Thread: Am I being unrealistic?

Once I find myself with a freshly honed razor, I'm going to use that process and see how it goes.

To "Am I unrealistic?" I would say absolutely not. I would bet there will not be many that will agree with me but, here goes.

I hone to get a keen and smooth straight as quickly as possible with the least amount of effort. I am like you in that I have a beard that kills a DE in about 3 shaves. My beard even with a killer prep is just brutal to shave and until I finally gave up and went for the sharpest and smoothest edge possible I was not satisfied. I just got tired of shave that almost painful in certain areas. With the following I can get shaves that almost feel like I am shaving with a DE and when I add some techniques I get far better shaves than a DE could ever think of. I can use an Alum block and not pick up one hot spot.

It really depends on what you want for keenness, your style of shaving, your honing ability, and what you have for a razor. As already mentioned up you must have a proper bevel set. If you are going to go over the top you are going to have to make sure that it is as close to perfect as you can get it.

Next you are going to have to decide how you are going to hone it. Are you going to use a progression up to......what point do you want? Some say 30K, some say you can do it off a Coticule. For me, I have converted to a J-Nat with Naguras to get to a very keen smooth edge......but I personally don't stop there. I then go to a hard felt with 0.1 CBN on it for about 10 laps and then finally strop 100 laps, and then I shave. I use CBN every time I start a shave for about the first 3 shaves then I find that the keenness is where I want it and then I can go about a week before hitting the felt again. I can keep a blade going for almost a month before going to the stones and starting about in the middle of the progression. Sounds like a lot of work but if you have three razors that amounts to 3 months of shaves and quite frankly I like honing enough that sometimes I do some touch ups that may not be warranted.

I have tried Shaptons, Coticules, and diamond films but I have landed with what I do now for almost a year. It will all depend on what you want to shave with. If a razor is to keen you might find that you are cutting yourself. If you use scything a lot you might not like such a keen blade.

Concerning pastes. Me, personally, I hate diamond edges. They are extremely keen but they offer up a very "toothy" edge that easily cuts if you do any scything and are just harsh even going down to 0.1 micron. I have never had much luck with Chromium edges but then I have not spent a lot of time with them either. I love CBN (Carbon Boron Nitrate). I find the edges keen, smooth and very forgiving given the amount of keenness that is being wielded on any given edge. Your technique must be be pretty good along with a soft touch.

Enjoy the ride and you will find that in the end you can end up where you want to be. As far as the "shave" goes it is possible to have great skin and fantastic shaves that, quite frankly, gives one a whole new perspective on what is possible when you start the day with such a kick ass shave! Simply astounding!

Sorry about the long post,

Take Care,
Richard

Richard: All that is way above me current pay grade...though I aspire to one day reach that level.

Regularjoe: I'm not shaving dry. I wet my face while I'm prepping my lather and my razor. I re-wet it frequently with hot water. Before I apply my lather I splash again with hot water and then lather up.

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

I haven't had success with softening my beard. My shaves are typically more comfortable without pre-shave oils or conditioner. I also can't shave right after a shower. Post-shower or beard-prepped shaves give me ingrown hairs, pimples and razor burn. Does that mean something?

Don't use conditioner or oils just wash your face with soap in the shower.

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

I feel like my beard requires a little more pressure to get through. It's so thick and coarse it gets stuck in the fibers of my shirt collars and actually starts to pull threads and pill the fabric after a while. I've had to throw away dress shirts because my stubble wore out the neck. The individual hairs on my face are larger in circumference to the naked eye than the ones on my head. But, I've got a nice, sharpened and stropped blade waiting for me at home, and we'll see how it goes with a concerted effort at less pressure. Well, even less that I've been using.

Here's what I _think_ "shave-ready_ means:

. . . the edge is sharp enough to fit between the scales of keratin that cover a beard hair, and get stuck,
. . . and cut the hair off.

If that's right, you should need _no pressure_ to cut a beard hair, even if it's tough. The razor should catch on the hair, and "pop" the end off.

You _will_ feel resistance. Just move the blade forward, without pressing it into your skin.

[That's why I like to test edges by running them 1/8" above the skin. It checks whether the edge does what it needs to do for a good shave.]

Charles

I'm politely walking away from the thread now. I don't think I've helped any here. Good luck! You'll figure it out. Just keep in mind that there are many variables, and it might just take a lot of experimentation to figure it out. I still think it's a "technique" issue more than a "my beard eats steel and my skin is allergic to it" issue. But, I've been wrong before. Best advice I got left is to scour youtube for member shaving vids, then vid yourself, and compare. When everything matches....I bet you get a good shave, your beard stops eating steel, and you stop having all the skin issues too.

Originally Posted by regularjoe

I'm politely walking away from the thread now. I don't think I've helped any here. Good luck! You'll figure it out. Just keep in mind that there are many variables, and it might just take a lot of experimentation to figure it out. I still think it's a "technique" issue more than a "my beard eats steel and my skin is allergic to it" issue. But, I've been wrong before. Best advice I got left is to scour youtube for member shaving vids, then vid yourself, and compare. When everything matches....I bet you get a good shave, your beard stops eating steel, and you stop having all the skin issues too.

Actually I think you've helped a bit. I like your prep routine and I hope to try it. And you're right, it probably is a technique issue...I've watched a lot of videos and I think I've learned about technique from them. I think what's most likely is that I damaged or rolled the blade a while ago and it's starting to catch up with me now. My technique has improved in leaps and bounds in the past 10 days or so (IMO), but I think by that point the blade was too far gone.

I still can't deny the fact that I have exceptionally coarse facial hair with some pretty sensitive skin, which complicates things for me.

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

I haven't had success with softening my beard. My shaves are typically more comfortable without pre-shave oils or conditioner. I also can't shave right after a shower. Post-shower or beard-prepped shaves give me ingrown hairs, pimples and razor burn. Does that mean something?

Use soap first, in a shower or regular beard-prep. Remove oils (waterproofing). Soak as long as needed to soften. Shaving lathers can improve pH balance to facilitate softening of the hairs. Get edge re-done. Diagnosis and honing already offered. You need to experience a blade that will produce a tiny, painless line-cut on your face if you let go of skin stretching and have the skin whip back into place, with a little jostle that is parallel to the blade that produces a superficial cut. That level of sharpness will reveal the true power of open razor shaving. But you also have to strop it well enough to preserve that level of fineness. Good luck!

I'm a little stunned and awed by the generosity to help a overly-paniced newbie, but it's fantastic. I thought I was going to have to shelve my straight, but I'll have it sorted out in no time. Hopefully, with some effective facial cleansing before my shave I can get this worked out and back on track.

Thanks all!

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

Ok. I'll bring the stropping down a notch. I feel like I've been doing well with the pressure, but obviously I need to improve that some more.

I feel like my beard requires a little more pressure to get through. It's so thick and coarse it gets stuck in the fibers of my shirt collars and actually starts to pull threads and pill the fabric after a while. I've had to throw away dress shirts because my stubble wore out the neck. The individual hairs on my face are larger in circumference to the naked eye than the ones on my head. But, I've got a nice, sharpened and stropped blade waiting for me at home, and we'll see how it goes with a concerted effort at less pressure. Well, even less that I've been using.

I'm kind of late to the party here...some good ideas have been given and some good alternatives have been shared. FWIW I want to add a few thoughts...

My beard is like yours. I usually have to retire shirts because the neck gets thrashed...T-shirts, sweatshirts, dress shirts, even a jacket once. Trash cartridges in just a few shaves, DE blades fade just as quick (but shave better), and stupid, stupid, stupidly sensitive skin.

I don't adhere to the common beard prep that's advocated because it also tends to soften the skin and make it more sensitive. As a result I go for the cold or at least cool shave method. It eliminates the vast majority of ingrown hair problems I encountered.

With that beard and skin combo I still don't use more than the weight of the blade to shave and my blade longevity has extended to about 25shaves before beginning to pull. About 25 shaves depending on the steel, but my American steel blades (a Geneva Genco, a Bradford PA Genco, and a Delaware Rooter) are the ones that last the longest.

If I were you I'd take Davis up on his offer...and FWIW I strop 30 Canvas 50 Leather before each shave, and just wipe dry after.

Peace,
Jim