Thread: Trimmed/shaved beard off without touching the disposable

1. What size is your razor? A 7/8 at the base of the nose is going to result in a very steep angle; not what you want with a lip full of hair...

2. Shaving from cheek to center of the upper lip allows you to keep the blade angle low, and stretching the skin out will keep it flat and taut. This is easier if you can shave with both hands. You'll also need a keen toe on your razor.

3. If your razor's previous hone was adequate there is no reason besides abuse or neglect for it not to be still shaving well. Ten or twelve shaves with proper stropping on leather alone is really minor use. We all have stones, we all like honing, and have the luxury of time to look for excuses to use them. But your edge is probably just fine.

4. If you're done with the beard, you have many happy shaves to look forward to.

I have fast growing, coarse beard. I shave every 1-2 days and still have difficulty getting more than 5-6 shaves out of a razor. I do have a couple of razors with great steel that might make 7-8 shaves before a refresh. The refresh only involves a few strokes on my finishing hone, followed by a few strokes on 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 micron CBN. The entire refresh takes less than 5 minutes, so I won't tolerate a poor edge.

Shaving off a beard that has been allowed to grow for a while, is never easy. The beard has become tough. Your skin is no longer acclimated to the shaving process. Your skills in lathering and shaving may have diminished due to disuse. There could also be some micro-corrosion on your razor's edge. The chin and stache area are always the most difficult to shave, even when you do it routinely.

If I were shaving off a beard that had been growing for a while, I think I would want a freshly honed 7/8" blade for the cheeks and neck; the extra weight will help plow through the stubble. Then a more nimble 5/8" blade might making shaving the chin and stache easier.

That is also a situation where I would consider cleaning and then stropping the blade between passes. A beard that has not been shaved in a while is tough on the edge. There may be alignment issues along the edge; stropping should bring the edge back into alignment for a closer, more comfortable shave.

Originally Posted by JOB15

A re honing is in order I fear, 8 to 12 shaves and who knows how well honed it was to start with.
Also is your stropping up to scratch?

It should have sliced effortlessly through your tash.

Yeah it was far from effortless. I have been having my honing done by a local computer repair guy who does razor honing as a side hustle. The razor seemed to have a good edge when I got it back from him. However, I was only shaving my cheeks and under my beard to maintain the beard shape I wanted. So I didn't really test how good the edge was until yesterday.

I honestly have no idea how good my stropping technique is. The strop I am using is one that belonged to my Dad. It's an old Camel brand leather stop with a separate cotton weave on the other side. It is in pretty good shape and I wipe the leather with mineral oil on occasion.

Originally Posted by cau

1. What size is your razor? A 7/8 at the base of the nose is going to result in a very steep angle; not what you want with a lip full of hair...

2. Shaving from cheek to center of the upper lip allows you to keep the blade angle low, and stretching the skin out will keep it flat and taut. This is easier if you can shave with both hands. You'll also need a keen toe on your razor.

3. If your razor's previous hone was adequate there is no reason besides abuse or neglect for it not to be still shaving well. Ten or twelve shaves with proper stropping on leather alone is really minor use. We all have stones, we all like honing, and have the luxury of time to look for excuses to use them. But your edge is probably just fine.

4. If you're done with the beard, you have many happy shaves to look forward to.

1) My razor is a vintage 6/8 half-hollow with a round edge. I have been thinking of adding a smaller blade for my next one.

2) You say shave from the cheek to the upper lip. Do you mean that I should start at the top of my sideburn and move diagonal towards the upper lip or straight across? What do you mean when you say the razor should have a keen toe?

3) Like I mentioned to another user, I am not sure how good my stropping technique is. I have nicked the strop a few times but that is a pretty rare occurrence.

4) I am happy to hear that the shaves will be better from this point on.

Originally Posted by RayClem

I have fast growing, coarse beard. I shave every 1-2 days and still have difficulty getting more than 5-6 shaves out of a razor. I do have a couple of razors with great steel that might make 7-8 shaves before a refresh. The refresh only involves a few strokes on my finishing hone, followed by a few strokes on 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 micron CBN. The entire refresh takes less than 5 minutes, so I won't tolerate a poor edge.

Shaving off a beard that has been allowed to grow for a while, is never easy. The beard has become tough. Your skin is no longer acclimated to the shaving process. Your skills in lathering and shaving may have diminished due to disuse. There could also be some micro-corrosion on your razor's edge. The chin and stache area are always the most difficult to shave, even when you do it routinely.

If I were shaving off a beard that had been growing for a while, I think I would want a freshly honed 7/8" blade for the cheeks and neck; the extra weight will help plow through the stubble. Then a more nimble 5/8" blade might making shaving the chin and stache easier.

That is also a situation where I would consider cleaning and then stropping the blade between passes. A beard that has not been shaved in a while is tough on the edge. There may be alignment issues along the edge; stropping should bring the edge back into alignment for a closer, more comfortable shave.

Everything you're saying here makes a lot of sense. I can see how the skin would get irritated from not having a blade touching it for a long time. Likewise, I can imagine how cutting through a tough beard can wear an edge faster. That is a lot of hair to cut through in one sitting as opposed to when you are cutting short hair on a regular basis. I have read a few times on here that a wedge is better for beards since they are stiffer and have more weight behind them.

Originally Posted by Zemke

I use shampoo and conditioner on my head/face and leave the conditioner on my face to soften the hair before shaving. Might give that try, though the 2 times I shaved it all off my wife and children objected very strongly with the look!

I also refresh my razor every 8-10 shaves with diamond and CroOx on a paddle with pressed wool.

Yeah some people have told me I look better with scruff as well lol I have never honed razors myself before. I would be a little worried about screwing up the edge if I did try it.

Originally Posted by jpgbrookes

2) You say shave from the cheek to the upper lip. Do you mean that I should start at the top of my sideburn and move diagonal towards the upper lip or straight across? What do you mean when you say the razor should have a keen toe?

My first pass is with the grain, sideburn down. Second pass is a combination of across/against the grain. Yes, I start at the sideburn and shave straight toward my nose for maybe two inches. Then diagonally down toward the corner of the mouth. Stretching the skin out towards my ear and curling my upper lip over the teeth, I shave across under my nose with the toe of the razor. That's three separate strokes. Thus the last is an across the grain stroke. With blade moving across you can maintain an advantageous blade angle. The toe of the blade is the tip. Keen means sharp. If you're unsure about the condition of the edge, then it does need honing. Good luck.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I think Noxema as a preshave cream works great. As always skin tight and low blade angle is a big help, oh and wet lather.

Just bought some Noxema cream at Shoppers today. I ran across it by accident. I guess it was meant to be lol

So this is just a followup. I just shaved again and wanted to post the results. I prepped with a shower first. Then came the Noxzema wash, mineral oil, and lather with my best L'Occitane shaving cream (instead of my ProRazo soap).

While shaving the stache area, I tried a diagonal path and XTG. However, I still found it easier to just shave downward. No trouble with the blade this time and I wasn't as afraid as before (although I did not get cocky or complacent either). Same goes for the chin.

I am happy to report that my shave was ssoooo much better this time around. I got a really tiny cut near the bottom of my mouth, but it is hardly worth writing home about. On another note, that Noxzema cream is some good stuff. I wish I knew about it long ago.

Thanks for the help guys!