Shave Suggestions

I have a VERY thick beard, and the thought of being able to tame it with a straight razor gets me excited.

All of the utilities have been purchased, and I am using a blade that was professionally sharpened.

After my third try of shaving... still nothing. I have been soaking my face with hot water, applying hot lather, wiping off the lather with a hot towel, using proraso, applying a warm lather (so as not to dry out the skin while shaving). I have still cut next to no hair, despite my shaving at a 30 degree angle. I have gone first with the grain, relather, across the grain, relather, against the grain. Applying a non-alcoholic after-shave, and then a men's facial moisturizing cream from DHC.

After I do all of this... my skin is still extremely irritated, I have a thousand red spots on my face, about 1/4 of the hair is cut (but not smooth or flush against the face), and small droplets of blood rise to the surface even an hour after the shave is over. Also, the skin on my neck has an incredibly 'tight' feeling to it.

Clearly, it's not the razors fault! People have been doing this for hundreds of years if not more. I KNOW I'm doing something wrong, I just have no clue what it is... any ideas? Also - considering my skin is incredibly irritated, how long should I be waiting in between shaves?

Given that you have a keen razor, given that you perform the textbook pre-shave prep, it's gottstabee' the barber needs a little tweaking. :wink: Play around a bit with the angle of the razor to the skin. Lay the razor flat to touch the cheek, then raise the back until you have a 25º-30º angle. As the razor goes over the curvy parts, roll the angle of attack to match the curves.

Taking short, slicing strokes will help, too. The blade works best if, instead of being perpendicular to the direction of movement, the razor is again at about a 30º angle to the direction of travel with the point, or front part of the edge, leading the heel.

So, try raising to about 30º (give or take) and stroking at about 30º (give or take) to the direction of travel, taking short strokes. See if that helps.

Sorry to hear about the difficulty! :(

Just a quick question. Did someone from this group hone your razor or was it a "Professional
sharpening service"? Is the razor new or old? What is the width of the blade? 4/8, 5/8, 6/8 , make and model, grind?

Try Davids suggestions and also answer the above questions please. We are here to help.

:)

Thanks for the response.

Randy - it was sent in for service at classicshaving.com. New razor, 5/8 Dovo Classic Special.

I will definitely try David's suggestions, but I think it would be best to wait for my skin to catch up with my face. It's very sensitive and painful still.

Any other ideas?

The first couple of weeks of straight razor shaving are the worst. My advice is to stop using any alcohol based product on your face skin. It removes the natural oils and impedes healing of any cuts. Second advice is to switch cup soaps. I now use Surrey hypo-allergenic shave soap and I think I got it at CVS. It's in a green box.

I also use an herbal toner after I shave and then an excellent cream I get from the Russian lady who tortures me every other month during what is supposed to be a facial. Make peace with your face. Stop assaulting it, start feeding it, and use supplements. If you've never had a facial before, give it a try, you'll be amazed. It is NOT a girlie thing to do and at 53 I'm regularly mistaken for 40.

I love the Pinaud aftershave but use it seldomly as it's alcohol based. You're right in that the problem is not the razor! Probably.

Howard

I don't know who or where you had the razor sharpened, but if it was done correctly, you should not be experienceing the shave that you just described, proper prep or not. There are so many little details that go into a good shave that sometimes it is difficult to identify just what the problem is. It sounds to me like your blade is not as sharp as it needs to be, and that you may be scraping your face with too open an angle and with too much pressure on the razor as well. If the blade was properly sharpened, your stropping may be the culprit. If you stropping technique is good, it could even be that you have some debris on your leather strop that is chewing up the edge of your blade as you strop it. Hard to say without being there. You might try cleaning your strop...certainly wouldn't hurt. I put shaving cream from an aerosol on mine, but you can you any soap that you shave with...then wipe vigourously from top to bottom with a clean soft cloth to remove any dirt, stone or metal particles that may be imbedded in your strop. When it drys, condition your strop with strop conditioner, neatsfoot oil or mink oil. Let dry. Good luck.

Yep... it is quite frustrating just not knowing what the problem is. I know the blade is sharp, and it can't be my poor strop technique just yet because the blade arrived shave ready.

I'm not using any alcohol based products... and I'm using Ray's soap from classicshaving.com. I specifically ordered the unscented soap because I feared the fragrance may have some kind of bad effect.

I'm fairly convinced my tools are good to go for the moment, and it's just a matter of my incredibly sensitive skin, and my damn lack of skill!

Right now my face is all irritated and nasty; but when I get back from the barber it's never like this. So I'm thinking of growing some stubble and giving my face some time, getting a proper shave from the barber (to restart the cycle, and allow my skin to 'regenerate'), and then give it another go myself.

What do you guys think? Good or bad idea?

The way my face feels now, I don't want to touch anything to it for atleast a week. Tell me what you guys think is best.

Give your face a rest for a couple of days. Witchhazel might help it.

I'm thinking it's your strop or your stropping technique. When I first started I had a Lynn honed razor. Had a strop I bought, and couldn't get the razor to shave me. Every time I stropped I couldn't feel the suction on the draw everyone was telling me about. Shipped the razor back to Lynn, he touched it up again, bought a Dovo strop from Classic Shaving, and slowed way down on my stropping and now I have no issues.

Also I learned using a Shavette, straight with disposable blades.

That doesn't sound like a sharp razor to me...what happens when you do the hanging hair test? Cuts the hair without effort? I have a tough beard and had to hone many a "shave ready" razor, and I've only been at it for a year now. Sounds like you should get another razor and get it honed or start learning to do it yourself...could be a bad blade and it got honed as well as the guy could hone it. I'm not talking about some stropping paste either, I'm talking about real honing. Just buy one from Lynn and that'll give you some idea of what sharp can be...my beard is so tough I even hone the one I got from Lynn, one bad stropping and everything is ruined anyway. I think the honemiesters often hone a blade for the masses, making an edge that will shave most and last a good long time. I like really, really, sharp and a blade that only lasts a short time...really too sharp for everyday shaving...well thats what I tell myself. But my blades provide a shave to die for...then in a month its back to the hone... a razor honed by an expert will be honed with a customer that is assumed to know how to use the blade correctly. Us beginners usually don't. Heck, I've probably ruined more edges than Lynn has razors...well ok maybe not that many....

I have been at this thing for about two years now and as I reflect back to when I started I can tell you that you might have the sharpest razor in the world and you might be using the best prep products money can buy and you might have read everything there is to read and know about techique but its the experience that counts. You have to learn by doing and the learning curve can be steep

Its really hard to give specific advice. Everything that has been said here is true but when it comes down to it as time passes the shaves get better and better. I thought I knew it all but I didn't get a decent shave for about a month and a half and over the next 6 months they kept getting better and better.

So hang in there. If your sure your doing all the right stuff and your razor is in good shape it will get better and soon you'll be giving advice to people here.

Thanks for the info. Lynn Abrams does all the honing for classicshaving.com as far as I know so the issue of the blade is a moot point. You have a very sharp blade.

It sounds like a skin issue. Give your skin some time to adjust and to learn the proper pressure, angle, stretching, stroke etc.

I would let my face rest for a week or so and then start in again as you suggested.

Just a quick note on this.

You say you have a very thick beard? Well, the razor you bought is a full hollow grind. The general consensus is that for a very thick beard/ tough beard then a 1/4 hollow or 1/2 hollow grind is more effective. There is less flex in the blade. The other point is that a size of 6/8 is generally preferred by those with heavy beards. More mass and less flex in the blade.

Try resting your skin and doing as David suggested. Then if you still have difficulty then consider a 6/8 1/2 hollow or 5/8 1/4 hollow grind blade.

Hope this helps,

Don't be afraid to send it back to me to take a look at it. Return postage on me. Lynn.

Thanks for all the help guys. I am convinced that it is not the Dovo's fault, thanks for the very kind offer Lynn.

I know it's just my lack of skill, so I'll just keep at it, and get comfy with shaving once I've gained the confidence and experience.

Just got to focus more!

Well Ok, but keep in mind the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result.... :wink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Well Ok, but keep in mind the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result.... :wink:

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NOW! he tells me! Oh well, at least I now have an excue. :D

I found that my experience maneuvering other kinds of very sharp blades (knives and chisels) helped me in learning to shave with a str8. It's all about the cutting angle and pressure for any cutting edge.
The honing part was easy, it was learning to strop that took me a couple of weeks.

It's often been said that " it's not the destination, it's the journey" . I always think of this in relation to the many long motorcycle trips that i have made in the past.
Shaving with a Straight can be much the same, getting that good shave can be quite a journey. 8)

I am not a pro since I have only been shaving since Christmas, however I have shaved everyday since then ( a good number of shaves). I had a similar problem when I first started because I thought the razor was sharp enough right out of the box; and I was a bad shaver. :lol: It does take a while for the skin to get used to it and it is important to strop it correctly but let me tell you when your razor is sharp it is easier, you don't press as hard or redo the same area several times etc. You also cut yourself a bit less. Take your time and enjoy this it is way cool when it all works right.



RichZ in NYC
Member in good standing of the Pink sink club.

All of what is being said is good advice, and you should listen to it. If, however, your razor is keen, your strop is clean, and your prep is...well it sounds like you prep is solid, understand that it might just be your skin.
It is quite possible that you have a tuff, unrully beard and sensitive, can't handle the pain skin. If you keep having problems, go see a dermatologist, they specialize in skin, and can probably tell you what's what.