Thread: Please Help. Is it me or my razor?

Hi SRP Dudes,
Here's my current situation. I bought this Crown and Sword 1720 from an antique place for $10. I sent it away on SRP Member Services to get honed and shave ready. The guy I sent it to did an awesome job with it, no complaints with that whatsoever. I am getting pretty good shaves with the blade, but I only get decent results when I shave against the grain. I do have a strop, which I am using to the best of my ability. If I strop it two or three times during shaving, then I get decent results ONLY by shaving against the grain.
I understand that this whole thing takes work. I am willing to do that. I am also willing to strop my blade all the time to keep it in check. What I want to know is this. Would I just be better off getting a decent razor from here or elsewhere and start fresh keeping my Crown and Sword as a beater, and one to practice stropping on? or... should I keep shaving with the Crown and Sword against the grain?

I'll look forward to responses. Thanks! - Jim

Is it that you have too much stubble left after your reduction passes and you only get BBS after an ATG pass? If so, I don't think its a problem with the blade or technique, its just how its supposed to be. Maybe I didn't read the post right.

Moved to the correct forum to get the most responses...

This is a rather odd post, as your results are reverse of most people starting out .. Usually the WTG stroke is the easy one and the XTG is next and finally much later if at all the ATG stroke comes together..

My first guess is skin stretching on the WTG stroke whatever you are doing with stretching do the reverse and try that... Of course so much of this is angle angle angle.. I don't think sharpness is an issue since it is cutting ATG and shouldn't be
You might have to adjust the direction of your stroke a bit too since everyone needs to map out their own face and learn the way their beard grows in...

I would wait for others to chime in too because I am not actually the best person for shaving help

It's hard to find a reason not to acquire more razors!

My skin can't handle going ATG but I get smooth, comfortable shaves just going WTG and then XTG. Definitely check out this SRP wiki article about shaving passes, particularly toward the bottom about buffing. If you try the buffing technique then please start cautiously.

In that same article is a nice image of angle recommendations, so make sure when going either XTG or ATG that you're using a more shallow angle than your first pass:

Salazach hit it on the head. There is too much stubble left after the WTG pass, and then when I go ATG a few times, I get the good results. If that's how it should be, I guess I am in good shape.

Originally Posted by JDCAL29

Hi SRP Dudes,
Here's my current situation. I bought this Crown and Sword 1720 from an antique place for $10. I sent it away on SRP Member Services to get honed and shave ready. The guy I sent it to did an awesome job with it, no complaints with that whatsoever. I am getting pretty good shaves with the blade, but I only get decent results when I shave against the grain. I do have a strop, which I am using to the best of my ability. If I strop it two or three times during shaving, then I get decent results ONLY by shaving against the grain.
I understand that this whole thing takes work. I am willing to do that. I am also willing to strop my blade all the time to keep it in check. What I want to know is this. Would I just be better off getting a decent razor from here or elsewhere and start fresh keeping my Crown and Sword as a beater, and one to practice stropping on? or... should I keep shaving with the Crown and Sword against the grain?

I'll look forward to responses. Thanks! - Jim

First off, all of the Crown and Swords that I have come across have been made of good steel and are good shavers. If there would have been any issues with the blade, I'm sure the person you sent it to would have told you.

So that rules out the blade. How many passes on the strop do you take before you start to shave? Mine is 50-60 strokes each side. My normal routine if I am seeking a BBS shave is a hot shower and scrubbing my face well. In my mind the washcloth does a couple of things...raises the whiskers and helps to ensure that all the hairs will be hydrated as much as possible. When I towel off...but not the face. I whip up my lather in a bowl that has been sitting in a sink full of hot water, lather, shave wtg, lather, strop 20x, shave xtg, lather, strop 20x, shave atg. The stropping in between really means a lot.

This is all of course with proper facial contortions & various skin stretching routines that vary with each and every individual. It just takes practice & learning your beard/face and what works for you.

I guess what I am getting at is that a lot of times folks don't realize how important stropping really is...

The WTG pass is fundamentally a beard reduction pass and is not meant to complete the job. Some can get a good shave with an XTG pass, some need to go ATG. For me, it's a matter of what I want from a shave. Sometimes I want a really close shave, and I touch up ATG. Sometimes I'm going to play golf, and I really don't care that much, and I might just do a WTG pass and head to the course. I don't get much criticism from my golf buddies on shave closeness. They love my occasional cuts though.

Thanks again guys. Shooter, you and I both on the 2nd Amendment.

I would also question why you need to strop 3 times during a shave? You shouldn't have to "keep the blade in check" by stropping multiple times. It could be a shaving technique issue; steep angles, pressure and "chop" strokes can all lead to a rapidlly dulling edge, requiring frequent stropping to bring back the edge.

My sense is that you are taking things too literally about pass direction. When you read about the WTG, XTG and ATG passes these 90 degree advancements are given just to give you the idea. They need not, and often should not, be followed exactly.

On some areas of my face, WTG then WTG plus 45 degrees then ATG is best. You have to experiment!

Originally Posted by JDCAL29

... There is too much stubble left after the WTG pass, and then when I go ATG a few times, I get the good results. If that's how it should be, I guess I am in good shape.

Again, I can't prescribe the right strategy for your face from afar without a good chance of giving you bad advice. Nonetheless, I think that after the WTG pass you should not have stubble left. And, if you do, you probably haven't done thorough enough work. If you can't get rid of stubble with the WTG pass, then shave WTG twice. Maybe, shave WTG, then WTG plus 20 degrees; or whatever advancement gives your razor a little more bite into the whiskers.

I think you should do better work on WTG. The rest will do even better. (And, good work on the ATG, by the way!)