Thread: Straight razor shave not as close or smooth as shavette?

I have been using a parker shavette using half of a double blade for the last few months to get used to straight razor shaving and make sure i like it before spending the money on a real one. i'm sure most people do this. anyway, just bought a 6/8" standard dovo from straightrazordesigns along with a 3" strop, and a few other odds and ends. I was really looking forward to using a well honed SR.

after a few shaves i'm a bit concerned. for one, it isn't nearly as smooth as i expected nor does it seem to cut quite as closely. as a test I broke out the old parker and a fresh blade. shaved one side of my face with the parker the other with the dovo. while visually there doesn't seem to be much difference, i can definitely FEEL the closer shave of the parker. also, the dovo seems to have a lot more drag, which is probably the worst part. i don't know what else i can do. i feel like my technique isn't that bad and i'm stropping the 60-80 times correctly and my preparation is the same as i have always done with decent results.

one thing i do like is the dovo seems to be much more forgiving on cuts/nicks etc. even if it shaved just as good as the parker i'd be satisfied but i guess i was expecting more.

do you think SRD didn't do as good a job on the honing as they could have? should I ask for a redo?

This a common issue when guys move from the shavette to a traditional SR. The problem isn't with the honing. It's with your technique.

I know you have been using the shavette for awhile and are confident in your technique. However while most of that will transfer to the traditional SR you need to tweak it some.

Try adjusting your angle. That sounds like the biggest issue. You are also going to have to adjust to the length of the blade. Some strokes you learned with the Parker won't woke with traditional SR simple because it is longer and won't fight in the same area.

I'm about three months in now, and just for the last week have I been getting the results I liked. Before that I was going around after, cleaning up with a shavette or DE, thinking I just was never going to get a nice shave, wondering if I'd wasted my money on straights.

It's probably not about the blade itself, but your technique [as Castel33 said]. I found that the normal three-pass plan wasn't working for me, and finally through experimentation discovered some things that worked well, and now I can do a really nice one-pass, with a little detailing, and I'm done. I'm starting to feel that in a couple of weeks I'll be able to shave with a shovel, or the spine side of a Gold Dollar. It was ALL about technique.

The two things that helped me most were developing a nice slice, and learning the right angle to use. A good slicing stroke can do a lot, but using a shavette, I bet you have never done that at all. It takes a while to get enough confidence that you don't feel you're going to open yourself up like you're cleaning a fish, and then a bit longer to where it's natural, and that's when it's a huge step up in efficiency.

As far as angle, there are a couple of places on my chin that just get completely missed, unless I come at them against the grain, but at a very high blade angle. They lie really flat, in the texture of my (oldish) skin, and at a low angle the blade skims right over them like trying to pick up dimes off a tile floor. Violating the low angle against the grain rule caught them and lifted them, and everything fell together almost instantly for me.

So, don't give up.

Another thing you may want to think about, which is something I've noticed as well, the Parker Shavette blade length is a good deal shorter than a real straight blade. You may be having some issues with the longer blade length. I think thats part of my problem with it as well.

I think that Mdarnton has nailed it.

The only thing I would add is that part of the technique is rhythm when it comes to a straight razor. While with a safety razor (or indeed a Shavette) a long, straight, slow stroke may take off a lot of beard, the same is not true for a straight. It takes short, relatively quick, rhythmic scything motions with an angle varying from 30 degrees for with the grain to practically flat against your face for against the grain. And if you've never used a straight, this motion and its rhythm will be part of the learning curve.

If you are sure that your razor is well-honed, give it a good strop and try again. I bet you'll have better and better results--as much as we love to geek out on this, straight-razor shaving isn't rocket science!

"as much as we love to geek out on this, straight-razor shaving isn't rocket science!"
Neither is ice sculpting but you do have to hold the chain saw just right. :<0) I have been using a straight for about 5 months and I skipped the shavette thing and couldn't even tell you how to hold a DE. But I can say what the guys are telling you about a straight is true and some of it you have to learn twice.

OK it's technique. That's fine, I'm willing to work at it, but do ya guys have any specific advice on the technique such as angles etc? I realize it will take practice but can you post some good videos that address specifics? Mdarnton, can you elaborate on this "slice" thing?

Check out "shaving with a straight razor" youtube videos. Heaps of them to watch.

shaving with straight razor - YouTube

Cheers,

Sunbird

I understand that Lynn is great and everything but does the possibility exist that my razor was not honed properly enough? If so is there any way to tell?

Before blaming the honer you need to ask yurself: "Didn't I destroy the edge myself?"
SRD sharpened blades come honed and stropped, ready for use. Did you strop it before using it the first time? If so you may accidentally damaged the cutting edge. This happens a to a lot of beginners. Did you dry the razor properly before putting it back?