first attemps at straight razor wet shave

[sniffingratty]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I got the razor (Razor: a Wade and Butcher refurbished to shave ready by the Vintage Shaving Shoppe from ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=380230967893), soap (mama bear's soape cannabis fragrance), the strop from chris via B/S/T, and an Omega 48 brush.

I should have read the razor description more carefully, although it was advertised as shave ready and seems to be pretty sharp (although i have no basis for comparison) there are some really small notches in part of the blade. The seller said that it wasn't perfect, but i thought shave ready meant that the edge was good. But I have shaved with it a couple of times anyways.

I am getting a pretty good shave on my flat cheek. When I feel like I'm getting a good stroke it feels kind of rough, I can feel the hundreds of hairs catching on the blade and it makes kind of a scratchy noise. Is this normal?

The side stroke seems to be going well and smooths it better. However I am not able to get a good against the grain stroke, it just wants to catch and not move. I also have this "catching" problem when I try to do a WTG stroke on pretty much any area other than my cheek. The hair is thicker on my chin, so that may be an issue, but I am keeping it short so I don't think it's a too much hair problem.

I have been resorting to a wider blade angle, anything short of 90deg. just wants to catch on the rougher parts of my chin. Doing a stroke like that seems to remove some hair, but is pretty uncomfortable.

I also am wondering about the lather. The soap I have doesn't seems to make a very thick lather. I am following instructions from online, and doing a lot of swirling with different amounts of soap and water, but can't seem to get a really nice thick lather. Perhaps this is the kind of soap?

Well that is where I am so far in my hunt for the perfect shave. Any advice would be appreciated.

Tata
-Seth

 

[rainerigs]

It doesn't mention in your post whether or not you have purchased a strop. I would never attempt to shave with a razor (advertised shave ready or not) until I stropped it myself. As far as the nicks in the edge, that sounds like a deal breaker to me. The edge should be perfectly symetrical and smooth without any dings or nicks. The thumbnail test will verify not only if the blade is sharp enough to shave, it will also identify any nicks, flat spots, dings etc. that will need to be carefully repaired on a quality hone. All that being said, I would suggest the following:

1) Stop shaving with that razor before you have a serious mishap and hurt yourself.

2) Invest a little time and money to send your razor out to a reputable honemeister and have it repaired and professionally honed so that you have a basis for comparison. I know there are plenty of guys on this site that can suggest a good honing service for you.

3) While your razor is out for service, use that time wisely to purchase a quality strop and spend plenty of time in the stropping forum to learn proper technique. I can't emphasize the importance of learning to strop enough, nothing is more important to maintaining a razor in shave ready condition more than proper stropping.

4) When your razor returns review WET SHAVING INSTRUCTIONS AND TUTORIALS: New? READ THIS THREAD! in the Shave Clinic and Newbie Checkin area of this site. Once you have properly prepped your beard and you have your "known good professionally honed" pride and joy in your hands; make a mental note of how that razor glides across your skin. This my fine friend is the standard you must maintain in your new razor and can be accomplished by proper care, maintenance and above all proper stropping.

Any "catching" as you describe during an XTG stroke should only be a matter of contention in your problem areas like the chin and upper lip. With a truly shave ready razor this will be minimalized and your XTG strokes will then become a matter of technique to minimalize any catching.

Well my friend, those are my two cents worth and I hope it helps. From your post and description I would definitely make sure it gets some professional attention.

I wish you the best on your journey!

Gregg