Shaving with a few days growth

Hi all,

I have a question regarding shaving with several days growth of my beard.

I used my straight razor for a shave last week and got a lot of pulling and it was pretty painful for my first WTG pass. Now once I was done with the first pass there wasn't anymore discomfort with my XTG or ATG passes.

I was wondering if this is a symptom of my razor needing to be honed or if it is a problem with my technique or something else. Does anyone have any ideas? I did strop my razor prior to shaving and don't experience the same thing with stubble.

Thanks for any helpful ideas!

Stan

The razor is fine if it doesn't pull on XTG or ATG with short hairs, it is the toughness of the beard that is the problem.

I sometimes shave with a weeks worth of growth(dense growth, about 3 or 4 mm long hairs) and I have no trouble with it. You need, however, to soften the whiskers a little more than with a stubble.

Lather up, strop and then relather after a hot shower. That'll soften the beard up.

Make also sure that your lather is very creamy and rub it between the whiskers using a circular motion, that way the lather gets under the whiskers, lifting it ever so slightly(and making the blade glide over the skin) so you can cut them off with ease. :gl:

PS: Shaving a 1 week(or longer) beard off is a real treat. As you can see quick results. You also immediately notice why multiblade razor clog up shaving a beard.

Thanks BrickBag. The end result was great it was just that first pass. I'll make sure to do some extra prep the next time.

Stan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yolki

Hi all,

I have a question regarding shaving with several days growth of my beard.

I used my straight razor for a shave last week and got a lot of pulling and it was pretty painful for my first WTG pass. Now once I was done with the first pass there wasn't anymore discomfort with my XTG or ATG passes.

I was wondering if this is a symptom of my razor needing to be honed or if it is a problem with my technique or something else. Does anyone have any ideas? I did strop my razor prior to shaving and don't experience the same thing with stubble.

Thanks for any helpful ideas!

Stan

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I would say it had to do with the length of your beard. The longer the hair growth the deeper you have to push the lather in so it gets to your skin. With longer hair you could also consider using your fingers to massage the lather further down.
Let the lather sit for about 1-2 minutes (3-4 for dense beard) and then re-lather to get a layer of moist lather back on your face (the waiting time will dry the lather out sometimes).

I find that with longer hair doing shorter almost buffing WTG passes also helps.

Happy Shaving

In my experience with a couple of days growth is I get a better, meaning closer and more comfortable shave. If a razor is not up to snuff it will balk at the longer hairs but if its shave ready it should sail right through them like hot butter.

Sounds like a tough beard. Mine will do the same thing with several days growth but I can grow a beard in a week. I actually think I get a better shave with two days of growth. Possibly because there is enough there for the razor to bite into verses stubble from the previous day. I still shave daily but I will often skip on Saturday and shave Sunday morning. Monday I still have very little to shave. If the old whiskers get to long, I will run a beard trimmer across my face to cut them down to long stubble then take the razor to them.

What you didn't mention:
-Was your razor professionally honed to begin with?
-How much experience do you have with SR shaving and stropping?

These are important questions to ask before trying to answer. IMO, assuming the edge isn't rolled or otherwise damaged, it is a technique issue. Yes, longer growth will provide extra resistance during shaving, and the natural reaction is to add extra pressure which will only provide an uncomfortable shave. A combination of additional beard prep, proper angle and a confident (and appropriate type of) stroke will definitely help.

I will also add that it takes more practice to accomplish this with a full hollow than with a heavier grind, but it is entirely possible to do. I shaved off nearly a weeks growth yesterday with an extra hollow Dubl Duck and had a superb shave. It's just practice and technique, that's all. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

In my experience with a couple of days growth is I get a better, meaning closer and more comfortable shave. If a razor is not up to snuff it will balk at the longer hairs but if its shave ready it should sail right through them like hot butter.

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My experience also.

In addition I spend some extra time on prep and often use a quarter hollow with more than two days growth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hawkeye5

My experience also.

In addition I spend some extra time on prep and often use a quarter hollow with more than two days growth.

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+1! If you make a habit of letting your beard grow a couple few days no and then, you might want to consider picking up a quarter hollow. When ever I go a couple or more days, I always start a new rotation with my Wade & Butcher quarter hollow. Mows that beard down like it's not even there. Barely even makes a sound!

+1 on the Quarter hollow. I also just do one very light pass N-S for the first pass then I soak with a hot towel for about a minute then I do another N-S pass only this time I spend the time to really gitter done!


Later,
Richard

I have never shaved at less than three day intervals even using disposable razors. but if I leave it more than a week I find heavier blades work better.
I have quite tough stubble and have found a 4/8 blade pulls even after only three days growth.
Maybe as suggested the longer the beard the more prep is neccessary

I have the same problem. More than about 2 days worth of growth and the first pass is rather grabby and tuggy. Less than that and I get fantastic shaves. Doesn't seem to matter to me which blade I am using, although it seems that a full hollow is better suited to deal with my beard when long than a wedge is.


Thanks for posting the question, it was something that I have been wondering about but was too lazy to ask myself.

Good prep + good technique and even the flexi full hollow till mow with authority.

But if you've never tried a heavier grind its well worth the effort. At least 1/3 of my rotation is 1/4 grind or heavier. I love them even though I love my flexi hollow. If anything gives me questions about a particular shave, the 1/4 grind is the go-to blade. I also find the taller blade makes it easier in tough growth.

'No disrespect whatsoever to those loving the vocal full or extra hollows. I love mine also, and can use them for any condition, thanks to the help I got here. I just have more enjoyment w/ the heavy grind for now.

A word on technique. Having struggled w/ the same issue, I found the most difficult condition I encountered was with a straight long blade (no smile), flexible hollow, where it engaged the full length of the heavy growth. A couple things helped. Beginning at the sideburn, where the grow is too narrow to load the entire length of the blade, I'd initiate fairly short strokes - sometimes only 1/16 - 1/8". Going south, as the grow widens on the cheek, I would angle the blade vertically so that only a portion of the blade was engaging the heavy growth. This kept issues with flex to a minimum and can be used all the way down & over the jaw line.

Another thing about the blade - you may find blades with a slight smile to be more smooth gliding. The smile can be so minute that a casual glance at the edge would not register the curvature. The 'shaving made easy' pdf that Jimmyhad often recommends, speaks not so directly about the smile, but about the frowning blade. It's unavoidable that if a frown prompts complaints from customers about 'pulling', the smile would be less likely to pull. If you see a heavy grind with a smile, you might want to give it a try. I have premium blades that are heavy w/ varying degrees of smile, but I also found a 5/8 Joseph Allen & Sons non-xxl at an antique show for $15 that stand proud against any blade I've tried.

After a few days growth, its should be Paradise to straight shave. If the razor tugs on the first pass, then its not sharp enough for the job and/or the bevel is getting warn out and the straight razor needs to be rehoned, regardless if the straight razor is a full hollow, 1/2, 1/4, or wedge.

I will assume you are using shorter, partial repeating strokes as you go WTG on the first pass.

Pabster

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yolki

Hi all,

I have a question regarding shaving with several days growth of my beard.

I used my straight razor for a shave last week and got a lot of pulling and it was pretty painful for my first WTG pass. Now once I was done with the first pass there wasn't anymore discomfort with my XTG or ATG passes.

I was wondering if this is a symptom of my razor needing to be honed or if it is a problem with my technique or something else. Does anyone have any ideas? I did strop my razor prior to shaving and don't experience the same thing with stubble.

Thanks for any helpful ideas!

Stan

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Like other's have said, I get a easier shave with longer growth than with stubble. At this stage in the game, it could be a few things. A lot of pulling wtg sound like a dull razor, which could have been dulled by bad stropping and shaving technique.

I also don't think changing the grind of the razor will make that much of a difference. Some difference? Sure, but not enough to make for bad stropping or shaving technique.

Remember that the edge of a straight razor is incredibly fragile. Super light pressure while stropping and shaving is necessary so that you don't damage the fine edge. My guess is that you applied too much pressure either shaving or stropping and rolled the edge.

A few questions:
Where did you get your razor?
Have many shave have you had with it?
How long have you had this problem?

Larry A (owner of whipped dog.com) told me that the shave should be considered as phases of beard reduction. He said that the first pass (especially like in your case of longer hairs) I should pt the spine on my face and let the edge just ride on the top of the hairs, like if it were sliding across the treetops. I know that sounds zen, but he said that in that manner, the edge of the blade is just trimming only the tops, and the edge isn't touching your face at all.

He said basically ou are pushing the hairs downward and you are slicing them at an angle. (This is hard to translate into text)

He said that it should resist a bit but not much.

I think what he was trying to communicate to me (because Im a str8 noob) is that you don't want to try to get all the way down to the skin on the first pass, just get it close to the skin and then try.
I guess its like weed eating the lawn before you get the mower out.

Does this make any sence to any of the users?

Makes perfect sense. I trim my goatee with my straight in exactly that fashion.

I've noticed that with several days growth, the edge of the blade loads with a mixture of lather and whiskers and as it loads, the ability of the blade to slice the whiskers off drops. So, I wipe the blade off frequently. Also, using an up & down motion on the WTG pass helps keep the edge from riding over a thick growth. You can also use it on the ATG pass, as it helps spread lather to lubricate the blade instead of multiple passes..