Why so quiet?

**FacialDirt** · 08-12-2011, 06:57 AM

I'm a newb.. First shave with my Original Athlete 6/8, half hollow went well with a bunch of nicks and a bit of blood

However, my first strop, "El Toro," as seen below already has a few nicks of its own. I have read the Wiki on stropping, gotten advice about it and watched many videos regarding the art.. Yet I still suck at it

The strop feels almost like its made out of suede. When i strop the way I have read I'm supposed to, it doesn't make that cool, official "whoosh" sound everyone else's tends to.

1) Will it mess up my edge to strop over the nicks that are parallel to my edge?
2) How can I tell when the edge is ready? I don't exactly know what "shave-ready" feels like. Only had a shave ready edge when I got it from one of the pros on our Classified section.
3) Its not only little nicks I'm left with. Some are inch long slices.. I need more practice with the proper angles. Any practice tips other than using my own face?
4) What angles am I using that produce these nasty bleeders? Too high? Too low?
5) Anyone live in central NJ that I could visit to learn from?

Thanks to all, in advance, for your help. -Dan

**FacialDirt** · 08-12-2011, 07:03 AM

A pic of 4 hrs after todays shave...
Some scars from 4 days ago. Thank God for skyptic pencils and Alum blocks, although they sting like the devil himself haha.

**FacialDirt** · 08-12-2011, 07:16 AM

Also.. After stropping, the bevel was only super-shiny on part of it (maybe 2/3 of the bevel stropped). Don't know how to revise my stropping technique. I only have one str8. Is it worth getting a second to keep for practicing?

**PhatMan** · 08-12-2011, 08:19 AM

FacialDirt,

You can use the back of the strop to practice on; this will save the working surface.

WRT nicks on the strop, you can use 600 'grit' silcon carbide paper either flat, or wrapped around a pencil to gently sand down the nicks.

Please have a peek at this Wiki article on strops for some tips & wrinkles : Strop treatment and repair - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Please have a peek at these video tutorials on stropping; they are first rate

straight razor stropping - YouTube

**ace** · 08-12-2011, 10:53 AM

If your angle is too low and your pressure too light (unlikely), you may not shave well, but you certainly won't get cuts like in your photo. Normally, you can only get cuts like that if your angle is too high and you accompany that
with too much pressure. The rash on your neck is almost certainly pressure-related. If you have doubts about the sharpness of your blade, don't make your face pay for it by adding pressure. If you have to add pressure and increase the angle to cut whiskers, send the razor off to be honed. That is where a second razor comes in handy.

**coachschaller** · 08-12-2011, 11:05 AM

+1 on what Ace said. The irritation on the neck could also be from too many passes as well. Oh, the pictures really help. Good on ya

**ace** · 08-12-2011, 11:27 AM

When the razor goes into your skin, two things have to be true. First, you held the razor at an angle where it could cut into the skin instead of sliding across it as it should do. Second, you had to be applying enough pressure to enable the razor to cut into the skin. It should take very little pressure to cut whiskers. Apply more pressure than necessary to cut whiskers, and do it at too vertical an angle, and, well, you know the rest.

**FacialDirt** · 08-12-2011, 01:28 PM

That makes really good sense. I appreciate all of your comments. I'll try practicing stropping a butter knife a bit then stropping my blade for a while (maybe 60 strokes to fix any bad stropping before).
I have been using a rediculous angle, come to think of it. I'll try a more acute angle to my face and see what results I get. In a few days, I'll re-post. Thanks again to all of you and any other advice you think of I'll surely heed. Later fellas.
-Dan

**coachschaller** · 08-12-2011, 01:34 PM

On the angle, what works for me is WTG 1 spine width away from face, All others passes have the spine ON my face.

**rodb** · 08-12-2011, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by coachschaller

On the angle, what works for me is WTG 1 spine width away from face, All others passes have the spine ON my face.

What he said, plus as everyone else said, watch the pressure. Also if your razor is a spike point, be especially careful with that, if you lift the heel and not the toe, you'll get scratches like that, especially with to much pressure.

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