ahh. crap

[ysuboy]

I think I was a bit too excited to shave when reaching for the packet of blades today. I allowed myself to loss focus and didn't think about the fact I already opened the pack. The blades remaining in the pack went flying around the room (grabbed the pack from the closed edge) and one fell in the toilet. Dangit! I almost felt I needed to pour some mouth wash down the drain for my fallen buddy.

While shaving today (this is my 3rd shave with a DE) I recognized that even though my confidence is growing, my slathering seems to be getting better, I am holding the razed as parellel to my face as possible without loosing the cutting of the blade, I'm still not seeming to get a really clean shave, like the blade is not able to cut the hair. Can anyone give any insight?

A little background. I am using a ej89, astra platinum blades, am showering before hand, bowl slathering but applying for about a min or so each time to exfoliate with brush. I am doing wtg, xtg, then atg. Thank you in advance!

 

[Mike H]

Sounds like your blade angle is still off.
Check out the wiki for tips on blade angle. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Blade_Angle

The other possibility is that the razor is not assembled properly. It happens some times. It should look like this...

 

[SmoovD]

Take your time. Technique takes patience and attention to detail. Have you fully mapped your beard? Knowing the growth pattern can really help with the passes. Might want to try face lathering instead of bowl to lift your beard. Good luck.

 

[Ashley Rosser]

You may have your blade angle to shallow, most are good at thirty degrees from horizontal.
Also use more cream/soap than you think is needed as this might also help.
Read the shave wikis here for some excellent advice on how to shave.
You didn't mention irritation or nicks and cuts but I'd forgo the ATG pass until you have your technique mastered.

 

[RDiduck]

+1 on all of the above. I'm not much older than you in shave time and the key is patience and focus.

 

[elverdiblanco]

With the EJ DE89 a good rule of thumb is that when you get the blade angle right you'll hear the cutting. If you don't hear it cutting you probably have the angle wrong.

 

[redrako]

Congratulations on your first blade dump - you get extra points for dropping one in the toilet.

As previous posters have pointed out, best bet is that you haven't quite dialed in the effective angle. Next time that you shave focus on a slightly steeper angle, check your face after your first pass and see if you're getting any improvement. If not, keep adjusting your angle, before you know it you'll be amazed.

On another point, your smart to work the lather on your face for a minute before you start shaving. You didn't mention if you're using a cream or a soap, but might try putting on an initial light lather or a glycerin soap and leaving it on your wet face for a few minutes more. I like to rub a little shave cream or glycerin soap on my wet face (even after I shower), and then brush my teeth and rinse the shower. This way my face stays super-hydrated for 4-5 minutes before I apply my first lather.

Good Luck

 

[ysuboy]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Sorry for the delay in response (at work) and poor spell check (using my phone to browse the forum).

I have not mapped my face yet, I have not hat any nicks or any real irritation. I had a little yesterday and today so I "trash talked" my face a bit before I slapped on some clubman a/s.

I am using a cream to shave. Also I am not too sure if my heritage matters but I am half Italian so my hair is a bit course.

I can definitely tell what one poster said by too much or too little angle not cutting. I can definitely hear and feel when it is. I do however experience some mild blade tug. I'm sure its entirely too early to tell but should I consider a sharper blade down the road or more aggressive razor? Yesterday I did 4 passes wtg, xtg, xtg, atg. It obviously yeilded me the best shave of the 3 but it took 4 passes and even after the last it was not as smooth as I expected. By the way, I'm pretty critical of myself and I'm a bit OCD. Lol

 

[BlackBard]

I think I was a bit too excited to shave when reaching for the packet of blades today. I allowed myself to loss focus and didn't think about the fact I already opened the pack. The blades remaining in the pack went flying around the room (grabbed the pack from the closed edge) and one fell in the toilet. Dangit! I almost felt I needed to pour some mouth wash down the drain for my fallen buddy.

While shaving today (this is my 3rd shave with a DE) I recognized that even though my confidence is growing, my slathering seems to be getting better, I am holding the razed as parellel to my face as possible without loosing the cutting of the blade, I'm still not seeming to get a really clean shave, like the blade is not able to cut the hair. Can anyone give any insight?

A little background. I am using a ej89, astra platinum blades, am showering before hand, bowl slathering but applying for about a min or so each time to exfoliate with brush. I am doing wtg, xtg, then atg. Thank you in advance!

It sounds to me like you are off to a good start. I agree that blade angle is probably the main problem. This is only your third DE shave, so you should not expect perfection - yet. Practice and patience will result in better and better shaves. Good luck.

 

[ysuboy]

OK. Thank you. I'm going to try harder with my angles, try to read more about them since it seems the majority feel that is what my issue is. Also as one member mentioned I will try to map out my face.

Its funny, I originally scratched my head why so many members and reviews talked about how exciting and enjoyable shaving was. After my first shave, I wanted to shave again and the next day couldn't come. I'm not sure if its the challenge to achieve bbs or what, but I'm starting to get it. Starting to want to buy more things. I can see this becoming a hobby. LOL hopefully its not as expensive as scuba diving! Ill need a second job! Ha!

 

[tiernan22]

My condolences for your loss....

 

[Purplemonkey]

+ 1 on the blade angle. But since you mentioned coarse hair, astra's are nominally better than derby's for me. I say give the feather a try, works wonders. I've also had good results with Gillette 7'0clock yellows and treet platinums. I have thick coarse facial hair.

 

[gwgrooms]

Newbie here also.
Just don't change any of the variables yet, especially the razor/blade combination (unless the blade truly doesn't work for you). Just work on technique - blade angle, pressure, prep, lather-building, etc.
I have been using exactly the same setup as you for about two months and things keep getting better. The only variables I have allowed myself are a few different soaps/creams (but only after I could get a good lather out of them) and different brushes.
If you feel much tugging, it's time to change the blade and/or reduce pressure. An alum block is a cruel mistress and an excellent teacher.
Sounds like you are doing better than me when I was three shaves in.

Good Luck!

 

[ysuboy]

What my plan was to trade some of my astra blades on here for some others that are suggested as a more aggressive blade if after a decent amount of time i do not get the shave I am happy with. I am however planning on giving these a good run (month or more) to try to rule out the steepest part of my learning curve. I have a 100 pack that I bought because I have consistently heard at least good reviews about. Therefore I knew I was starting with a setup that a lot of people where successful with and if I where less-than, I could attribute it to myself.

 

[California Cajun]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Sorry for the delay in response (at work) and poor spell check (using my phone to browse the forum).

I have not mapped my face yet, I have not hat any nicks or any real irritation. I had a little yesterday and today so I "trash talked" my face a bit before I slapped on some clubman a/s.

I am using a cream to shave. Also I am not too sure if my heritage matters but I am half Italian so my hair is a bit course.

I can definitely tell what one poster said by too much or too little angle not cutting. I can definitely hear and feel when it is. I do however experience some mild blade tug. I'm sure its entirely too early to tell but should I consider a sharper blade down the road or more aggressive razor? Yesterday I did 4 passes wtg, xtg, xtg, atg. It obviously yeilded me the best shave of the 3 but it took 4 passes and even after the last it was not as smooth as I expected. By the way, I'm pretty critical of myself and I'm a bit OCD. Lol

I got more razor stubble with a Merkur Slant http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/359678-Merkur-34C-HD-Slant-DE89-and-Brushes. Here's one for sale on B/S/T in the event you want to try one.

Here's a general face map. It varies from person to person (sections 4 and 9 are more diagonal on my face) but generally speaking here it is:

​

 

[ysuboy]

This may be a stupid question. Do the arrows indicate a wtg pass? If so I have some major tweaking to be done while shaving my neck. Haha.

 

[zygalski]

I think I was a bit too excited to shave when reaching for the packet of blades today. I allowed myself to loss focus and didn't think about the fact I already opened the pack. The blades remaining in the pack went flying around the room (grabbed the pack from the closed edge) and one fell in the toilet. Dangit! I almost felt I needed to pour some mouth wash down the drain for my fallen buddy.

While shaving today (this is my 3rd shave with a DE) I recognized that even though my confidence is growing, my slathering seems to be getting better, I am holding the razed as parellel to my face as possible without loosing the cutting of the blade, I'm still not seeming to get a really clean shave, like the blade is not able to cut the hair. Can anyone give any insight?

A little background. I am using a ej89, astra platinum blades, am showering before hand, bowl slathering but applying for about a min or so each time to exfoliate with brush. I am doing wtg, xtg, then atg. Thank you in advance!

Watch this guy. He's excellent!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiXojYrLhVA

 

[California Cajun]

This may be a stupid question. Do the arrows indicate a wtg pass? If so I have some major tweaking to be done while shaving my neck. Haha.

More or less, yes. It's not a stupid question to be sure. I had no idea where my whiskers grew until I was 54-years-old, which makes me feel like an old fool.

 

[Mike H]

This may be a stupid question. Do the arrows indicate a wtg pass? If so I have some major tweaking to be done while shaving my neck. Haha.

Arrow show direction of hair growth, or with the grain, but the image is just an example, everyone is different, you need to map yours to get an idea.

 

[ysuboy]

Thank you for the YouTube link. I think I watched just about all of that guy and another guys videos before some purchasing decisions and before I found B&B. He has a lot of great tips and is very knowledgeable.

As Mike has posted I'm going to do my best to figure my growth pattern and try to work on that along with my angle.

Thank you all for your advice. 24 hour days seem so long to wait when you learn something new that you would like to try!