Thread: First Shave - Blade pulling

My gear arrived in the post last night.
Had my very first shave with the straight this morning.

I am not sure either the blade wasnt honed properly (it was supposed to come shave ready) or I messed up the edge stropping it or I got the angles completely wrong as the shave was quite painful. I didnt cut myself but it pulled quite badly and my face has been stinging since.

How should shaving with a straight compare to a normal gillette mach blade in terms of pulling of the beard?

There are a lot of factors there.

First did you shave your whole face or only the cheeks and sideburns?

Second is you said this was your first shave. So how was your prep? Have you been using a brush and soap/ cream or are you using something from a can like Barbasol.

Third as this was your first shave with a straight it is very Likely that your angle of attack was not the best and the amount of pressure on the blade was to much. Both could lead to pulling. If this it your problem shaves will get better in time as both take time to get right.

Fourth you said that you stropped the blade before you used it. Typically when you buy a shave ready blade you are told to not strop it as it is possible to ruin the edge with bad stropping. However if the blade was removing hair and wasn't pulling everywhere on your face you most likely did not damage the shaving edge.

Thanks for the rely.

I showered first and used a brush and soap.
I shaved just the cheeks and sideburns, didnt want to be too ambitious. (also was hurting too much )

Prob the angle of the blade + use of pressure, if prep was good...

Also skin tension. I've found this to be one of the most important of the many skills to master. Not only does it make shaving easier, it will greatly reduce the number of cuts/nicks. Take your time - they tell us it takes about 100 shaves to be good at it, but you will also see a dramatic change every 25 shaves if you keep at it.
It's a skill worth learning, but it is a skill that takes a little time.
You are in the right place for help, and among friends...

take care and good shaving...

What brand of razor is it ????

There was a time not long ago that this didn't used to be my first question, but there are quite a few places selling some rather questionable razors, so nowdays it is the first thing I ask...

It would help a lot if you let us know what razor it is and where you got it. It may not be shave ready

Originally Posted by GiantGonads

My gear arrived in the post last night.
Had my very first shave with the straight this morning.

I am not sure either the blade wasnt honed properly (it was supposed to come shave ready) or I messed up the edge stropping it or I got the angles completely wrong as the shave was quite painful. I didnt cut myself but it pulled quite badly and my face has been stinging since.

How should shaving with a straight compare to a normal gillette mach blade in terms of pulling of the beard?

Stropping cleans any debris on your razor from soap residue, metal fragments if you just honed it, etc., so your face gets a smooth, clean edge. You didn't mess up the blade by stropping.

The beauty of straight razor shaving is achieving the best shaves attainable, but to do it you must master many variables. I liken it to playing football without a facebar on your helmet. If you use a double edge razor, the safety bar ensures the proper distance between the blade and your face. With a straight razor, there is no facebar. It's you, the blade, and you have to take care of everything in between.

When you start you have to concentrate on what you're doing so much that you distract yourself. Over time, you develop an instinct for what you're doing and the hands just magically make all the right decisions while you stand there holding the razor.

It's possible the razor was not properly honed, but it probably is and you don't have a feel for it yet. Give it some time.

One thing you might do is purchase a second razor and see if it shaves better. I admit I did this. Look at the Classifieds section and see what you can find for, say, $50-$75 on a vintage razor that is in good working condition.

All of this will come together eventually. In the meantime, enjoy the ride and you will be rewarded.

Originally Posted by GiantGonads

My gear arrived in the post last night.
Had my very first shave with the straight this morning.

I am not sure either the blade wasnt honed properly (it was supposed to come shave ready) or I messed up the edge stropping it or I got the angles completely wrong as the shave was quite painful. I didnt cut myself but it pulled quite badly and my face has been stinging since.

How should shaving with a straight compare to a normal gillette mach blade in terms of pulling of the beard?

Wow, sounds like my first shave. Well, I had some blood.

You can't have a user name like that, then complain that shaving hurts.