Thread: ATG not for me

All good advice and you're right. Only 3 weeks in I shouldn't even be trying this. But on my first shave I ignored the advice and shaved my whole face anyway. And yes I paid the price in razor burn. I guess I just want to accelerate the learning process and get those great shaves without irritation and ingrown hairs and bumps that everyone talks about. With my old cartridge I still got ingrowns a couple times a month in the same problem spot on the neck even though I was going WTG. And I will probably try ATG again albeit not ANY time soon!

Now I have to ask and I hope I don't get struck by lightning by asking but, I tried the shave with a brand new, shave ready, Dovo Flowing 6/8 from SRD that I presume was honed by Lynn. I had only shaved with it one time before and that shave was great so I don't think I dulled it. So the question is that should have been "truly" shave ready right? Or is it possible to improve the blade even more?

you are looking in the wrong direction i think. if the razor mows xtg without trouble it probably isn't razor related i would recommend getting better with doing wtg and doing a face map before completely discounting atg. worked wonders for me.

Originally Posted by gunsandbibles

you are looking in the wrong direction i think. if the razor mows xtg without trouble it probably isn't razor related i would recommend getting better with doing wtg and doing a face map before completely discounting atg. worked wonders for me.

What I was wondering is does a brand new razor fresh off the hone do even better after a certain amount of stropping? Is it generally known that after you get a razor fresh from a honing that you still have to strop it so many times before first use, or do you just have to do your regular pre-shave stropping routine because it is shave ready? Maybe I'm thinking of the smoothness vs sharpness thing. I don't know how Lynn finishes the honing i.e. if he just finishes with Naniwa 12K and leave it at that or strop it on a paste or just plain leather etc. Before first use I just stropped it on plain linen 25 times and plain leather 50 times. You see where I'm going? Maybe some people prefer it just off the stone, maybe some people like to strop the heck out of it before shaving. I really don't know because I've never compared the difference. I'm just trying to learn and see what final finish surface the majority of people prefer and maybe how the razors come finished from Lynn. I've read and researched a lot but sometimes it's information overload. Some people go 12K, some go on to diamond pastes, some use CrOx, some just strop the dickens out of it.

Remember I'm only 3 weeks in to shaving so the reason I'm asking is that what I think might be a great and a smooth shave might actually be improved. Right now if I don't cut myself, get razor burn or irritation, and can at least duplicate what my cartridge did, or a little better that's a great shave to me. The results might be subpar for others though. And yes I already know it's probably a lot of my technique and I'm over thinking it. Sorry for the long post. It'd be great to have a shave ready razor just finished off each surface to try but that's not possible for me.

Jetmech

I think the usual recommendation is that you "not" strop a razor that is just back from being freshly honed before the first shave with it. The reason for that is it will allow you to establish a baseline for what sharp feels like. A secondary reason being that it can happen when you are just learning to strop that you can dull the razor with poor stropping technique. Strop before the second shave and if the blade feels duller than when first used you might have a problem with your stropping technique.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Jetmech

I think the usual recommendation is that you "not" strop a razor that is just back from being freshly honed before the first shave with it. The reason for that is it will allow you to establish a baseline for what sharp feels like. A secondary reason being that it can happen when you are just learning to strop that you can dull the razor with poor stropping technique. Strop before the second shave and if the blade feels duller than when first used you might have a problem with your stropping technique.

Bob

Dang! Now I gotta buy another razor!

Generally after a razor has been honed it takes a few shaving/stropping sessions for it to "settle in". It doesn't get sharper per se, but will become smoother. Some guys like the feeling of a blade right off the hones, but I prefer the feeling after it's been stropped a few times.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Generally after a razor has been honed it takes a few shaving/stropping sessions for it to "settle in". It doesn't get sharper per se, but will become smoother. Some guys like the feeling of a blade right off the hones, but I prefer the feeling after it's been stropped a few times.

I agree with Ryan,

this is also why I tend to do double my normal stropping when I am fresh off the hones, 50+/100+ versus 25 to 30/50 to 60.

Originally Posted by Jetmech

Dang! Now I gotta buy another razor!

You really don't need an excuse to by another razor, at least I never did.

Yea, I agree with both Ryan82 and pfries that a blade just may smooth out after honing with a few stropping sessions before shaving. That also makes the assumption that the stropping technique is good. I know from personal experience that a month into straight razor shaving my technique was still not too good which my strop can testify to. Nothing major but I am sure it did not do the edge any good.

Bob