Thread: So I tried a safety razor

Tried again today and paid a lot of attention to angle and pressure. Result: hamburger. I think I am going to stick with the straight until I heal. Still not sure why I am having such problems. It makes me want to master the thing that much more but my face can't take it. I think I'll try again in a week or so.

I'm going in the opposite direction, safety to straight. One of the reasons is that I've heard how gentle straights can be, and though I'm only on shave #5, I get that. I think it's because the straight encourages me to be much more gentle and light-handed.

On the safety, when I don't think things are happening, I start scrubbing, and that's when trouble happens. It seems that I just can't resist scrubbing, too, where my straight would put a stop to that real fast. You can plane a lot of face off with a safety, and not realize it until after you've cleaned up, because it's thin layers and they don't have to bleed to hurt later. With a straight, the alternative is a bloodbath, not later discomfort.

The straight just seems easier to me. Once I have the correct angle, I just shave using the weight of the blade. I seldom cut myself but do get occasional nicks that go away with a cold water rinse. With the safety razor I seem to cut myself before I even realize I've done it and my neck is just generally a disaster. Maybe it just isn't for me.

I have the iKon that Jimmy is talking about. I use the open comb side first and then clean up with the bar side. I find that if I hold the razor straight up and down and then cant the handle back just a little and let the razor do the cutting, that it is a great little shaver. Don't know if you are keeping your chin up the same as with the straight to keep the neck area stretched, but that and just guiding the razor letting it do the cutting may work out for you.

Good luck.

Wow, I can't get my head around a DE being harder to shave with than a straight. If you do everything that gets you a good shave with a straight such as a good prep, great lather and stretching you should get a similar result. That just leaves faulty technique in using a DE and that is usually wrong angle and too much weight. Yea, let your face heal up and then try again. For me there is not much difference in angle from straight to DE and just the weight of the Fat Boy with a good blade really does a slick job WTG, no pressure at all. Let us know how you make out.

Bob

If it's only the neck that is the problem (rather than upper lip and chin) then it's just skin stretching and/or angle along with pressure of course.

If you can master that with a straight it is odd that it's a problem with a DE.

Any chance something is out of spec?
Maybe a bit too much blade exposed?

I know on my DE that across the grain, under my chin and jaw would dot up with blood every time. It was like I trimmed the cap off every hair follicle.

Now that I'm using a straight, I don't have that issue.

I also had some nasty shaves when I started using a DE, after shaving with a straight razor for a while.

I think a sharp DE blade (Feather or Astra) is sharper than most straight razor blades. And the amount of pressure you use on straight razor is simply too much for a DE. The DE blade bites through the lubricating layer of lather, and starts to scrape skin.

So my suggestion is the same as what people told me:

. . . Use _no pressure_ on the DE razor!

And, if you`re trying to do XTG or ATG strokes, _stop_. Just do WTG strokes, until you can do a WTG shave in complete comfort.

The DE learning curve is shorter than the straight-razor learning curve -- but there _is_ a learning curve.

. Charles

PS -- my story is here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...e-shaving.html

what blade is in it,i got derby blades with my shavette and i nearly threw the thing in the bin after the first shave my neck was red and sore.i decided to get some gillette 7 oclock and astra blades and it was totaly different.i could not believe the difference different blades make.i have not tried the feathers but was warned that as good as they are they loose there edge virtually instantly and the outcome can be nasty lol,so count the amount of shaves then bin them,iirc he said 6 shaves
i still prefer the straight,although i take the shavette when traveling

I'm using feather blades. I shaved this morning with a straight which was a relief. once I'm fully healed I will try the IKON again.