Thread: From beginner's struggle to intermediate enlightenment.

Good morning, Gentlemen!


For a while now I have been journeying my way through the straight razor world, by a while I mean approximately a year since my first razor purchase. Lately I have been getting nice shaves and I hit my first milestone of accumulated knowledge and practice. It took me about 3 months to reach a point where different things clicked at once and improved my shaves. The meaning of this post is to help people understand the process and hills you need to climb when you're exploring traditional straight razor shaving. This may be a very long post, be warned.
When I first started using a straight razor I was extremely frustrated, I even went back to my DE super speeds several times and stayed with them for months. Looking back I now believe that I hindered my learning curve a little bit by doing this and if I could do it all over again I wouldn't have switched back to my DE's from Nov.-Jan. this winter. The shaves were effortless and amazingly smooth with my 40's Gillette Super Speed and Derby blades. I couldn't get results on my straights, all my razors were from well known guys on the site, so I just thought either straight razor shaving wasn't for my face or it was overrated and too hard to worry about it. I know from reading this site every day that there is quite a few men on here that experience the same frustration when they try to use their new razors. Is the razor sharp/ how do you tell if it's sharp? It is my fault that it isn't sharp anymore? I didn't strop correctly, did I? Maybe I should hone myself even though several members told me not to yet? Is my prep bad even though I am taking a half hour to do it? These are all questions I was having for an extended period of time and I know I'm not alone in the world for asking those questions. The most important thing I can say is please just keep trying until things click for you, it may take a year or more so some things to click and that's okay!

One of the biggest things that happened lately was that I realized none of my razors were sharp enough. Either they weren't in the first place (sometimes well honed edges for someone else aren't enough for YOUR facial hair) or I messed them up since I was horrible at stropping and handling my shave angles, both can dull a razor. Some of the razors I bought myself in antique shops and tried to hone them. This wasn't a good idea and I thought I did a great job but now I know that I didn't since I've learned more about honing since then. In the past month or two I have been finding that my face needs a very very sharp keen edge a long with a smooth bevel with a very light scratch pattern. My facial hair grows flat on my face, is tough like wire, and I need to make several passes to get a smooth shave, this may improve in a year from now, but that's where I'm at right now. Several passes means a finish on a harsh diamond spray may not be for me, a coticule finish is more my liking (I have yet to try an Escher or natural finisher other than coticules). I also have very pale skin and it's not made of shoe leather so I may show irritation easier than someone else with a different skin type. If your razor is sharp enough then you shouldn't be struggling with 15 passes to get a nice shave on your face. The razor shouldn't tug your face, ever, and if you're not using any pressure it shouldn't hurt. If any of these things are happening then put the razor down and look yourself in the mirror and say this to yourself:

"My razor is dull, it will not shave me the way I thought it would." Then find a solution to the problem. I would recommend sending it to Lynn or another guy on here, don't be a hero yourself. At least wait a while for that. Honing is something you should wait a few months to learn and I wish I waited. Things were complicated enough without trying to buy stones I didn't need yet. You shouldn't need a deep angle during the shave either, if you do something is wrong and you're just scrapping your skin. Knowing when your razor is sharp enough is something you can't just learn over night and it's probably the most important thing I can think of right now.

Another thing I will admit, I was horrible at stropping for about six months or so and I didn't even know it. I kept turning my wrist and everyone here says NEVER turn your wrist. I didn't care though, it didn't seem to hurt and I wasn't cutting the strop. This was wrong and I was probably dulling my razors and not even knowing it. If you're turning your wrist when you strop, keep telling yourself not to, your hand should be face the floor (palm down) at all times and your wrist shouldn't move, only your fingers. I know some of you will say the same thing I've said in the past and think it's not a big deal and you may not even notice any problems with it. Trust me it's bad and you should practice proper technique with your fingers, even if it means taking 10 steps back as far as speed is concerned. Thanks to Bart for helping me out with some tips on his website. Also, some strops may not be the strop for you either. I was using a TM strop made from Latigo with a cotton attachment and I thought since everyone here loves those strops it's automatically the strop for me. The first strop I ever had though was a Filly from Ken at Ruprazor.com. I since threw that one to the side when I got my TM and I ignored it since then. Recently though I have been using my filly and realized I like the draw and the edge it gives to my razors BETTER than the TM and now my TM is sitting there unused except for the cotton side. I am very glad I tried the filly one day after rubbing my palm on it for 60 passes or so until it was heated. That is an amazing strop and I think I may like cowhide better than Latigo or horse hide.

I am very happy that I have found the scything stroke. It has greatly improved my shaves and I recommend it to everyone that is learning to shave. Don't be scared, just make sure your razor is sharp before trying it. I kept trying to shave with the blade in straight strokes and a straight razor simply wasn't designed to cut that way. Every barber instruction manual and video I have seen in the past year has said to use the slicing or scything stroke, it's how the razor cuts hair. Look to the wiki to see what the stroke looks like, it's hard to explain in words but as you stroke downward (WTG for example) you should also be slicing with the razor on a diagonal with the toe of the razor leading the stroke. This is especially valuable when you're trying to shave your neck and it's hallow spots on the sides of the neck. Obviously when you shave you should be stretching your skin as tight as possible and it takes practice to see which directions work best for you so experiment with that. Also please hold back on ATG strokes if you're new to trying a straight razor, it will only make you more frustrated and it's unnecessary during this stage of your learning experience. Also try two hands, try different grips and then put the razor to your face when you feel comfortable. I have a scar on my face because I didn't do that and I just jumped right in with an awkward grip.
Now I know that all the things I am saying are already on the forums is pieces and bits and everyone can find it for themselves. I am writing post today to try to put all of that into one unit and express to new shavers that even when this information is available it can be ignored and taken for granted. It may seen too intimidating to take all of this in and trying things on your own may seen like an easier out, in my time learning this art form I have found that sometimes learning things on your own is great but also a nuisance. I will be talking about honing next time, but for now I think everyone starting out with a straight razor should avoid the disease known as HAD.

Great writeup, Disburden! Definitely some good advice, especially for discouraged beginners. I can tell you that I've taken quite a similar path as well, and it's worth the wait when things just start clicking.

A wonderful read...thanks! I can see myself here...

Hello, Disburden:

Your tale is well told and your advice sound. Thank you for taking the time to elaborate on your experience.

Best of all, you are to be commended for your persistence and patience. You have overcome the problems and now are on a roll. That is a good feeling.

Well done, sir.

Regards,
Obie

Well written, Nick.

I like how you titled your thread "From beginner's struggle to intermediate enlightenment" as opposed to "expert enlightenment". It really shows a humbleness that newbs and veterans alike require to succeed in this hobby. By that I mean that some members may have early success, and within a year or so fancy themselves an expert. But most of us who have been at this for a year or more (1 1/2 for me) will realize that it's a constant learning curve; you're always learning something new to improve your shaves even more. The proof is watching a pro like Chimensch (his recent shaving video, which is great BTW) whose 30 years of experience really shows in all aspects of his regime. I thought my shaves were good 6 months ago, and they're even better now and will probably be better in another 6 months. Now I can't wait until I'm a 30-year man!

It is difficult as a newb trying to dissect the reasons why a shave could be better. Could be an edge that's not sharp enough, bad prep, poor stropping, improper technique, etc. It's the perseverance that you touched upon that is the key, something that will determine whether or not you become a lifer with a straight razor or go crawling back to a M3 or electric or whatever.

Just my 2 cents....

I really think to consider someone an expert at this hobby or art form they'd really have to be at it for a very long time, meaning years. I had no idea when I started this obsession of mine that I would get this INTO it and at the same time struggle with a constant battle of growth and development. I do feel that after some time, which is different for everyone, that there is less battle to the techniques needed to achieve success and then there's just an ever growing series of minor adjustments that become the main focus. To me, that's when I found that I was clicking in a way that meant I climbed over a developmental hurdle. Most of the aspects of using a straight razor, including stropping and then honing became less of me wanting to slam my head against the wall and more of me knowing I need to make adjustments and finding better results.
Recently I have gotten into honing again as I tried to figure out why my razors weren't sharp enough. I was afraid of over honing, as therefore I wasn't honing enough on my Norton combo to actually create an edge good enough to cut hair. I the suddenly saw the flaw in using a pyramid for my needs and that it's more of a tool to train beginners on knowing what the hone can do to your edges. About six months ago I was trying to get into honing also, this was premature and I ruined a lot of edges due to my lack of focus and vision as to what I was actually doing. Now for some reason I am noticing little minor nuances in shaving, stropping, honing more than I was six months ago. It's simply experiences that make your senses more aware of the details. I am now just realizing on a tiny tip of the iceberg level that this is what makes this more special (imo) than say DE shaving, which is more or less the same every time. I also feel that the hurdle from Beginner to intermediate is a lot easier to climb than intermediate into expert or high elder, the challenges are more obvious in the beginning.

Great write up! Thanks for sharing!

Good Stuff, especially for those who are flirting with frustration!!

my biggest worry was ruining a well honed edge with poor stropping . i've since managed to get one reasonable blade into a great razor, also my cheapest buy, so i'm not complaining :0

something there for everyone i recon

ian

Thanks for the good info. Although I have just started shaving with a straight, I know where you're coming from. I roll my wrist when i strop, and i thought it was fine too. My fingers are short so it is hard for me to roll the razor with just my fingers. I will learn from your experience and double my efforts to learn the proper way of stropping.