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From shavette to SR

Hello!
I recently got by my Gleisen and Forsthoff 5/8 SR honed from Maggardrazors.com.

My issue is that I CANNOT get a good shave with this thing. I've been wet shaving for over three years now and have no problems with shavettes or DE razors, but admittedly this is my first "shave-ready" SR.

I use a high quality tallow soap, take a nice hot shower, etc. I still can't figure out what is up.
Is it possible my choice of razor is just poor quality, or does the skin take time to get used to SR shaving?

Thanks for any help in advance.
 
Sorry to hear that you are having a hard time with your new SR. I too started with a DE followed by a feather ss shavette. I think it definitely helped a lot with certain aspects of shaving with the SR. The biggest thing that needed to be adjusted for me was the blade angle and REALLY stretching the skin.

Also make sure your blade is sharp by very gently placing the blade edge on a grape tomato to see if cuts through like a hot knife through butter. Try this across the whole length of the blade and make sure you get the same results.

At the end of the day it's going to take a bunch more shaves before you see any kind of major improvements but it will be worth it in the end!
 
I don't have any experience with their honing, but Maggard seems to be pretty well regarded. My guess would be that the blade is or was good. Did you strop before you shaved? Some times you can roll the edge which would cause discomfort. You could try the arm hair test or hanging hair test to check the sharpness as well. It's probably easier to just check a video out than me trying to explain them. Another thing could be your lather. Straights seem to work better with a wetter lather than you would normally have for DE shaving.

My tips would be to take your time and watch your lather. Keep the angle close to your face. Maybe only lift it about the equivalent of the spine's width from your skin. And stretch the skin with your other hand in the opposite direction of your blade movement. I am assuming you have a strop, so make sure your are stropping inbetween each use. If you aren't shaving everyday, take smaller strokes on your face. And barely any pressure at all.
 
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