lather. Otherwise, you are going to be scraping off the outermost layers of skin. There are a lot of good shaving videos on YouTube. Watch several of them. No two faces or beards are identical, so what works for one person might not work for another. By learning multiple techniques and experimenting, you will find out what works best for you.

Does stropping on cloth or leather return the razor to a sharp state, or do you need to resort to other methods like pasted strops?

[dleonetti]

Shaving off just the lather is a good idea I have not tried. I will this morning. I have watched many YouTube videos and they are very informative. I have a good 2 sided strop and have put chromium oxide on the inside of the braded side. I feel I am getting better @ shaving, but also think I should be improving faster. I do not have any facial hair left on my face. I shave all areas. I think my angle is correct, but my pressure might be too heavy. I will also try to focus on that this morning. The rolled edge has me a bit confused. I bought a Led light, but not sure what I am seeing. Thanks RayClem, I really appreciate your thoughts.

[Dieseld]

Shaving off just the lather is a good idea I have not tried. I will this morning.

This is the way to go, just relax and let the razor glide over your face, pressure is your enemy

I feel I am getting better @ shaving, but also think I should be improving faster. .

This isn't a race, take your time. You'll get it little by little. I'm glad you feel you're getting better. That's positive as only you would know.
After 100 shaves or so, you'll really be able to look back and see how far you've come

Enjoy and have fun!

[dleonetti]

Dieseld, Thanks for the support. It is fun, and I enjoy the shave.

[dleonetti]

Thanks, that is the best possible idea. I'll start to push for another meet. We had a number of new guys at the last one so I'm sure we all need a refresher. I won a football pool this year, and the winnings went directly to the "stones". I have all the gear, now I need to use them correctly.

[BobH]

Thanks, that is the best possible idea. I'll start to push for another meet. We had a number of new guys at the last one so I'm sure we all need a refresher. I won a football pool this year, and the winnings went directly to the "stones". I have all the gear, now I need to use them correctly.

That is a hard row to hoe, learning to hone on your own. I had to as there was nobody within a 500 mile radius that I knew honed razors. That was compound by the fact that I had never honed a razor before and was learning to shave with a straight razor at the same time. I don't care what anyone says, that is a bad combination because you don't really know where to begin to find out where the problem originates from, there are just so many possibilities or combination of possibilities. That is why I say finding a mentor for some one on one is a very good idea.

Bob