Uncomfortable first shave

I just got my new Edwin Jagger razor back from honing yesterday. Unfortunetely, I can't really say my first shave was that comfortable. Sure, my technique most probably isn't particularly good, but I can't say I see myself shaving with this razor as easy as in those videos I've seen.

Shaving the cheeks works. It cuts, although not close at all. Going against the grain cuts a bit closer, but soon it just feels like the blade is jumping over the hairs, instead of cutting through them.

When I'm trying to shave under the chin and down at the neck, the blade just stops at the hairs and doesn't cut through. Feels really umcomfortable. Again, just like the blade wants to jump over the hairs.

I think I have pretty tough beard and it really grows in all kinds of directions. And even if I try to follow the grain, it just feels wrong.

Can this all be a cause of my bad technique? Or is my beard just incompatible with a straight razor?

Hey Tobias

I know it can be frustrating at first but it all takes time and practice. You said it had been sent away to be honed? Who did it for you? Also, you dont mention what sort of pre-shave routine you went thru- stropping the razor and hot towel/lather etc. How did they go?

Back in the day EVERY guy who didnt want a beard had to use a straight. Every one. I dont think its your beard thats incompatible. But then again I dont think its all technique either... :hmmm:

How long have you been straight razor shaving Tobias?

Oh and can I venture that if a mod reads this the thread be moved to the Newbie section for two reasons:

1) Tobias is more likely to get the help he is looking for and deserves if the thread is in there.

and

2) Any newcomers experiencing the same problems will appreciate reading this thread in there.

Just my suggestion.

I would bet it's just a matter of training. The guys in the videos have been shaving with straight razors for years. Remember when you learned to ride a bike.... it takes time to get the technique down, but once it's there it looks easy. Just be patient...
Shave just one spot wtg until you are comfortable with that spot. Finnish with your regular shaving apparatus.
Tomorrow (or when you are comfortable) extend the spot. You have your whole straight shaving "career" in front of you.
Relax, take your time and enjoy it.

Have you bought a strop yet?

I would also suggest that you buy Lynn's dvd. It's absolutely worth the money (and much more).

I agree with Sidney and Otto. It often takes a little time for the shaver and his face to get accustomed to to the new tool. If you've got a sharp razor, honed by a honemeister and are stropping it carefully before the shave you should see improvement over the course of the next few weeks.

X

My routine is
1) shower
2) shaving soap applied with brush
3) shave
4) alcoholfree after shave balm

My absolutely first shave was directly after I got the razor. I found it uncomfortable and had been reading that most new razors aren't really shave ready, therefore I sent it for honing to know what sharp is. Now when I got i back, I can't say there's much difference.

I've ordered a strop, but the honemeister also stropped it so it should have been shave ready this time. It wasn't done by anyone from the forum. I sent to a barber shop here in Sweden.

Anyway, thanks for all the answers. I'll most definitely continue trying until I get it right. It's pretty fun even if it's uncomfortable. :)

I know its a pain but if you are seeing no difference then i'd consider sending it to someone from the forum. Your face is a better judge of sharpness than any test the barber will do. If I had the skill in honing i'd offer to do it for you. Bottom line- if it doesnt feel sharp,it isnt sharp.

You can REALLY tell when a razor is as sharp as it should be!

EDIT: Oh and BTW in my opinion that is an excellent pre-shave routine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobias

My routine is
1) shower
2) shaving soap applied with brush
3) shave
4) alcohol free after shave balm

My absolutely first shave was directly after I got the razor. I found it uncomfortable and had been reading that most new razors aren't really shave ready, therefore I sent it for honing to know what sharp is. Now when I got i back, I can't say there's much difference.

I've ordered a strop, but the honemeister also stropped it so it should have been shave ready this time. It wasn't done by anyone from the forum. I sent to a barber shop here in Sweden.

Anyway, thanks for all the answers. I'll most definitely continue trying until I get it right. It's pretty fun even if it's uncomfortable. :)

---

Tobias... i would never recommend shaving without first stropping at least 20 laps on leather. I know that there are some folks who say it is OK to skip stropping when you first get a razor from a honemeister but i would still strop

also do you know anything about how (what sort of stones ) were used to hone your razor, or perhaps how often the shop actually gets the opportunity to really hone a razor.

stropping and a low blade angle are your best friends.

Have you tried to test shave a (small) portion of your forearm (be careful), to see how sharp it is?
- Then wait until you get your strop.....
:gl:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by syslight

Tobias... i would never recommend shaving without first stropping at least 20 laps on leather. I know that there are some folks who say it is OK to skip stropping when you first get a razor from a honemeister but i would still strop

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But the honemeister said he had stropped it, so it should have been stropped. Don't know for how many laps, though.

I'll try and see if I can get a better shave after stropping as soon as my strop arrives.


Otto: I just tried and, sure, the hairs are falling off like if they were cut already. But my beard is much tougher, so it doesn't really say anything. Especially when I don't have any other razor to compare it to.

It seems like the very most important things for a comfortable straight shave for me are:

1. Sharp blade (of course)

2. Proper prep

3. Correct blade angle

4. Very little pressure

5. And last, yet most important... how much the skin is stretched. The more the better. Whenever I get a spot that's not working out well, it seems like the solution is to stretch it a bit more. More stretch = closer shave, less irritation. Xman's one-handed video shows some great skin stretching techniques. Just make sure your wife doesn't come in while you're watching them.... she'll laugh herself unconscious when she sees you making shaving faces.

Tobias,

A sharp straight razor will slide with the grain and remove the stubble easily. It's no different to using a throwaway razor. Sharp is the same cutting feel as a throwaway razor. That's a benchmark for you. It will cut with no soap or water. However with good preparation, it will slide through the stubble with ease, even better than a throwaway.

Against the grain, "the technique thing" becomes more critical. There is a point when you hit the hair were you instinctively know if the blade is sharp enough and if you push a bit, all will be alright. The thing with a straight, is if the angle isn't less than 30 degrees, the blade will cut you. With the throwaway, the angle has to be correct or the blade just misses your stubble altogether. For this reason, people shave with more confidence with a throwaway.

But from what you said, the blade you had was not sharp enough. It should not skip over stubble if you were running the blade on your skin.

If you ran your finger across the blade or did anything to check the sharpness, maybe you are to blame. It is so easy to take the sharpness off the edge of a straight razor that until you understand the process, it's hard to believe.

If all you did was prepare, open the razor and shave then the razor was not sharp.

Only you can answer the question, but I know from when I started, I often would blame anybody but myself for playing with a blade that is anything but a toy and has to treated so carefully that learning to do this is in itself an art.

Once you understand all this edge stuff, it's easy because you know what to do if the blade needs a quick strop or touch up hone. Both exceptionally gentle techniques to put right a razor that has usually been treated roughly.

Whatever, stick at it, it's worth it in the long run. Honest.

Hey, I actually did run my thumb across the blade to see how sharp it was! So maybe I ruined it. Would stropping sharpen it back to shape or would I need even a new honing?

There's only one way to know for sure. Strop it well and carefully and give it the shave test. if it fails, it's back to the hone, but only lightly.

X

Yeah, stropping it definitely did it – much better. Not like the laser cutting I hear of though, but that's probably in my stropping technique.

Did one pass with the grain. Felt like a Gilette shave (which in my world is an ok shave, but not as good as you want it to be).

Thanks for all the help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tobias

My routine is
1) shower
2) shaving soap applied with brush
3) shave
4) alcoholfree after shave balm

My absolutely first shave was directly after I got the razor. I found it uncomfortable and had been reading that most new razors aren't really shave ready, therefore I sent it for honing to know what sharp is. Now when I got i back, I can't say there's much difference.

I've ordered a strop, but the honemeister also stropped it so it should have been shave ready this time. It wasn't done by anyone from the forum. I sent to a barber shop here in Sweden.

Anyway, thanks for all the answers. I'll most definitely continue trying until I get it right. It's pretty fun even if it's uncomfortable. :)

---

You cannot usually shave without stropping the razor even if it has been honed well by a honemeister. Stropping does take a bit of technique but nothing that you cannot accomplish. You need to keep the strop taunt and only use the weight of the razor while stropping. Any more pressure and you may roll the edge of the razor and ruin the edge. OK, it is not really ruined, it just needs to be rehoned to re-establish the bevel.
So, bottom line, get a strop and strop at least 60 passes before each shave.

Hi Tobias!

Did you send the razor to the guys at gents.se?
If you did your razor is not shave ready,did the same thing a while back,it came back sharp but not shave ready,atleast not for my beard.I bought the Norton combo stone a couple of weeks ago and with my crappy honing my blades are sharper then the blade I let them sharp..

Pop in to the social group SRP:Nordic for some swedish talk..



//Victor

Yeah, I sent it to Gents. Interesting. Is the honemeister over there not good enough?

I don't want to point finger,but my blade was'nt sharp enough for my beard..Maybe it's sharp enough for the guys at Gents..??:shrug:

Knife sharp and razor sharp are two different things. Are they a knife shop? If so they likely sharpened it to knife sharpness (which I consider to be similar to factory honed- thats what razors are like when they come new from the factory ie. not shave ready).

They are a online shop for shave stuff,mostly disposables,moisturizers for men and so on.They have a straight razor sharpening service,they told me they used oil stones but I did'nt ask for specifics.I shaved with the blade,WTG was doable with irritation(had to use alot of pressure to get it smooth),ATG irritation and blood..

I'm a pretty fresh straight user but i tried all kinds of angles and stopped according to all the guidelines and was very carefull not to roll the edge,but just could'nt get a decent shave from it. Maybe others would find the sharpness good,but not with my beard..

I bought a norton combo stone a couple of weeks ago and my blade is now way sharper..

//Victor

Quote:

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Originally Posted by woork

They are a online shop for shave stuff,mostly disposables,moisturizers for men and so on.They have a straight razor sharpening service,they told me they used oil stones but I did'nt ask for specifics.I shaved with the blade,WTG was doable with irritation(had to use alot of pressure to get it smooth),ATG irritation and blood..

I'm a pretty fresh straight user but i tried all kinds of angles and stopped according to all the guidelines and was very carefull not to roll the edge,but just could'nt get a decent shave from it. Maybe others would find the sharpness good,but not with my beard..

I bought a norton combo stone a couple of weeks ago and my blade is now way sharper..

//Victor

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Victor-

If you are using any amount of pressure at all it proves two things.

1)That is why you are going to get irritation.

2)Your blade is not sharp. It should be able to cut the hair on your face without pressure at all.

Has anyone else had experience of the sharpening done by this company?

Hi
Check out Jockeys vids, really good . Best bit of advice I got was use a sharp blade (it really does make for a smooth shave). I got a razor from a veteran on the site and the difference in terms of smoothness was amazing! Sharp is sharp but shave ready is something else! Stay with it, it will be worth the effort.

Richard

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Victor-

If you are using any amount of pressure at all it proves two things.

1)That is why you are going to get irritation.

2)Your blade is not sharp. It should be able to cut the hair on your face without pressure at all.

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This was today's lesson for me.

I've been in a Love/Hate relationship ever since I started using a straight over a year ago and now I am convinced it is because of me using too much pressure.

Today's shave was a very good one because I focused on stretching, blade angle, and using no pressure whatsoever.

I've also learned that there are some areas where I can't go ATG or even XTG because if I do I can count on in-growns and or irritation; but I can get BBS without those passes anyway.

Knowing when to stop is also important. Those plumped up hairs will shrink back after a few minutes of drying.

The result is a fine shave.
:gl:


Randy

@ sidneykidney:

Yes I know,but with the blade the company honed I had to use pressure...
I have been honing my own blades for awhile now and after tonights shave I feel that I'm really making som progress on the honing.I was able to do the ATG pass with minimal irritation and no pulling!It really feels great when things fall into place..!!


//Victor

Victor-

I wasnt talking about pressure used while honing. I was talking about pressure used while shaving. I'm glad your shaves are improving. :tu

Hehe,the first line of my post is about shaving,the second about honing..=)

When I shaved with the blade the company had honed I had to use pressure to get the blade to cut,causing irritation..

When I shave now(and hone) I use as little pressure as possible..
The sharpness of my selfhoned blades and my shaving technique are getting better and better..


//Victor