Thread: Feather Nightmare

I shaved with my Feather Artist for the first time this morning. I had a lot of trouble with the East to West and West to East stroke. I ended up with about 4 small cuts after my shave. At what speed and length are ideal strokes suppose to be. Also, my chin area gave me fits. I could no seem to get the angle of my blade correct. Any suggestions on technique or just general suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks, Wess

I've never used a Feather, but I'm told they're VERY SHARP, so I would say the smaller the stroke the better. Stretch LOTS and go for a really slick prep and you should be able to minimise your troubles a little that way. I use Lush Ambrosia which I find is great. The Proraso seems to be a favorite here.

X

I'd PM Joe Learch about the Feather, he swears by the thing. Personally I hate it but I'll tell you this. One, practice, a lot, and two, try using negative pressure. That is, don't even let the wieght of the blade rest on your face when shaving. Once the blade has dulled, around the fifth shave then practice using it like a regular straight. You may even want to run the blade through a cork to dull it prematurely before then to save time. Once the bite is removed the learning curve is quicker.

I've never used a feather either but I seem to remember someone here who is very experienced with one saying you need to use very short strokes with it.

Wess,

Check with Joe, but also check with Chris Moss at SMF. He is another proponent of the Feather.

RT

The key to success with a feather is just the lightest touch you can muster. I takes no pressure when using one. With that being said, they are very unforgiving and watch out for scars, pimples, square chins, bad angles and such. Good luck. Lynn

I just inserted a new blade into my Feather today and used NO pressure at all and got a close shave. I cannot stress enough to use NO PRESSURE. I have to always keep that in mind when switching from a conventional. I use the pro blades and could not even imagine upgrading to the super pro blades. IMO, they are not necessary. I actually couldn't get the new blade to pass the HHT - can you believe that? I guess a fine hair like mine will never be able to be cut that way.

-Rob

I dont believe short or long strokes make a difference the razor doesnt know the difference...blades do! classic shaving sells a japanese blade that is far superior to anything on the market that being said...the biggest problem with a feather is the blade... a machined blade while able to produce a close shave does not shave as close as a str8 properly honed in my opinion...my face feels uncomfortable afterwards and I get a 5 pm stubble that I dont get with a str8...just another opinion

I haven't shaved with one but from what I've read, many folks say that because the blade is so sharp, it takes a couple of shaves before it dulls a bit and then the quality of the shave improves.