First "Shave"--Need Help & Advice!

[The National Razor]

I was going to wait until Thanksgiving holiday--but I couldn't! I got a new 6/8 Le Grelot from Classic Shaving, prehoned (or so I think).

Well, it was successful in that I didn't cut myself--the problem is that I don't think I cut much of my beard either. That's why "shave" is in quotation marks--not so much a shave no. 1, as it is a shave square root of negative 1. There was a little stubble in the sink, but not much, and there was way more left on my face.

The blade was skipping around every which way, and I could feel it tugging. I tried changing angles but it didn't seen to help much. I did a test cut on my arm hair and it didn't really seem to cut that either.

You may remember I asked whether to strop the razor the first time I used it. Well, I didn't, and thought that may have been the problem. I sort of did a quick strop, maybe 5 times on just the leather side. That didn't seem to help.

I started to think that maybe my blade hadn't been honed properly. I sheathed the straight razor and used my DE to get the job done for today, as I have work.

After I cleaned up, I thought that maybe if I stropped it better that would have helped. So I did 20 times on the canvas side, and 20 times on the leather side. I tested it on my arm hair, and it did seem to cut some of that.

So my question is, does stropping really do that much for a blade's sharpness? Or does my razor need to be rehoned? This is my first straight razor so I have no frame of reference--I do know that what I was doing isn't working. Hopefully it just needs to be stropped better next time, or sharpened with just a sharpening strop and abrasive pastes (I have those). I don't have a hone, and would probably have to send it out to a honemeister at this juncture, since I don't know what I'm doing.

Thanks so much for any advice. I will keep working at my technique, but it's hard when you don't know if your razor is up to snuff!

 

[Black Adder]

Don't be discouraged. It took me MONTHS to get to the point where I could feel I had accomplished anything with a straight. I "quit" three times, vowing that I'd never pick them up again, and I almost sold them.

Finding that "angle" with a straight takes a few attempts, and I wouldn't worry too much that you didn't get it right away. With this in mind, I wouldn't be too concerned, YET, that the razor isn't sharp enough. Most newcomers blame the edge first, but you're taking on a lot of factors with straight shaving that you didn't have to deal with using a DE. I think it's unrealistic to expect BBS from the get-go; I do understand your disappointment. I spent A LOT of days trying to get a decent straight shave.

I'll give you a suggestion that I'll take from another shaving forum. Do one section of your face, either cheek from the ear to the jaw line, go with the grain, and stop. Finish your shave with the DE. By concentrating on one area of your face, and the shave, you are able to isolate and sense what is going on. You need to feel and hear what the razor is doing, and that will change with the angle and how you hold the razor. Be careful, and watch that blade! It is very possible to cut you cheek and your ear at the same time... it's happened to me.

As to stropping, I think we all do it differently but I take 25 strokes on the linen side and 50 on the leather. A stroke is one back and forth pass over the strop.

I kind of think you're wondering about the sharpness of the blade as a cause for your mediocre first attempt, but believe me, you are taking on a task that will require you to master a few more skills, and not everyone has the patience to stick with it. It's not an impossible task, but it will take time. I followed that "one area of your face at a time" approach when I was really getting frustrated, and it helped a lot. I looked at it as a first step in a long and fun journey. It's valuable "me" time that I really like!

Stick with it!

Don

 

[The National Razor]

Don't be discouraged. It took me MONTHS to get to the point where I could feel I had accomplished anything with a straight. I "quit" three times, vowing that I'd never pick them up again, and I almost sold them.

Finding that "angle" with a straight takes a few attempts, and I wouldn't worry too much that you didn't get it right away. With this in mind, I wouldn't be too concerned, YET, that the razor isn't sharp enough. Most newcomers blame the edge first, but you're taking on a lot of factors with straight shaving that you didn't have to deal with using a DE. I think it's unrealistic to expect BBS from the get-go; I do understand your disappointment. I spent A LOT of days trying to get a decent straight shave.

I'll give you a suggestion that I'll take from another shaving forum. Do one section of your face, either cheek from the ear to the jaw line, go with the grain, and stop. Finish your shave with the DE. By concentrating on one area of your face, and the shave, you are able to isolate and sense what is going on. You need to feel and hear what the razor is doing, and that will change with the angle and how you hold the razor. Be careful, and watch that blade! It is very possible to cut you cheek and your ear at the same time... it's happened to me.

As to stropping, I think we all do it differently but I take 25 strokes on the linen side and 50 on the leather. A stroke is one back and forth pass over the strop.

I kind of think you're wondering about the sharpness of the blade as a cause for your mediocre first attempt, but believe me, you are taking on a task that will require you to master a few more skills, and not everyone has the patience to stick with it. It's not an impossible task, but it will take time. I followed that "one area of your face at a time" approach when I was really getting frustrated, and it helped a lot. I looked at it as a first step in a long and fun journey. It's valuable "me" time that I really like!

Stick with it!

Don

Thanks very much! I will definitely stick with it. I wanted a challenge and i got it.

I suspect you are right about the razor being fine and it all being my improper technique. That's what I figured too, I guess I just though my first attempt wouldn't be quite so bad as it was, and I was looking for reasons beyond myself.

I guess it's just easier with a DE to know if it's sharp enough--you just pop it in there and you're good to go. Straight razors demand a try-it-and-see approach.

Most likely I will be here often asking many questions as I try to figure out what I'm doing.

 

[leighton]

I did a test cut on my arm hair and it didn't really seem to cut that either.

Doesn't sound sharp to me.

 

[Thebigspendur]

You think it was prehoned???. As a rookie not knowing much about shave technique you need all the help you can get and not being sure as to whether it was prehoned and shave ready isn't doing you any favors. So that's the first task, deciding if you have a shave ready razor or not. If you do then you just have to experiment with angles and such and your shaves will get better. It's not like a DE. It can take months of shaving.

 

[The National Razor]

You think it was prehoned???. As a rookie not knowing much about shave technique you need all the help you can get and not being sure as to whether it was prehoned and shave ready isn't doing you any favors. So that's the first task, deciding if you have a shave ready razor or not. If you do then you just have to experiment with angles and such and your shaves will get better. It's not like a DE. It can take months of shaving.

It's supposed to be. I bought it from Classic Shaving and they are all supposed to be prehoned. But I'm just not sure because I have nothing to compare it to. It seems dull to me, and it skips a lot, but that might be because of improper angle and technique on my end.

As I stated before, I couldn't get it to cut arm hair before I stropped it extensively, but afterwards it seemed to do better. Next time I go for the shave I will do the normal stropping routine and see if that makes a difference.

 

[professorchaos]

Pre-honed is not the same thing as shave ready. In my days as a n00b, I too picked up pre-honed straights. In retrospect 1/3 of them were not shave ready to my current standards. Additionally, the Le Grelots have a reputation for being a little difficult to hone.

Learning to shave with a straight razor is difficult enough without having to worry whether or not your razor is sharp enough. So find someone who will hone and shave test it for you.

 

[Leche]

Pre-honed is not the same thing as shave ready. In my days as a n00b, I too picked up pre-honed straights. In retrospect 1/3 of them were not shave ready to my current standards. Additionally, the Le Grelots have a reputation for being a little difficult to hone.

Learning to shave with a straight razor is difficult enough without having to worry whether or not your razor is sharp enough. So find someone who will hone and shave test it for you.

Aren't all razors from Classic honed by Lynn?

 

[The National Razor]

Pre-honed is not the same thing as shave ready. In my days as a n00b, I too picked up pre-honed straights. In retrospect 1/3 of them were not shave ready to my current standards. Additionally, the Le Grelots have a reputation for being a little difficult to hone.

Learning to shave with a straight razor is difficult enough without having to worry whether or not your razor is sharp enough. So find someone who will hone and shave test it for you.

I already had a kind offer I took advantage of. Thanks for the helpful advice!

 

[professorchaos]

Cool! Let's hope that your second shave is more rewarding than the first. Truth be told, that first shave is a great rush!

 

[Luc]

Glad to see that you will keep with it.

If it doesn't shave, with ease, hair on your arm, useless on your face.

Stropping does help a lot, but if the razor isn't shave ready in the first place, you will waste your time stropping. Sent it to a honer to get it right and then have another shave, it will be much better!

 

[The National Razor]

Cool! Let's hope that your second shave is more rewarding than the first. Truth be told, that first shave is a great rush!

Like Bruckner changing his first symphony to No. 0, I think I'll do the same with the shave. So the next one will be the 1st!

edit: actually I see the No. 0 wasn't previously the 1st...but you get the idea!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._0_(Bruckner)

 

[Shredder]

Most has been said already.
1. Make absolutely, 100%, beyond any doubt certain that your razor is sharp. Not sharp as in "one pass is enough to get the perfect shave", but sharp as in "cuts hair on the arm without resistance". Especially a Grelot shouldnt and wont give you much feedback, you should just feel the light touch and see the hair fall down. Otherwise, its dull.
2. Preparation. A shave without preparation can be extremely unpleasant, and ineffective. It really makes a huge difference wether you shave when you come right out of the shower. I didnt believe it first, but its really true.
3. Angle, and pressure. A key progress for me (ymmv of course) was when i realized that little to no pressure actually gives better results than pushing hard. I still ahve to step back and force myself to use less force. Then, no cuts, no irritation and still more and better shave than before.

Most important: patience, and a sense of humor. Dont take it all too serious, the fun comes with the time, dont worry.

Good luck!

 

[Solidus]

Don't be discouraged. It took me MONTHS to get to the point where I could feel I had accomplished anything with a straight. I "quit" three times, vowing that I'd never pick them up again, and I almost sold them.

I'm at the crossroads as well..."quit" already...it's been a couple of weeks...I guess I'll give it a shot again on Thursday.

 

[professorchaos]

Like Bruckner changing his first symphony to No. 0, I think I'll do the same with the shave. So the next one will be the 1st!

edit: actually I see the No. 0 wasn't previously the 1st...but you get the idea!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._0_(Bruckner)

If you enjoy Bruckner, you'll have no trouble picking up shaving with a straight razor. Clearly you are a man who doesn't mind working for his reward as Bruckner's genius doesn't readily reveal itself.

 

[The National Razor]

If you enjoy Bruckner, you'll have no trouble picking up shaving with a straight razor. Clearly you are a man who doesn't mind working for his reward as Bruckner's genius doesn't readily reveal itself.

I hope that's the case...I think Bruckner is one of those composers whose music becomes all the more flooring when you learn the story behind it and his life