Another newbie, another not so great first straight shave.

[milkmanv1]

Hey all, just coming here to get a little advice from the pros.

So first things first, I had my razor honed by obiwan, so I'm gonna go ahead and forget that it wasn't honed correctly.

My only straight at the moment is a wade and butcher "blank for concaving" so it's a full hollow 5/8ths blade just for a little info.

First mistake: I wanted to, and thought it would be cool to shave my, not super full, but still present and somewhat dense beard, directly off as my first straight razor shave.

I wet my beard really good, and made sure to lather, lather, lather. I used TOBS Sandlewood, which I have never had a problem with DE shaving.

Well as I was not so sure about the angle, it was tricky getting started. Once I felt that I got the angle, I found that the blade was pulling and generally not slicing through my hairs. I tried at it for a few moments, and not making any progress I tried my DE which was sitting on the sink. I had to use short strokes, but the voskhod I had in there, which was already on shave 4, cut right through my beard. I decided to rinse off, use my beard trimmer with no plastic guard on it to hack down the beard. Lathered back up, but the straight still felt like it wasn't doing it's job. Obiwan sent me the blade 100% shave ready... So I know it's got to be user-error.

Sad to say, I gave up, put a fresh blade in my DE and took off from there with no problems.

I'd just like some words from the wise to help my climb back on that horse, and let me know what I could have been doing wrong. I made sure my angle was shallow (about 1 spine-width off my face) took short light strokes, but the blade was either pulling, tugging or skipping instead of shaving,

I appreciate the help guys! Let me know whats wrong on my end.

It'll be a bit before I try the straight again, I just put in an order with whipped dog for the poor man's stop kit, I almost forgot I need one of those now too haha.

 

[kirisute]

First up...not to say Obiwan hasn't produced a superb honed razor...but a shave ready for one person might not be a shave ready for another! (Obiwan is superb though so I'm just throwing that in!)
so see if it will do the hanging hair test (look it up on here if need be) which will give you an idea if its still shave ready.

second...about angle..start with the blade flat against your face, then, as you move through the stroke increase the angle til you start to shave....30 degrees is what your told but its not always right for everyone or for every razor. So figure your own angle out by starting flat.

although a straight can be as sharp as a DE blade it's generally not so unless your a pro at honing or stropping. My straights are not a patch on my feather DE blades...but are still shave ready for me...but the difference in feeling during the shave is obvious. So try not to compare the two quite so readily.....but your Obiwan straight should be good enough for the job!

id suggest trying again, with a good soak, a good lather, plenty of stretching (more so than you might with your de) and really concentrate on starting with your blade flat and angling as you go to produce a shave.

 

[Lmarkow]

I'm not sure that I would have attempted my first straight shave with a full beard. I think I would find that too distracting, given all else that we need to keep in control when starting. I've shaved with one of Obiwan's edges. That will not be your problem. I think now that you've shaved the beard off, you'll be in a better position to properly stretch your skin, watch your angle, etc. Start with your cheeks, with the grain, just to get used to the feel of the razor. Your lather will need to be wetter and slicker than you may be used to for a DE. Take your time and enjoy.

 

[milkmanv1]

Yeah I think I'll try again this weekend with the straight. (my stop has already shipped) I think one of the biggest problems was a full concave/hollow vs a coarse beard. I think I'm in a much better place to start as well. I did get a little hair off with the straight, and I didn't manage to cut myself (only nicks yesterday were from my DE haha). But with just some stubble, I think I can get a better idea on what the heck I'm doing.

I'll make sure to have a nice slick lather, strop it up, and give it a go without trying to mow down a full beard.

 

[egarmo]

I appreciate your trust on reputed honers, but believe me I was using a shavette for two years until I was able to hone on my own. Dont indulge in wishful thinking: if the razor passes the hanging hair test (dont believe in grades... it cuts or it does not...) , you may shave. Otherwise you are just wasting time and taking risks.