Thread: quick one

just a quick question

when the straight pulls how do you know if its you or the sharpness of straight??

Strop the razor 50-60 strokes and then shave with a more upright angle (less than 30 degrees). If it cuts well, it's you..........lol.

Have fun,

Lynn

Out of curiosity, was your razor pro-honed? How much experience with stropping and straight shaving do you have?

If the razor was pro-honed, chances are if it is not shaving well it is you. Similarily, if your stropping isn't up to par even a honemeister's edge will not be sufficient as you could have rolled the edge. This is why I don't envy newbies, because you can only learn this stuff by experience and feel.

That being said, usually when a razor starts to pull or is causing irritation and uncomfortable shaves it is no longer optimally sharp.

This is also why, when I received my first "shave ready" razor, I did not strop it until after at least my first shave. And even then I was very careful with my stropping not to roll the edge on the strop.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Out of curiosity, was your razor pro-honed? How much experience with stropping and straight shaving do you have?

If the razor was pro-honed, chances are if it is not shaving well it is you. Similarily, if your stropping isn't up to par even a honemeister's edge will not be sufficient as you could have rolled the edge. This is why I don't envy newbies, because you can only learn this stuff by experience and feel.

That being said, usually when a razor starts to pull or is causing irritation and uncomfortable shaves it is no longer optimally sharp.

Originally Posted by jeffegg2

This is also why, when I received my first "shave ready" razor, I did not strop it until after at least my first shave. And even then I was very careful with my stropping not to roll the edge on the strop.

Sounds like a wise approach. Although it is not thoroughly effective, slow and deliberate stropping is better than fast sloppy stropping. Cuts down on the chances of a rolled edge, too.

Originally Posted by j1mmyman

just a quick question

when the straight pulls how do you know if its you or the sharpness of straight??

Make sure that you have a razor that is properly honed, but make sure that you try not to pass over your skin at an angle over 25-30 degrees. You will be scraping your skin then, and you won't really be "smoothly" cutting the hairs off as much as you would be "forcing" the hair under your blade; popping the hairs of roughly is a good way to get razor burn.

Also, make sure that the blade is touching your skin and not slighly above, as that can cause pulling. Your straight razor will work the best when touching the skin. While one should shave using the weight of the razor and minimum pressure, enough should be applied to keep the razor on your face while cutting off thicker or dense hair. I have a coarse beard, and I used to have the same problem. It's all in the technique.