Thread: Newbie here.. need help :X

you guys are awesome.. thanks again. I will look into a hone or strop asap

Two weeks is asking a lot. Paddle strops are generally easier to use and with a paddle strop you have 4 differing grits to work up with. Easier than trying to perfect your skills with a hone. I do enjoy a good barber hone though.

A new razor is almost shave ready and but does not require a hone. The abrasive pasted paddle strops will give you a finer edge and also are the main tool for maintaining a fine edge.

The hone is used for heavier work.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by TMike

Hey Randy,

Why do you recommend the paddle? I don't know much at this point, but the hone approach sounds easier to me. Am I off?

Thanks,
Todd

I'm a newbie too, with only 3 shaves under my belt. However, I've had excellent results using a paddle strop with .50 diamond paste for about 20-30 round trips, then a hanging strop for about 30-50 round trips, making sure to wipe the paste off the blade with some rubbing alcohol before going to the hanging strop. The hanging strop is supposed to remain clean and you don't want to contaminate it with paste. My TI razor passes the hanging hair test and has been shave ready every time with this method. I haven't had to touch my Norton 4000-8000 water hone yet.
Remember, the hanging strop is not for "sharpening" the edge. It's more for "polishing" it after it has been sharpened with a hone, pasted strop, or other sharpening device. That said, most guys recommend stropping on a hanging strop 20-30 round trips before shaving and another 20-30 round trips after shaving (then again before shaving, etc.). Also, remember, no pressure on the hone or strops. As I understand it some EXPERIENCED honemeisters will (rarely) use very light pressure for a couple of passes on a hone. But for most situations just the weight of the razor on the blade, with the spine of the razor in contact with the hone or strop at all times, is all that's necessary. Just a feather touch. It takes practice (and discipline not to use pressure) but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. And as you SLOWLY draw the hair down (perpendicular) to the blade and watch it "pop" in half...it's a great feeling of accomplishment.
As someone else stated above, 2 weeks growth is not a good way to start using a straight razor, especially for your first time. And you may have to strop your razor a couple of times, or even paste it during your shave until you get most of the heavier stuff negotiated. I might suggest you shave daily until you sort of get the hang of things, especially things like keeping your razor sharp and being able to get a close shave without nicking or "burning" yourself. Although it's sometimes necessary to give your face a break for a day or two if you nick or burn it too much. Then, once you're confident and competent at using the razor, try it on a 2 or 3 day growth and see how it goes. And, forgive me if I'm telling things you already know, but keep your face wet, wet, wet, and lathered with your brush while shaving. I make sure each area of my face gets lathered for each and every "full" pass over it. That will keep it lubricated and make your shave much closer and much more comfortable.
On the other hand, I'm certainly no expert so maybe some more comments by experienced straight razor shavers (like the ones above) would be helpful.

Tom

Tom,

You might not be an expert but you sure are progressing well. Keep up your studies and pass on everything you learn. We'll all appreciate it.

"...Tom,

You might not be an expert but you sure are progressing well. Keep up your studies and pass on everything you learn. We'll all appreciate it..."

Thanks AF. I depend on guys like you to keep me on the "straight" and narrow.

Tom

Shave 2:

So this time I decided to try to get the razor sharper than last time, and focus on my stropping technique. 10 passes on the linen followed by 60 passes on the leather, twice, and the razor was feeling quite sharp. I completed the requisite hot shower, lathered up my beard, and stopped a final time while I waited for the shaving cream to work on my whiskers.

I'd say I ended up with mixed results this time around; the fact that I was shaving 3 days of hair growth instead of 3 weeks made it alot easier, and I *think* it was shaving better due to being sharper, but I wasn't being quite as careful and ended up with sizeable nicks on my lower lip, chin, and near the bottom of my neck. That last one was due to me not shaving with the grain the first time around, and I won't make THAT mistake again. I also shaved a bit too hard on my neck and got some razor burn.

However, the shave itself was MUCH closer this time around than the last. Left my skin Very smooth (with the exception of the chunks of face I removed)

I think a lighter touch and more attention will fetch me a better shave still.

This is really exciting because it's like I'm shaving for the first time all over again.. the learning process is really fun, and the ritual of lathering and stropping is really rewarding.

...

One of the biggest problems right now is I've read TONS of really good advice but there is so much to keep track of that I get confused.. 'one thing at a time' i guess

Yeah, you have to be careful. If you don't give your full attention to shaving, then you'll likely cut yourself. It's when I'm staring of into space thinking about my day and what I'm going to do for breakfast that I need to go reaching for the styptic pencil (By the way, if you don't have one, you should!).

As for stropping - 60 strokes? And then you got ready and then stropped it again? Was it a paddle strop? You should do whatever works for you, obviously, but I don't know if stropping that much provides any benefit above stropping in the range of 30 strokes on a full-sized strop that most people do - i.e. more stropping on plain leather does not make the blade any sharper.

Congratulations, though! You seem to be off to a good start and will soon have this all down to a science. And considering the amount of growth you had last time, I think you did quite well then too. Keep at it.

Shave 3: 3 days growth. First of all, I finally picked up a badger-hair brush (a vuklfix from a local retailer), so I was really excited to try this new aspect out (I have a green tub of proraso soap). This time around I wanted to focus on shaving slower, more consistently, and most of all more lightly. My last two attempts consisted of many short, firm, overlapping passes of the blade, but I've read that light is the way to go if you want to be nice to your skin.

I prepped with a hot shower, and lathered up with the brush. QUITE a difference! the hot lather felt really great against my skin. Although I stropped the blade earlier, I went for another 10 laps on the linen and 40 or so on the leather as I let the lather work on my whiskers.

This time around I set the blade and allowed it to glide over my skin without attempting to get it to bite down into the hair.. i was rewarded when rinsing the blade when i saw hair particles running down into the drain. Although I was focussin on slowing down, I feel it still went rather quickly. I lathered up a second time and repeated the action, and it went faster still with less hair getting in the way... this whole time I've been shaving with the grain (I'm saving cross-grain for when I feel completely confident with my shaving technique).

The end result was a couple of tiny nicks, and a somewhat close shave (not awe-inspiring, but decent). My skin felt great, with the exception of the lower center of my neck. the hair grows in a really weird spiral pattern there which is vexing because I always seem to be shaving against the grain at some point).

Mostly I noticed the shave could have been more consistant at the far corners of my jawbone, and a really thin vertical strip right next to my left ear.

Next shave I'm going to focus on those parts, as well as on stretching my skin better.

It sounds like you are making excellent progress.

Regular stropping can only do so much. I want to weigh in with the others who have recommended a paddle strop with some pastes. I think that once you get that razor humming along at hair popping keeness, you'll reduce drastically the amount of irritation and trouble you experience. Achieving the sharpest edge is the first hurdle to overcome. Just remember that the first time you put a truly sharp razor to your face it will require much less pressure than you are accustomed to. Ignore that fact to your perril, be aware and ease off any pressure and you will be rewarded with excellent shaves.

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