Discouraged. Normal?

[Chadtheguru]

So I have maybe five straight shaves under my belt, with the obvious increasing complexity. Two shaves ago I had a pretty rough shave with some occasional pulling and the necessity of LOTS of blade buffing on my chin area. So I did some B&B research and diagnosed it as too shallow blade angle. So the last shave, I adjusted my blade angle and had a superb straight shave. "Great, I got it," I thought.

So this morning, after whipping a gorgeous bowl of Tabac SS lather, I dove in with confidence. PULL, PULL. Adjust the blade angle. PULL, PULL. Ouch. What's going on? Strop, strop, strop. (Maybe 20 laps in addition to the preshave 50 or so.) Try again, paying close attention to the blade angle. PULL, PULL, slice! I put down the straight, grabbed the Slim and had a great BBS shave with an Astra SP. I was slightly tempted to sell it off and embrace being a DE shaver but I'm not ready to give up quite yet.

I'm sure this is the first time anyone has ever posted a story like this.

I stropped before this shave just like I had for all the previous. 25 laps on the suede side, 50 laps on the smooth side. I can't think of a reason why it shouldn't have worked out. Am I missing something? This IS common, right?

 

[Gamma]

What suede side are you referring to exactly?

 

[Legion]

First of all, five shaves is nothing, so don't be too hard on yourself.

It is also possible that you rolled your edge with a bad strop stroke. This happens, especially when you are new.

Thirdly, it could have been your prep was off, or the soap, or the phase of the moon....

Don't give up yet.

 

[Chadtheguru]

The suede side of the strop.

 

[Legion]

The suede side of the strop.

You can use the suede side in place of linen, and some people do. But I would probably just recommend just using the smooth side for now and remove that variable, it might be causing an issue, depending on the leather.

 

[Wid]

Was the razor honed?

 

[Doc226]

Agree, no need to use the back of the leather. Give it a good stropping making sure the spine stays in contact with the leather at all times with the strop pulled tight (if knuckles are turning white it is too tight).

Five shaves is really not that many, sounds like you are doing fine, keep it up.

Was the razor "shave ready" from the get go.

 

[Chadtheguru]

You can use the suede side in place of linen, and some people do. But I would probably just recommend just using the smooth side for now and remove that variable, it might be causing an issue, depending on the leather.

Maybe I'll stick to the suede side for now. What's left of it. It isn't that bad, I have about 18" of non-nicked leather. beyond that I need to sand I guess. It has a half-dozen small nicks with tiny flaps. They weren't that bad until I tried to rubber-cement them and now they have a harder texture so I try to avoid them.

Was the razor honed?

Agree, no need to use the back of the leather. Give it a good stropping making sure the spine stays in contact with the leather at all times with the strop pulled tight (if knuckles are turning white it is too tight).

Five shaves is really not that many, sounds like you are doing fine, keep it up.

Was the razor "shave ready" from the get go.

Yes, the razor came shave ready. It came with a beautiful edge from drathgeb. The strap came from him, too. (Marvellous job on the strap, btw. )

 

[Doc226]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Str...751&pid=100015&prg=1006&rk=1&sd=120728429281&

Nice strop, good price

 

[shaverjoe]

Don't give up. It will get better. You will eventually have a shave where you are saddened you didn't start with a straight years ago.

 

[Chadtheguru]

Another thing I thought about was grabbing a Whipped-Dog deal (for my upcoming birthday maybe?) so that I can have a second straight and have the extra strop plus the balsa, etc. Is this a good idea?

 

[Doc226]

Another thing I thought about was grabbing a Whipped-Dog deal (for my upcoming birthday maybe?) so that I can have a second straight and have the extra strop plus the balsa, etc. Is this a good idea?

Without a doubt. Nothing wrong, second razor, second strop, balsa with feox and crox.

 

[Kentos]

Another shave ready straight would be great to see if your problems are user related, or razor related.

Took me at least 2 weeks to get a half way decent shave, many months to get a great shave.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Another thing I thought about was grabbing a Whipped-Dog deal (for my upcoming birthday maybe?) so that I can have a second straight and have the extra strop plus the balsa, etc. Is this a good idea?

You have been here two years- you should know what the answer will be seriously, I am looking to get a WD soon, too.

 

[Chadtheguru]

You have been here two years- you should know what the answer will be seriously, I am looking to get a WD soon, too.

Of course I do. However, even if I know the answer I don't KNOW the answer until I open a thread on B&B.

 

[SAPed]

I'm about 3 months in on this straight razor shaving (DE & SE for two years) and my first setup was to buy two sight unseen straights from Whipped Dog. I used one exclusively for the first month. At that point I had a little more confidence and was moving the straight around better on my face and then switched to my second razor and I immediately felt the difference - much less tugging. So I knew I had to do something for honing, and I decided to get 5, 3, and 1 micron lapping film.

If you get a second straight from Whipped Dog get the CrOx balsa wood also to touch up the straights.

Like you, when I went back to my Gem SE after a few straight shaves I couldn't believe how easy it was to use and the great result. But, then I thought back to my first transition from cartridges and how I struggled with the SE. That gave me confidence to stick with the straight, knowing in time it will get better.

 

[noahpictures]

It is important to be patient and see it as a long term learning process which might take six months if not more. Take it slow, don't put pressure on yourself, otherwise you'll stop having fun. You might want to do one WTG pass then use a DE or SE. This way you'll know if the razor is sharp and reduce the chances of an uncomfortable shave. After a couple of weeks add the second pass and so on.

Honing is key. Cheapest hone setup is with lapping film (12 micron, 6 or 5 micron, 3 micron, 1 micron).

 

[Slash McCoy]

Another thing I thought about was grabbing a Whipped-Dog deal (for my upcoming birthday maybe?) so that I can have a second straight and have the extra strop plus the balsa, etc. Is this a good idea?

Yes. But since you already have a hanging strop maybe get just the razor and then get a bigger piece of balsa elsewhere and some diamond paste from www.tedpella.com in 1u and .25u. Balsa should be 3" wide and 12" long. It will work a little better than the green/red combo. And the diamond urs very aggressively so you may be able to bring back the edge on your current razor with it.

 

[Jayk]

Stick with it! I was a bit frustrated with my first bunch of shaves.I am still learning, but they are going much better now and I am really enjoying it. I would straight shave maybe once a week or so, and the rest of the time with a DE. Lately though I haven't used the DE in about three weeks. The straight is addictive and it will get better when you develop your skills a bit more. good luck!

 

[Krodor]

Right around shave twenty to twenty five is when things typically click for most.