A Newbie's Questions

[FilthyFuzion]

Hey Ya'll!

I just took the bold leap and straight razored for the first time today. I must say, while the experience itself wasn't the as relaxing and smooth as I'd imagined, the results were pretty dang good... well, kinda. I've done lots of research and bought all the necessary materials, but here's some questions from a newbie with a few nicks on his face.

1. I use a shaving soap (Smolder by the Blades Grim if you're interested). When using the shaving soap, I found the soap a little tough to manage since with was more of a tough wax rather than a smooth, more liquid consistency. So I had to scoop a chunk of soap out with my finger and try to get it to stay put while I lathered it onto my brush. To whomever uses a soap, do you use a bowl? Or do you try to smear the soap on the bristles before lathering? What's your technique for having the soap cooperate while preparing the brush? My soap was kinda just flinging everywhere.

2. Here it is. The first point of contact. With the first glide of my razor, I expected a nice, clean stroke, with no resistance, and the hair would basically disappear off my skin after a stroke. That was not at all the case I started down my cheek (with the grain) and the blade was catching and tugging my hair pretty badly. The hair I was shaving was sort of longer stubble, but not a thick, densely hairy area at all. It would shave, but I felt a decent amount of resistance.

"Okay, it might be I'm cutting at too deep an angle, let's bring it back a bit."
​

Same result. Still kinda tugging and pulling. It wasn't entirely un-smooth, but it was no where near as smooth as I'd imagined. Was I ignorant thinking it was going to glide much easier? Should I have applied more pressure? Is my blade not properly honed or stroped? I purchased a Northcutt Golden Horn and properly stroped it for a good amount of time first using a coarse side, then the leather side of my strop. The razor seemed straight and very sharp. What are your thoughts? Did anything you do make the shave itself more smooth and easier to glide the razor?

3. I have a goatie with a beard. Not sure of the proper name of it. But under my lips, there's 3 narrow columns of hair:

LOOK AT THEM NICKS! This was the most difficult spot to shave by far. The blade itself seemed too long so I kinda had to maneuver and situate the blade so it wouldn't cut off one of the columns. As you can see, that failed haha. While I did eventually get it trimmed down, it doesn't look as clean and sharp as I'd hoped. What are your suggestions for a tighter spot like this where the margin of error is smaller than a whole cheek? Should I try out a safety razor instead?
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In the end, my cheeks and that spot I showed you were definitely less 5-o-clock-shadowy and smoother than my shaves in the past, but the experience wasn't as pleasant and smooth as I hoped for. I'M NOT QUITTING THOUGH!

Thanks for all the help, everyone! I appreciate it.

 

[seattleshaver]

Your's is a common situation and the most common issues are blade angle and blade not really being honed or not being honed well enough.

You have a beard some you don't have to do a lot of shaving in the "hard" areas. If you can smoothly shave the flat areas (cheeks) then the blade is sharp. If you can't do that it's not.

Keep the blade, no on but close, to your skin (maybe 30 degree angle). Stretch you skin.

Regarding soap, if it's waxy, add a few drops of water until it's not waxy. You can lather in a bowl, on your face, out of the soap container. Whatever works.

 

[GearNoir]

Good points by @seattleshaver.

I’ll add in my two cents:

1) While you are preparing for the shave (shower, face wash, or whatever it may be) put a few drops of water on your soap and let your brush soak a bit if it’s natural hair. Once your prep is done, shake out your brush so it’s just slightly wet then rub it over your soap in circular motions for about 15-20 seconds to load the brush. From there it’s your preference on face lathering (which is what I do, though I don’t have a beard) or bowl lathering. Add water in by drops until you have the desired consistency.

2) I don’t know if you DE shave? But expect SR shaving to feel weird for a bit, a naked blade gliding across the skin takes a bit of getting used to. More than likely though, as mentioned, the blade was not entirely shave ready. Unfortunately few blades are if they come from bigger companies. You may need to have a reputable honemeister check it for you. The edge should cut fairly easily with a light touch. As for stropping, it’s just something you have to learn to do properly - firm grip on the handle end, other end secured to a stationary object, keep the leather taught so it remains a flat surface in the air (I hold mine about on level with the top of my stomach), nice easy back and forth strokes with the spine of the razor leading (never let the edge of the razor touch the strop unless the spine is already also touching the strop, when reversing direction of the stroke, roll the razor on its spine and try to do it without picking the spine up off of the strop; do a set of back and forth strokes at least 30 times after and before each shave. Check the edge by sighting down it when finished to make sure it hasn’t warped or rolled, it should be (hopefully) truly straight.

3) You beard style is just something you going to have to learn to shave around. It’ll take practice. I’d use a DE for now when in a hurry, and the SR only when you can take your time. It’s doable though,with either!

Congrats on surviving thus far! There’s going to be mishaps along the way, but it’s a fun journey. Stick with it!

 

[RayClem]

First, congratulations on surviving your first straight razor shave. It can be an intimidating experience.

I had a couple of thoughts based on your original post.

1. The Blades Grim Smolder soap. I have not used the soap and I have only seen a few lather reviews. It is my understanding that it is a slick soap, but from the lather videos i have seen with this soap, I suspect it is more suitable for shaving with a DE razor than a straight razor. The lather does not seem to have the consistency of some of the better tallow based soaps (Barrister and Mann, Oleo Soapworks (duck fat), Wholly Kaw (donkey milk), WSP, Chisseled Face, and others that I have not yet tried, but hope to have in my den some day. When you have a naked steel edge against your face, you need all the cushion you can get.

Shaving soaps come in a variety of consistencies. Some are triple milled and are quite hard. With those soaps, you might even want to "bloom" the soap by putting a teaspoon of hot water on the puck for a few minutes before you load the brush. Other soaps are softer and can be loaded without blooming. From the lather videos I have seen on Smolder, I think you can load directly from the tin without blooming. Then there are soaps that are so soft that if you try to load directly from the tub, you will load too much soap. In that instance, it is better to scrape off some soap with your finger or other tool. I find that the sample spoons from the ice cream store are perfect for this purpose.

When lathering, add water slowly... a few drops at at time and swirl until it is mixed. Keep adding water until the lather starts to get to a consistency like yogurt. At that point it usually has the best slickness, glide, and cushion. If you add too much water and the lather becomes thin, you will lose the cushion effect.

2. The razor- I have never heard of the razor you purchased. I see that the description of the razor on the web sites indicates that it is "shave ready" but since your description of the shave indicates significant tugging, either one of two things is true: 1. The razor may not have been truly shave ready. That would not surprise me in the least. The term "shave ready" is tossed about rather loosely by some vendors.
2. The razor may have been shave ready, but you may have rolled the edge when you stropped it. That is not at all unusual for a newcomer to straight. Learning how to strop is just as important as learning how to shave. Normally, experienced shavers recommend that newcomers try shaving with a new razor before stropping it. That way you will know whether the issue is with the honing, or with your stropping technique.

No matter which of the two reasons is true, the blade appears to be in a condition where it is not shave ready and needs to be honed by someone who know what they are doing.

When you are learning to strop, practice using a butter knife until you learn how to flip the blade and make smooth strokes. Always keep the spine of the razor on the leather at all times. There are some excellent stropping videos available.

3. The shave- I recommend that newcomers start out shaving their cheeks only and shaving with the grain. Then as you build confidence, you can move to the more difficult places on your face. If there are any areas you do not feel comfortable doing with the straight razor, finish off with a DE razor. When you can shave your entire face with the grain, then try across the grain and against the grain.

If you expect to remove all your facial hair in one pass, your have unreasonable expectations. The goal of shaving is beard reduction, not beard removal. Most experienced shavers make three passes and some might even do a fourth. Do not try to shave off the hair; only try to shave the lather off your face. The hair will be removed along with the lather.

Generally, when shaving with the grain, the razor should be held at an angle no greater than 30 degrees relative to your face. When you shave across the grain, the angle will be even less, perhaps around 20 degrees. When shaving against the grain, the angle might be only 15 degrees with the spine of the razor barely off the skin.

What ever you do, do NOT apply pressure to remove hair from your face. You need to apply enough pressure to control the blade, but no more. Some people say you should let the weight of the blade do the work; while that is not exactly correct, it conveys the idea of minimal pressure. If you apply pressure, you WILL get nicks, cuts and weepers.

Since you have a "soul patch" on your chin, shaving that area with a straight razor is going to be difficult. I would suggest you use a DE razor for that area until you develop your shaving skills on the less difficult areas. Once you are comfortable with your cheeks and neck, then see if you can master the chin.

 

[FilthyFuzion]

Thanks a lot you guys! Lots of good info here that I'll add to the 'ol crusty brain bank. Just a matter of muscle memory and time to devote to the craft. I like it. I'll keep at it. I guess I'll try a couple more shaves and see if I truly need to get my blade honed properly (probably definitely have to). I'll look into DE razors for my soul-ish patch cause that suuuuucked with the straight razor!

I thought I was stroping okay but how do you even know? Just by the shave I guess...

I must say, even feeling my skin hours after my shave, it still feels smooth. Closest shave I've ever had, just with a few nicks is all haha. All part of learning though right?

Thanks again fellas!

 

[FilthyFuzion]

Congrats on surviving thus far! There’s going to be mishaps along the way, but it’s a fun journey. Stick with it!

Thanks man. I'll stick with it. I got a Styptic pencil so I'm set haha

 

[FilthyFuzion]

First, congratulations on surviving your first straight razor shave. It can be an intimidating experience.

Thanks buddy. A little intimidating, yes. I've seen Sweeny Todd a few times sooooo. haha!

 

[FilthyFuzion]

Your's is a common situation and the most common issues are blade angle and blade not really being honed or not being honed well enough.

You have a beard some you don't have to do a lot of shaving in the "hard" areas. If you can smoothly shave the flat areas (cheeks) then the blade is sharp. If you can't do that it's not.

Keep the blade, no on but close, to your skin (maybe 30 degree angle). Stretch you skin.

Regarding soap, if it's waxy, add a few drops of water until it's not waxy. You can lather in a bowl, on your face, out of the soap container. Whatever works.

Thanks for the info. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard! Congratulations on the first shave!

To answer your question about soaps (in general as I have not tried this particular soap): The first thing is to get your beard well hydrated. I prefer to shower first and to leave my face wet. I load my soap directly on the damp brush, then I build lather on my face. To me the key is to load plenty of soap, then use enough water to get the lather I like. Others use a lather bowl or palm lather, which are perfectly suitable approaches.

My guess is that you do not have that optimal angle for your razor yet. You might read through the Wiki for information on the best geometry.

Traditional wet shaving is a skill that takes awhile to master. Well worth the effort!

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!

 

[FilthyFuzion]

UPDATE:

So I SR shaved for my 2nd time. Went 100% better! No nicks! I think I stroped my razor better this time around because the shave was much more effortless and less tuggy. Starting to get my geometry down and learning the most comfortable ways to hold the razor which is the biggest challenge for me. @BigJ I'll look into the info on geometry for sure. I also gotta get a better feel for the consistency of the lather. This last time I shaved it seemed a bit thick and wouldn't wash off too easy.

Also, how many here use an after shave? While my skin does feel very slightly agitated after the shave, it's not uncomfortable. Is the after shave supposed to relieve that agitation? After initially reading up on it, it seemed as though it was super necessary. What are you thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

 

[BigJ]

UPDATE:

So I SR shaved for my 2nd time. Went 100% better! No nicks! I think I stroped my razor better this time around because the shave was much more effortless and less tuggy. Starting to get my geometry down and learning the most comfortable ways to hold the razor which is the biggest challenge for me. @BigJ I'll look into the info on geometry for sure. I also gotta get a better feel for the consistency of the lather. This last time I shaved it seemed a bit thick and wouldn't wash off too easy.

Also, how many here use an after shave? While my skin does feel very slightly agitated after the shave, it's not uncomfortable. Is the after shave supposed to relieve that agitation? After initially reading up on it, it seemed as though it was super necessary. What are you thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

GREAT!!

In answer to your question, I use AS routinely.

 

[Clay S]

UPDATE:

So I SR shaved for my 2nd time. Went 100% better! No nicks! I think I stroped my razor better this time around because the shave was much more effortless and less tuggy. Starting to get my geometry down and learning the most comfortable ways to hold the razor which is the biggest challenge for me. @BigJ I'll look into the info on geometry for sure. I also gotta get a better feel for the consistency of the lather. This last time I shaved it seemed a bit thick and wouldn't wash off too easy.

Also, how many here use an after shave? While my skin does feel very slightly agitated after the shave, it's not uncomfortable. Is the after shave supposed to relieve that agitation? After initially reading up on it, it seemed as though it was super necessary. What are you thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

I like Nivea Men Sensitive Cooling PSB for soothing after a shave.

 

[GearNoir]

Most AS or AS balms are just as good for your skin as they are pleasing to the senses.

 

[FilthyFuzion]

Right on. My next purchase then. Thanks ya'll.