First shave problems

[csd3]

I ran into a few problems with my first shave (i suppose this is to be expected). The straight was purchased honed and shave ready from a reputable shop.
I prepped well and lathered well with a calani soap.. 3 days of growth. I have moderately coarse hair but thin (not dense at all) distribution.
Long of the short of it is that the blade felt as it it was getting hung up with each pass. It was impossible to let the weight of the razor do the work as I anticipated. It took a good deal of work to keep the blade angle from being thrown by the hair tugging, even with short passes- and a good deal of pressure to work the blade through the hair. Close shave after a pass was accomplished. I'm not sure if my technique is worse than I expected or I'm having blade issues. I tend to doubt its the latter. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks-

 

[cleanshaved]

Try learning with only a one day growth until you get the hang of it.

 

[kirisute]

Depending on your hair growth rate you might want to shave with less growth. For me two or three days growth is a good length to shave...1 day and my skin is too sensitive etc.
also check your angle of shave. Start with the blade flat against your skin and angle it as you perform the stroke, as soon as it bites and shaves then you've found your angle. Adjusting that angle will alter the harshness of the cut, steeper will cut harsher, shallower will be a gentler cut...you might have dimly been angled too sharply and cutting a bit harsh.

 

[The Mick]

The straight was purchased honed and shave ready from a reputable shop.

I have a razor that came from a certain "reputable shop" that advertises they hone every razor before shipping out and well knowing what I know now and all the work it took to get it shave ready myself once I learned honing I will guarantee it was sent to me with a lame factory edge that very much fits with the kind of honing they do in a video from that same manufactures factory. So for what it's worth it may not be truly shave ready. If you don't see any improvement with some work on your technique you may want to send it out.

 

[csd3]

Thank you for the input. I feel like I'm at less than 30 and it took "work" to keep the blade moving forward. I'll take all advice and if things don't pick up it makes sense to send it out for honing. Fyi I bought from Classic Shaving. First time buyer. They accidently sent it to the wrong address but I recovered the package. Cheers and thanks again!

 

[kirisute]

You might consider a shavette....sure they differ slightly in feel from a true straight but the technique is essentially the same and you don't have to fret and fuss over sharpness and stropping and honing etc.
you learn the technique and feel and what works for you...then you grab your straight and compare.....
a shavette is a great way to start and learn and if you play with honing and stropping you can still shave even if you don have a good shave ready straight!

 

[Bk124tt]

Just to add on a little, beware of the shavette! It is soooo much sharper and less forgiving that a regular straight! I did learn starting witha shavette which made the transition to regular straights pretty easy!

You might consider a shavette....sure they differ slightly in feel from a true straight but the technique is essentially the same and you don't have to fret and fuss over sharpness and stropping and honing etc.
you learn the technique and feel and what works for you...then you grab your straight and compare.....
a shavette is a great way to start and learn and if you play with honing and stropping you can still shave even if you don have a good shave ready straight!

 

[The Mick]

Thank you for the input. I feel like I'm at less than 30 and it took "work" to keep the blade moving forward. I'll take all advice and if things don't pick up it makes sense to send it out for honing. Fyi I bought from Classic Shaving. First time buyer. They accidently sent it to the wrong address but I recovered the package. Cheers and thanks again!

I've never bought a razor from them so I can't say but a sharp razor doesn't take work to keep the blade moving even if your angle is a bit off. Did you use it straight out of the box or did you try to strop it first? If you tried to strop first you may have rolled the edge due to bad technique being your first time. If it was truly shave ready you don't need to strop for the first shave.