Thread: 4 sided paddle

Originally Posted by matt

My first two shaves have been worse and then more worse. The razor just feels like it sticks to my face. I have a tough beard and I am following all of the steps in Lynn Abrams video. Should I use the pasted strop? And If i do I should start with .5 correct? I think I might go back to the gillette.

NOOOO!!!!

Don't go back to the Gillette, give it a chance, it will all work out.

The strop also has a few small nicks where the first stroke begins, towards the edge of the strop. I was trying to be as careful as possible, apparently i missed. Will this affect the strop or razor in a noticeable way?

It should be O.K. In my opinion you just need to go slow and pay attention, You may have dulled the blade a little, but your strop should bring it back. If not, you may have to get the blade honed, There are allot of people around here that will do that for you. Don't give up yet, Are you trying to shave your whole face? Or just you cheeks.
Phil

Don't touch that Gillette give it time patience grass hopper

I have more hair on my neck and under my jaw then my cheeks so I have been trying to shave the whole face. My beard is very tough though, and the brush that came with the kit is kind of el cheapo. I think I may have been holding the spine too close to my face.

When stropping on the Heirloom paddle, may I follow the technique shown in Lynn Abrams video? The instructions show a diagonal placement of the toe completley off of the razor with the heel following at the top edge. In the DVD, Lynn strops on a paddle that is a little wider, but keeps the heel of the razor in line with the bottom edge of the strop.

Matt

You have probably dulled the razor a little with the normal beginners mistakes using the strop to prepare your razor. The good news is that you have the perfect tool to fix that problem, you just have to get the hang of using it right.

I am not sure exactly what you are describing from Lynn's video. On a paddle you start with the toe off the side and move in a diagonal down the strop. then flip the razor on its spine and again starting with the toe off the strop move in a diagonal up the strop finishing each stroke with the toe on the strop. This is usually referred to as the X-pattern. Start slow and make each stroke even and identical to the last, keeping the blade flat to the strop. When I started out each stroke down then up the strop with the flips took over five seconds, now they are much faster, I didn't even notice the speed up as I still concentrate on consistency and flatness all the time.

I would think that if you give it one more shot and the shave doesn't get any better, you probably need to use one of the pasted sides to bring the edge back. Where to start and how many laps to use? I don't know, the best advice there is probably in your flier from Tony. Just be sure to try different angles with each stroke on your cheeks so you can experience the differing feels and then use whichever pulls the least for you. Even a slightly dull razor will tell what angle is the best.

The skipping you described is contributed to by a less than sharp blade but I have found that it is most often caused by now gripping the razor firmly enough. By firmly I don't mean pressure to your face just a firmer grip with your fingers, this keeps the razor steadier and often stops the skipping completely.


Good Luck
Tim

Be careful of the edge of the paddle while stropping. If you happen to lift the tip and drag the edge of the blade over the edge of the paddle, you can damage the shaving edge.

Look to your shaving technique as well. Adjusting your shaving and cutting angles for the different parts of your face can have a large effect on how easy it is for you to get a good shave.

Blade Angle:


Cutting Angle:


X

I am not sure which side to strop with first. What paste would you recommend using for my razor which is practically new? .5 is what i was thinking but am not sure

0.5µ is a finisher so you'll likely need to start with something coarser. I'll let the paste gurus give you more specific advice.

As for the cutting angle; essentially you lead each stroke with the tip ahead of the heel rather than a straight push with the whole edge moving ahead in perfect unison. Helps when you cut a tomato and it helps when you're shaving too. I also find that the easier cuttin action means I can use less pressure and actually geta safer shave with less nicks.

X

I am assuming the razor was in the kit from Tony - in which case it is almost certainly ready honed - but if it is not, does this not sound like a brand new, unhoned blade?

Experts?