Disappointing First Shave Attempt

[Ace_Club]

Well, just finished with my first straight razor shave, and I'm fairly disappointed. It was not at all what I was expecting.

I started out with a sight unseen deal from Whipped Dog. This was the first time I had used the razor, and I was using the Baker St soap puck that came with the kit.

I read up on the interactive straight razor forum, watched the videos, and then set off to start. After taking a hot shower, I proceeded to get the lather made up. That went fairly well, and I lathered up my face and picked up the straight razor. I started shaving WTG, and right away noticed that something was wrong. It sounded like running sandpaper against my face, and was a very rough pass. I chalked this up to a bad angle, and adjusted to try again. Same thing. It seemed that no matter then angle, the passes were very rough, not smooth at all, and didn't seem to be knocking off any whiskers. I finished up my face in this manner, and inspected the damage. No nicks, then again, it looked like I had run a butter knife across my face as there was no noticeable difference in the shave.

Not to be daunted, I took some remaining lather, applied it to the strop, and gave the razor 10-15 passes. Then I made some more lather, lathered up again, and this time tried a XTG pass. Not much better. Still very rough, no matter the angle, and this time created more irritation. I finished up what I could, and then decided to call it. After this pass, I had a few weepers, but those all closed up after the application of cold water. I rinsed off the razor, dried it, and then applied some vaseline and put it away.

Any tips, ideas as to what I'm doing wrong? Is the razor not sharp enough?

 

[Wid]

Not to be daunted, I took some remaining lather, applied it to the strop, and gave the razor 10-15 passes. Then I made some more lather, lathered up again, and this time tried a XTG pass. Not much better. Still very rough, no matter the angle, and this time created more irritation. I finished up what I could, and then decided to call it. After this pass, I had a few weepers, but those all closed up after the application of cold water. I rinsed off the razor, dried it, and then applied some vaseline and put it away.

Any tips, ideas as to what I'm doing wrong? Is the razor not sharp enough?

This was not a good idea, you very well might have killed the edge. Did you strop before the first attempt?

 

[Ace_Club]

No, did not strop before the first shave.

 

[Wid]

Coming from Larry I'd expect the edge to be shave ready. It's not unusual to experience what you did, chalk it up to experience or the lack of.

 

[TonyN]

Learning with a straight takes some time. It may take quite a few shaves to get to the point that you feel like you are making any progress and starting to get a decent shave. Take your time, make sure your lather is wet (not too thick) and try to keep the spine of the straight almost flat against your skin.

Just like with a DE, it's beard reduction so you are not going knock it all down in one pass.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, I'm not an expert at straight razor shaving. In fact, I only have about 20 shaves under my belt so take what I have to say with a grain of salt:

1. What are your hairs like? Are they really tough? If you have a very tough beard then you can expect your first few tries to be harder than for most people.

2. If you got your razor from Larry at whipped dog then assume your razor is sharp. It is of course possible that it isn't though this is highly unlikely. I and many other people have dealt with him with nothing but positive experiences.

3. You could try a different soap or cream; I am not familiar with what you used though different people can often have drastically different experiences with the same products. Perhaps what you used just doesn't work for your beard.

4. How long did you lather for? You have to really work the lather into your beard to soften it up and get optimal results from your shave.

5. Have you wet shaved with anything else before this? If so, what were your experiences? Also, do you have any experience with using shaving soap/cream with a badger brush? It can take a while to learn how to get optimal results from traditional shaving lather if you have not used it before. With straight shaving you want the lather to be on the slicker side.

6. Have patience, it takes a while to learn how to shave with a straight razor so don't expect good results right away.

7. When shaving with a straight it helps to use momentum behind the blade to cut hairs. Instead of putting the razor to your skin and then moving it try putting it in motion before it touches your skin and using short light strokes or "chops" instead of long, smooth, and gliding strokes.

Well, that's all I can really think of off the top of my head. Hopefully some other member can add more to what I've said and help you resolve the problems your having.

Good luck!

 

[Chico]

Did you apply some stretching of the skin?

 

[Kentos]

It takes time.

Don't get discouraged. Read a few other journals to see what issues other had. Since it is your first attempt it is hard to give advice. Most of the time a too steep angle and a too slow speed will lead to the razor skipping and or catching on to every whisker shaft. Try keeping the razor flatter or flat against the skin and go for it. The literature Larry sends is very helpful as well.

 

[Luc]

For now, I would advise *against* a XTG and ATG pass. It didn't take off much hair WTG? It won't get better if you go XTG. Like a DE, as long as you don't get a reasonable pass WTG, there's no point got XTG. This takes time, it's not like starting day 1 with a DE since (I presume) you got DE experience.

For your blade angle it needs to be low, so the spine must be almost touching your skin while you shave. Pull the skin, lock your wrists and practice.

 

[Ace_Club]

Okay, I'll try it again with the spine against or almost against my skin. Also, I have no DE experience, this was my first wet shave attempt.

 

[Luc]

Okay, I'll try it again with the spine against or almost against my skin. Also, I have no DE experience, this was my first wet shave attempt.

No worries. Keep in mind that you need good prep, good lather, good technique to get a successful shave. There are some that get all 3 on shave 1 but those are very rare. It took me around 10 shaves before I started cutting something. This page might help you: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Getting_started_wetshaving

I would suggest to review the Lathering tutorials also, if your lather is not slick enough, nothing will glide over it.

 

[Wid]

Okay, I'll try it again with the spine against or almost against my skin. Also, I have no DE experience, this was my first wet shave attempt.

That how we roll in IL. LOL!

 

[Kentos]

That how we roll in IL. LOL!

LOL!!

We are all here to help you through the rough spots on the way to shave Nirvana.

 

[Ace_Club]

That how we roll in IL. LOL!

Damn straight.

LOL!!

We are all here to help you through the rough spots on the way to shave Nirvana.

I do appreciate the advice. I won't be giving up!

 

[Matt555]

It took me near 6 months to figure out what I was doing with a DE. I can only imagine how much more difficult a straight would be (which I have never tried). I am pretty sure your disappointment is due the fact it was your first time.

 

[Go Forth]

Perhaps contact the seller and discuss your results. He can give you advice.

 

[joshua1970]

It takes time.

Don't get discouraged. Read a few other journals to see what issues other had. Since it is your first attempt it is hard to give advice. Most of the time a too steep angle and a too slow speed will lead to the razor skipping and or catching on to every whisker shaft. Try keeping the razor flatter or flat against the skin and go for it. The literature Larry sends is very helpful as well.

THIS! ^

and welcome to B&B and wetshaving! don't get discouraged - trust me, If I was able to get it, so can you!! There is a learning curve with all wetshaving, and it tends to be a bit longer with straights than with DE/SE razors... but we all go through it

Larry likely sent you a little instruction sheet with the razor, and I'm sure the razor he sent was well sharp enough (granted, there is a very remote possibility that he may have sent you an unhoned blade in error but I seriously don't think that is the case)! He even recommends NOT stropping it for beginners because too heavy a hand stropping can damage the very very sharp edge he puts on his razors... and you can also curl the edge and destroy the strop when first beginning (heck you can do that even as a more advanced shaver if not focused or if you are just having an off day or minute lol)

when you DO strop use the slightest pressure and you would do well as a beginner to place the strop flat on the edge of a table rather than hang it. Many people prefer paddle strops as well as it avoids any variables in holding a hanging strop properly.... by laying the strop flat on a hard surface you will increase your chances to have consistant pressure on your stropping strokes. and umm, well, no lather on the strop, ever. be sure the blade is dry too and that the strop is free of any dust, lint etc I use my (clean) palm to rub the strop area for about 30 seconds to boot - (referred to as palming the strop) it also warms up the leather a bit to prepare for the blade. and has the added benefit of slowly transferring some of the body's/hand's oils to the stropping area. there are many thoughts on how to care for a strop, but that's a whole other subject. sometimes I use a clean/dry brush to lightly brush off any dust that may be on the strop if I haven't used it in a few days.

As Kent and Tony mentioned, and Larry states in his very helpful instructions, don't start out looking for the perfect shave....shoot for "Beard reduction" instead by placing the spine nearly flat to the skin to slice off the whiskers and to repeat ever slightly increasing the angle until you do reach the skin itself (or to simply use a DE to remove the bulk of the whiskers and then to try the blade at a 20-30 degree angle. It is MUCH easier and safer for a beginner to remove short stubble than long stubble - though stick with it and you'll be able to remove many days worth of growth in a single pass.

for a beginner this is great advice as it also gives you confidence in holding the blade properly and the movements necessary also (as Luc mentioned above and on Larry's instruction page) stick to WTG passes for a while, likely a long while, again this will build up the confidence and muscle memory needed to later try XTG and ATG passes.

and shave prep is extremely important! whether it's DE, SE or Straight razors, proper shave prep is what conditions the whiskers AND your face for the shave itself. be sure to check out the wiki on this, and all the other subjects again.

also, keep in mind that by using a straight razor, your face/skin may take a little time to get used to it. you are using a blade that is sharper than most realize - and since all faces and beard growth patterns vary among individuals it will take time for you will learn your face but I guarantee you will if you stick with it.

Also, as mentioned above, use your 'offhand' to gently pull your skin taught (not tight) in the problem areas. you will also, in time, likely figure out various other techniques to achieve this. Most of us contort our faces to achieve similar results (I sometimes look like Dizzie Gillespie puffing cheeks out, moving my facial muscles and again, using the offhand to gently pull the skin so that the razor can effectively remove the whiskers on a more level/flatter surface area of skin.

and another point worth mentioning, don't use the ENTIRE blade to shave... when I got my first straight razor 15 years ago, this was one of my mistakes. I assumed I was supposed to BIG mistake lol. There is a sweet spot on the razor for each area of your face/neck (and it seems to move depending on what part of your face/neck you are shaving) but having an inch to an inch and a half of the blade against your skin is just about perfect- you don't need to have the entire blade scraping yourself - that's a recipe for cutting/nicking - especially if you have a razor with a pointed (squared) and not a rounded end.

hope that helps!! you also may want to pick up a cheap DE or SE razor and use both while shaving for a while.

again welcome!!!! there are so many here willing to help you.

 

[Doc226]

I would recommend taking a pass WTG with whatever razor you were using before, then follow with a WTG pass with the straight-call it a day.

Try again next time, same routine until the angles are figured out.

 

[Ace_Club]

I would recommend taking a pass WTG with whatever razor you were using before, then follow with a WTG pass with the straight-call it a day.

Try again next time, same routine until the angles are figured out.

That's actually a pretty good idea. I tried that this morning. Did a quick shave with the disposable, jumped in the shower, and then proceeded to prep and lather for the straight shave. I only shaved my face (skipped the neck), and kept the spine pretty close to touching my face. It was much smoother this time. I guess I'll keep practicing like this for a while, to get the motions down, etc.

Like most good things, this will take some time.

Cheers to all for their helpful responses.

 

[Obiwan]

Looks like they're improving. That was a good idea. The cheeks are easier to practice on than the neck for many people and it's easier to handle on the 2nd pass (after using the cart. razor). It will come with time. Very soon you'll be comfortable doing youre whole face. From there its just getting the shaves under your belt and paying attention to what/how you get good results (various angles, etc.)

Keep it up!