Thread: Shaving questions from a newbie

Last week I did my first straight shave with my SRD Dovo, I shaved right out of the package without stopping first because I read great things about Lynn's honing but most of all I ordered the strop from another vendor and it hadnt shown up yet and I just HAD to try shaving. I only went WTG and although my face felt a little raw I survived. I did miss a few spots but I did my whole face and I hadnt purchased aftershave balm yet which probably contributed to the rawness. I had to wait for another week for the strop to arrive(got here yesterday) so I went to shaving and even though I had a strop I still didnt trust myself completely so I shaved a little before stropping just to see if when I did strop the shave got better or worse to grade my stropping. Well the stopping felt so unnatural and I was really worrying about messing up the edge that I quit and just went back to shaving, I did have another shave ready Henckels 16 so I used it but it was just too small in my hand for now so I decided to shave with the razor I had tried to strop, I finished but I still missed quite a few wiskers. I had a lot of pulling but I think that probably had more to do with my angles than the sharpness of the blade. So that brings me to today. I shouldve probably waited another day or two but I just couldnt do it. I didnt have much stubble but I went for it any way. I decided to go to the strop and I would have to say that over the course of one day my stropping got much better(still a long way to go) and the razor shaved well, I did WTG and XTG on my face and WTG and ATG on my neck. My angle of approach is getting better and I didnt miss a spot nor did I get a nick. Afterwords when I put on the aftershave(nivea sensitive balm) it burnt a lot though. My experiences have raised a few questions I would like to ask, so here goes.

1) I have read that it is not advised to strop till 24-48 hrs after shaving as the edge will repair itself and I have also read to stop immediately before and after shaving. I would say that as sharp as my razor was after one shave and sitting for a week there might be some truth to the waiting, what has been your experience?

2) Is it a good idea to keep an extra shave ready razor just in case I mess up the edge stropping or does having only one handy force a person to pay more attention to properly maintaining the razor they have?

3) When closing my Henckels I lightly touched the blade to the side of the scale, should I leave it alone just to be safe(or sent off to hone) or can I strop it to fix any problems I might have caused? The blade went straight in and straight up when I realized what I had done. It doesnt feel rough when sliding my thumb over it and holding it to the light I cant see any damage, I have been thinking of getting a small microscope to check it out.

4) Does the ATG pass cause more irritation than XTG or WTG when first starting out or is the burning by the aftershave caused by small scraches from a less than completely sharp razor or is it all in the angle of approach?

5) What is up with the small size of the Henckels 16, I assumed(you know what they say about that) that all straights were the same overall size and only the blade width was different, how wrong I was. Do all smaller blade sizes(4/8, 5/8) come in smaller scales or just some? Do any of you like shaving with the small razors cause it seems like it will be easier to fit into small places like my neck, where the scales of my 6/8 dovo seem to always be in the way. It feels to be about half the size of my DOVO, same length more or less but just smaller.

What started as a question about shaving has turned into questions about a lot of other stuff so I hope I dont upset anyone with my choice of forums, I shouldve probably just put it in the newbie section or split it into three seperate ones(shaving, stropping, and razors). Thanks in advance for any and all answers.

Originally Posted by Jasongreat

I decided to go to the strop and I would have to say that over the course of one day my stropping got much better(still a long way to go) and the razor shaved well, I did WTG and XTG on my face and WTG and ATG on my neck... Afterwords when I put on the aftershave(nivea sensitive balm) it burnt a lot though. My experiences have raised a few questions I would like to ask, so here goes.

Bear in mind, this is just my personal experience, but my neck is far more sensitive than my cheeks - so, if I were going to skip a pass and go right to ATG from WTG (which I doubt I'd ever do), it would be on my cheeks, not my neck.

Depending on your sensitivity, facial contours, beard thickness, etc. you may never be 100% irritation free all over, on every shave...

...but, if your getting a lot of irritation right now in your early stages of learning I'd say the two most likely culprits are probably angle and pressure (When first starting I was so focused on trying to watch my angle that I didn't even realize how much pressure I was using.).

1) I have read that it is not advised to strop till 24-48 hrs after shaving as the edge will repair itself and I have also read to stop immediately before and after shaving. I would say that as sharp as my razor was after one shave and sitting for a week there might be some truth to the waiting, what has been your experience?

While I've only be using straights for about 6 weeks, the 'heal itself' thing is new to me and sounds a bit fishy. We're not talking an organic or elastic material here that can heal or 'pop' back to its original shape - so, like any other piece of metal, I think once it's dulled or bent, it's dulled or bent. I'd suggest following the standard practice of stropping before each shave - whether you shave daily... every other day... or once a week. That way, any minor, not-visible-to-the-naked-eye oxidation will be cleaned away and microscopic waviness, folding, etc. on the very edge itself will be brought back in line.

2) Is it a good idea to keep an extra shave ready razor just in case I mess up the edge stropping or does having only one handy force a person to pay more attention to properly maintaining the razor they have?

It's not so much a matter of paying attention (all though you do have to pay attention) as learning to do something you haven't done before. Even if you pay very close attention odds are you'll still stumble a bit while you learn. An extra shave ready razor, it will most likely come in handy while your learning (in the event you need to send razor #1 out for honing... or even just to experience a second type of razor).

3) When closing my Henckels I lightly touched the blade to the side of the scale, should I leave it alone just to be safe(or sent off to hone) or can I strop it to fix any problems I might have caused? The blade went straight in and straight up when I realized what I had done. It doesnt feel rough when sliding my thumb over it and holding it to the light I cant see any damage, I have been thinking of getting a small microscope to check it out.

Don't get too freaked out by 'microscopic' nicks at this stage of the game. If you don't see any nicks, dents, waves with your eye then I'd say just strop and shave. If you feel a noticeable negative difference from that section of the blade after stropping then maybe a touch-up honing is in order... but I'd try normal stropping first. I think you'd have to close it pretty hard and forcefully for one touch of the scales to have that noticeable of an impact on the edge (but more experienced str8 users can correct me here if I'm wrong).

4) Does the ATG pass cause more irritation than XTG or WTG when first starting out or is the burning by the aftershave caused by small scraches from a less than completely sharp razor or is it all in the angle of approach?

It can - there are a lot of variables here: razor angle, lather, beard courseness, blade pressure - all on top of the fact that ATG is the most sensitive direction to press against your hairs and you've already run a sharp, 'violent' edge against your skin two other times. Some people with sensitive skin just can't do a third pass going ATG without experience some degree of irritation.

5) What is up with the small size of the Henckels 16, I assumed(you know what they say about that) that all straights were the same overall size and only the blade width was different, how wrong I was. Do all smaller blade sizes(4/8, 5/8) come in smaller scales or just some? Do any of you like shaving with the small razors cause it seems like it will be easier to fit into small places like my neck, where the scales of my 6/8 dovo seem to always be in the way. It feels to be about half the size of my DOVO, same length more or less but just smaller.

I'd say it boils down to personal preference. Given my sharp jawline, square chin, and muscular neck (think Clint Eastwood), I find 4/8 and 5/8 easier to work with under my jaw and just below my nose. However, I also find that larger, wedge, 1/4, or 1/2 hollows work through my course beard easier than narrow, full-hollow blades. It's a matter of what works best for you so all I can suggest is to experiment to find the size/grind you like most.

Just my two cents - hope it helps.

Originally Posted by Jasongreat

1) I have read that it is not advised to strop till 24-48 hrs after shaving as the edge will repair itself and I have also read to stop immediately before and after shaving. I would say that as sharp as my razor was after one shave and sitting for a week there might be some truth to the waiting, what has been your experience?

I think this whole "when should I strop" thing is still being debated a bit from time to time, but I THINK the general consensus is that it doesn't matter that much. Some people strop BEFORE they shave, some people strop right AFTER they shave, some people do BOTH. I think more importantly is to make sure you remove the water from the blade and at the pivot point. Any residual moisture on the cutting edge can eat away at the edge if you're not careful. It might not hurt to take a cotton ball with alcohol and gently wipe the edge down after shaving. The alcohol should help get rid of any excess water present.

2) Is it a good idea to keep an extra shave ready razor just in case I mess up the edge stropping or does having only one handy force a person to pay more attention to properly maintaining the razor they have?

Either way I think would be fine. Some people only have 1 razor, and don't need a 2nd. Some people have hundreds

3) When closing my Henckels I lightly touched the blade to the side of the scale, should I leave it alone just to be safe(or sent off to hone) or can I strop it to fix any problems I might have caused? The blade went straight in and straight up when I realized what I had done. It doesnt feel rough when sliding my thumb over it and holding it to the light I cant see any damage, I have been thinking of getting a small microscope to check it out.

I've done this as well a few times on some razors that had a loose pivot. I think as long as you don't see or notice a difference to the edge it might be ok. If you're concerned, stropping it should take care of anything it may have done, but not being able to see it I can't really say 100%

4) Does the ATG pass cause more irritation than XTG or WTG when first starting out or is the burning by the aftershave caused by small scraches from a less than completely sharp razor or is it all in the angle of approach?

I rarely ever do ATG passes. I can get a damn close shave doing WTG & XTG. ATG still irritates me (especially on my neck) but not as bad as it did when I first started straight shaving a few months ago. I also think a lot of that irritation can be affected by angle, pressure, shaving cream/soap, and stretching the area you're shaving. I know my ATG passes are more comfortable, and while I can't pinpoint the exact things, those are the things I think may be involved for me.

5) What is up with the small size of the Henckels 16, I assumed(you know what they say about that) that all straights were the same overall size and only the blade width was different, how wrong I was. Do all smaller blade sizes(4/8, 5/8) come in smaller scales or just some? Do any of you like shaving with the small razors cause it seems like it will be easier to fit into small places like my neck, where the scales of my 6/8 dovo seem to always be in the way. It feels to be about half the size of my DOVO, same length more or less but just smaller.

Not sure if ALL small razors come in smaller scales, but the smaller ones certainly don't need the wider scales because they don't have as much razor width to "sheath." For ME, I prefer the smaller razors. I don't like the big 7/8, 8/8+ razors. It's mostly just preference. I like to stick with ~5/8 and below.

What started as a question about shaving has turned into questions about a lot of other stuff so I hope I dont upset anyone with my choice of forums, I shouldve probably just put it in the newbie section or split it into three seperate ones(shaving, stropping, and razors). Thanks in advance for any and all answers.

Not a problem! I know you'll get a lot more great answers that may fill in the gaps. Have fun with the SR experience

Thanks John M. and Rob, all the info really helped. I shaved for the third time today and decided to not do any ATG passes and I also had an angle and pressure break through, man it sure doesnt take much. I really enjoyed the change and I had a close and pretty much irritation free shave. Thanks again.

-Jason

i would say relax and loosen up a bit about the whole thing, start off slow, u cant master it all in one go and even with the reels and reels of information out there; diagrams, mathmatics and sciences behind shaving you need to just get a feel and find and tweek what works for you. I strop before and after a shave because in my own mind i want to cause friction to remove moisture from the shave edge after cleaning, and i strop before to remove any minute corrotion from vapour since i last shaved. i have a back up razor also, but dont go all out getting some exspencive thing, just keep your eye out at jumble sales and classified. and wait for a good deal or something u like.