Thread: You Don't Get the Best Shave with A Straight Razor

David, the broad title was intentional. I wanted to attract as many responses as possible and I thought that would be the way.

I know very well it's a skill issue, but I think only "showme1or2" totally appreciated what I'm saying.

I'm not having a problem with shaving close or getting the razor to shave well. I have well developed shaving skills with a DE and with the str8 I use three passes and I shave in every direction- with, across and with the grain.

I used a razor that came directly from Lynn to keep my poor razor stropping out of the picture. The razor shaved great and it shaved closer than the DE. I would not have left my message if I didn't have these basic skills. But when I was finished I could feel stubble in certain spots and I wasn't able to get them without a DE.

I am making a distinction between CLOSE and CLEAN. Clean is getting every last whisker, not necessarily as close as possible.

You experienced guys that responded (David, Lynn and others), do you get a totally clean shave? Or are there spots where you feel stubble?

For me to get a clean shave, I need to be able to shave forward on my neck under the jaw (lower than you get by just pulling up the skin). How do you do that?

I didn't really get much information on that in the responses, just that I'm not doing it right. OK, how do you do:
1. spots you can't see
2. forward on the neck below the jaw.

I'm still prettynew and get some small spots. For me it's just a matter of taking my time and running water and fingers over my face, finding the spots and taking the time to run the razor in EXACTLY the same direction that I felt the spots. A little trick I learned shaving with those electrified contraptions. Otherwise I'm sure you'll end up with better responses in time.

OK. We're in pursuit of the perfect shave. I do have areas that consistently give me grief, mainly the hollows by my adam's apple. Between facial yoga, off-hand shaving, and some really strange ways of stretching the skin I've about got it. I can get one side pretty well, the other is my off hand and still needs work.

Chin is pretty easy so long as you tackle small sections at a time. Areas around the hinge of the jaw can be tricky. I usually stretch the skin upward while shaving down from ear to jaw, then stretch upward and pull forward toward my nose to get that area. Combine that with a stretch downward when doing the neck.

When I have time, I do one pass with the grain, one against the grain, followed by a warm water rinse and a little "shaving by braille" to find the stragglers. I actually prefer to finish my chin wet without lather. Finish with cold water rinse & moisturizer.

Sorry if this offends but using a DE is like using an old mach3. We use a str8 for the shave and also because we can. Any one can shave with a mach3 no skill no thrill. We however pride ourselves on being able to shave with a str8. Its like comparing a paint by numbers picture with a great master. They might both look good but only one took talent and skill. That's my 2 cents anyway.

In using the definitions of "close" and "clean" that you defined, I would have to say that I have no problem getting a "clean" shave using a str8, if I take the time to do 2 complete passes and pay strict attention around the mouth and moustache areas. When I finish, every single whisker that I am interested in cutting is cut. Now close is another thing all together.
Close is shaving the whisker actually below the skin line. Less than that, and you feel stubble even though the whisker has been cut. The secret of a close shave is an extremely sharp edge, and very good prep. You need to get the beard to soften and expand, so it raises higher than it normally does above the skin line. You then cut the whisker even with the skin line. Nothing does that better than a very sharp straight razor. When the beard cools and dries out, it withdraws below the skin line, giving you that baby smooth feel we are all looking for. If the edge on a str8 is sharp enough, you shouldn't have to shave with a scything motion unless you want to. If you lower the shaving angle below approx 15 or 20 degrees, you risk not having the cutting edge lying flat to the skin, but slightly above it...enough to leave a very short stubble. That is one of the reasons I sometimes don't have as close a shave on my chin as elsewhere...because I lower the angle too much as my beard is super tough there. Unless my str8 is super sharp, I will leave a very short stubble on my neck under my jaw. I could remove that by shaving against the grain there, but for daily use, the stubble is so very short and only in a couple of small areas so it isn't worth bothering with for me. I'm not as good as some of the other members here shaving my neck up towards the jaw, as I do it very seldom. If I don't get the results I am looking for, it is my fault, as I either neglected getting my razor as sharp as it needs to be, or I didn't prep well enough, or I didn't use proper technique for going against the grain or across it. If I don't shave at least as well with a straight razor as with a DE, it isn't the straight razor's fault...it's mine.

well, for me, i use a de and a straight and the straight always give me a closer shave on the face. the stubble stays away longer, and the next morning, it is less apparant with a straight then with the DE. however, i can not fully get close with a straight on my neck. i use 4 passes, one with and one against the grain and then one crossways each way on the cheek. on the neck, i try to go crossways as much as possible, from the chin to the ear, each side. i have to touch up with the DE.

now, i eliminate the sight of hair on my neck, but i still feel a little stubble. the most is under my fat pad under my chin where my goatee ends. then its the hollows.

can someone explain the scything motion better. i tore a flap when i tried it with the feather straight

sam

Joe-
A razor still has to be stropped, even if it's perfectly honed. I get a perfect shave with a straight every time, two passes in 12 minutes. It takes skill. Chances are, if you're not comfortable with honing and stropping your shaving skill isn't where it needs to be either.

Drew

Sam, the scything motion is a little bit tricky in the fact that you have to move the razor primarily north/south (away from the spine) at the same time that you are tilting the razor slightly, usually heel leading, with only a very small amount of east/west (scything) movement. To much east/west and you have sliced yourself. Too much pressure and you have once again sliced yourself. If you hold the razor at an angle (such as with heel leading) while going north/south, you automatically have a natural scything motion without any east/west movement at all. This is the safest approach to using a scything action, but you can still slice yourself this way as well with improper angle or too much pressure or failing to go directly north/south and instead move the razor in the dirction that your tang is pointing. Hope this makes sense to you.

Bob

so far, bob, that is the best description of how to do it. i have the slicing part down, lol

sam

Let me jump on this bandwagon too. I do get my best and closest shave from a str8. No doubt about it. I will admit it is even better from my barber but he has been shaving people for over 40 years I have only been using a str8 for 6 months.