Thread: 3rd Time is Not a Charm

That's a lot going on lol! Well, the preshave oil, I wet my face apply it, lather my soap or cream up, splash my face again, then lather over it. How many pumps or drops are you using? I only do 3 drops or two pumps; you want to just run it over your face, not apply it like a lotion...very very very lite coating. As far as stropping goes, yes there will be some pressure otherwise the blade will just skip around like you found out. I pull my strop taught not as tight as a board, take your finger and lightly push down on the center, if it has some give, but not going concave then that should be good. Next try holding the strop up bring the razor almost to the strop so you can see where your blade is going to sit, then move the strop into the razor and let the strop and razor meet to help set the spine where it needs to be (let the razor conform to the strop instead of the other way around...YMMV, just how I do it). It doesn't have to be fast, but if you are moving at a snails pace then you aren't doing anything...try for this count in your head ( 1 & =down strop, 2 & = up strop) count in your head until you get a natural rhythm you like; doesn't have to be warp speed, I don't go that fast either. You will hear some noise as the spine drags across the strop, but if you are hearing something that sounds like a knife going across a steel like that "shing!" noise, you're digging the blade in to the leather or lifting the blade off during the stroke. As far as the irritation goes, you are still learning the right angles for your face. 30 degrees is just a reference point, if it drags and pulls try lessening the angle, if it won't cut well try increasing, you gotta learn "muscle memory", and that just takes practice. Instead of waiting til you have almost a full beard, try shaving every other day depending on how fast your stubble comes in, and see if that helps. Take small short "strokes" instead of longer ones, don't try to keep the same stroke "length as a DE or disposable" and keep the blade clean after each complete pass down one section, maybe that will help? Oh, and did you hone this razor or was it done professionally? Just a thought that popped in my head, and also never ever touch the edge to anything but your face unless you are testing a bevel during honing...that will kill the edge faster than anything besides banging it on the faucet