Thread: Poor results of straight shaving - very disappointed

It took me about six months to get great shaves. During the learning period I used a DE on all the days I had to look my best and a straight the rest of the time. Now I'm getting bbs anytime I want with a straight. It's worth the steep learning curve.

I posted a similar thread a couple of weeks ago. The advice was helpful to me.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...l-stubble.html

If it makes you feel any better, I took more than twenty SR shaves before I achieved something that was "wearable" without resorting to using my Mach 3 to for a final pass. Even after that I was still touching up with the Mach 3 for about another month.

I'm to the point where I don't need to do that anymore. I still can get better results from the cartridge, but the results from the SR are improving little by little and that gives me encouragement to keep going.

So as a fellow newbie, my advice to you would be keep trying.

My straight shaves still aren't as good as what I can get with a Merkur 34C. They're not only not as good, they take longer and can be more painful. But it took me three weeks to get good results with the DE, and I expect it will take me more time than that to get good results with a straight. I've been shaving with real straights for about three weeks, and I know they're shave ready because I hone and test them. Like you, I may not be "shave ready" yet because I find I'm learning new techniques, approaches, and methods with every shave. I could go back to a DE and get great shaves easier and quicker. Straights are just more fun and more involving.

I have, however, become a true Stypticmeister!

Try looking into your stropping technique. As they say "poor stropping will ruin a shave ready razor."

Originally Posted by ace

I have, however, become a true Stypticmeister!

Congratulations! It's always good to become an expert at something.

Chattersking,
I've been at this straight shaving thing for 2 1/2 months now and I can honestly tell you that I can finally do my cheeks pretty well--once or twice a week, I can kind of do my chin pretty well--I have been finishing up with my DE since I started this learning curve on 12/12/10. What I have noticed is that when I let myself get frustrated abour results--they get worse. When I just enjoy the experience, I seem to get better results. I am slowly and I mean SLOWLY getting better. This does seam to be a skill that takes a great amount of devotion to aquire. When I get really down I read the newbie forum and I realize that I have made progress, albiet slow. Hang in there buddy--give yourself several months and like the previous posts have said, there is no shame in finishing with your regular razor while you're getting better.

Chattersking,
If this was easy, ever guy you know would be doing it. Welcome to this new world. You have been given lots of excellent advice and I join in the encouragement. Time takes time. But you will be very pleased with your results as you continue. Each one of us has our own path to a BBS. The most important thing is to have fun as you travel the road. This is an excellent group if men and they will not heaitate to assist you.

Originally Posted by BanjoTom

Chattersking,
If this was easy, ever guy you know would be doing it.

Of course, keep in mind that a hundred years ago every guy was doing it. That means that it is within the realm of capability of the average Joe.

Hang in there, dude! Although this and other shaving sites have so much information that straight shaving seems just a little less complicated than neurosurgery, familiarity is 95% of it. After awhile you'll figure out the best skin-stretching techniques (for you), the best angle and all that.

For most of the 30 years I've been straight-shaving, I used the same (cheap) razor that I started with, an inexpensive strop and a couple basic hones. Most shaves, not counting the lather prep, are started and done in about five minutes. Smoother than any double edge!

First, hang in there. The availability of simpler solutions is part of your problem. When cartridges reach $18 a box you'll re-think it. Oh, wait, they already cost that much.

Anyway, so it took me years to get things down. That wasn't some big typo . . . it took years.

One problem is getting the razor "set" right. This takes a long time. I don't give a da*m if someone says it's "shave-ready" or not. It takes time to learn how to correct stropping damage and how to correct shaving damage.

One wrong pass shaving at too aggresive an angle can cause havoc on the edge. One bad pass on the strop or the hone and you can kiss that shave-ready edge good bye. The key is taking the time to learn how to make the qualified corrections.

Next, as mentioned, the shaving pressure and angle. So I can agree that the pressure is essentially negligible. So when your shaving your using a light touch, but there is more to just "setting" the angle. I would argue that there is a moment, just before you stroke a straight razor, in which you make these micro little angle adjustments, for those specific hairs.

For me, especially against the grain strokes, require a careful reading of the feedback of the blade before and during the stroke that lets you know you're doing it correctly. If everything is correct it feels like the blade is in a "magic groove" of being in a perfect angle to the whisker. It gets wiped off the face effortlessly. And, I'm going to emphasize that it is completely drag free and effortless. But the razor has to hit that exact sweet spot, the skin has to be supported against the motion of the blade, your fingers must be flexible enough to sense any pulling, and then the hand and brain must suddenly make angle corrections to compensate. All within the seconds that it takes to make a single stroke.

Dude, it's magical when you bring it all together. I beg you not to take this activity and try to make it a chore of removing whiskers, instead treat this like learning to paint a masterpiece or play a complex musical instrument.

This is an art.