..or....How long did it take you to find a sufficient set-up. I have tried a handful of DEs (newbie with a few months of wet shaving). I have a couple of Superspeeds, a Krona and a Gillette New. I have been tearing my face up...no cuts, just many "weepers". Should it take a while to get the angle and method right, or do you think I just got some bad razors? I am using drug store blades - not sure of the brand.
Much blood
- Thread starter stormpetrel
- Start date
Wednesday I did an experiment. A lot of folks say go WTG > XTG > ATG. I decided to be a maverick and go ATG first. It was actually pretty good! I then went WTG and did some touch-up work. An honestly BBS shave!
My advice: choose just one, the Krona or the SS.
Then use it and it only while watching the Mantic videos again. Don't shoot for a BBS, just a SAS (socially acceptable shave...trust me, no one at work will notice). Don't touch another razor until you can get a decent shave with no weepers.
I did the same as you until I stopped messing about with too many razors and learned the basics. It's not so much your brain that needs to learn as your muscles, and repetition is the key.
Then use it and it only while watching the Mantic videos again. Don't shoot for a BBS, just a SAS (socially acceptable shave...trust me, no one at work will notice). Don't touch another razor until you can get a decent shave with no weepers.
I did the same as you until I stopped messing about with too many razors and learned the basics. It's not so much your brain that needs to learn as your muscles, and repetition is the key.
Some drug store brands can be quite horrid. I would buy yourself a blade sampler, so that you are working with blades of an accepted level of quality.
The advice the others give is spot on as well: when you are learning your technique, limit your variables as much as possible: one razor, one brush, one blade type, one soap/shaving cream. It's easier to pinpoint what went wrong if your variables are not all over the map.
+1 on trying different blades.
I really don't think the tools or the technique have that much to do with achieving a bloodless shave.
I feel it is getting (over time) the shaving surface conditioned,I:E your face.
If you have been using a cart all your life,you have bumps,farquels and uneven surfaces that have never been exposed to a real single cutting edge.
If your tools are close to adequate,Razor,blade,lather and prep,over time you will be in a sense micro planing the surface,in turn you will have weepers and such.
One day you will start getting the perfect shave and feel you have the perfect tools,after trying many combos (at great expense)when in reality perhaps it is your face that is getting conditioned and almost any decent,razor,blade etc will work with the most basic of technique,give it time.
I feel it is getting (over time) the shaving surface conditioned,I:E your face.
If you have been using a cart all your life,you have bumps,farquels and uneven surfaces that have never been exposed to a real single cutting edge.
If your tools are close to adequate,Razor,blade,lather and prep,over time you will be in a sense micro planing the surface,in turn you will have weepers and such.
One day you will start getting the perfect shave and feel you have the perfect tools,after trying many combos (at great expense)when in reality perhaps it is your face that is getting conditioned and almost any decent,razor,blade etc will work with the most basic of technique,give it time.
A fellow that can get a great, bloodless shave in 2-3 passes has a good technique. Another fellow that uses 7 passes and get's a pizza face has a really bad technique. Technique is VERY IMPORTANT.
This.
You should not be getting weepers all the time. Keep working on angles/pressure/technique but stick to ONE razor for a while.
+1 on trying a blade sampler. When I first started DE shaving, I was getting weepers on a daily basis until I tried some different blades. Everybody has different experiences with their blades.. you have to find the one that is "tuned" to your face and your style of shaving. A good, sharp blade also allows you to use a much lighter touch, which will help.
The Gillette Techs are GREAT for learning proper angle. Some of the newer rasors (Krona, SuperSpeed) are harder to master due to the larger, rounded safety bars.
Go S L O W L Y. The idea is to cut the whiskers, not yank them out and cut the follicle.
Try more diagonal passes. Try the Gillette Slide, but try not to cut yourself.
No matter how little pressure you think you're applying, APPLY LESS!
Get a blade sampler.
Go S L O W L Y. The idea is to cut the whiskers, not yank them out and cut the follicle.
Try more diagonal passes. Try the Gillette Slide, but try not to cut yourself.
No matter how little pressure you think you're applying, APPLY LESS!
Get a blade sampler.
I was in the same boat as you, until this week. Lots of burn/weepers despite going over so many articles on this site. Until I found the one I had somehow missed:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130110
I actually was going write my first post on it (and still might). But this changed it all from me. I was tilting between the blade and the bar, not the head and the blade. The difference has been astounding. Previously I could feel the razor dragging across my face. Now that feeling is gone and I'm getting nice, close shaves without the irritation.
Don't give up-your shave is out there!
ps-The best advice I've been following is to not change up the equipment. Still using all the crappy stuff I started with weeks ago and getting immensely better shaves.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130110
I actually was going write my first post on it (and still might). But this changed it all from me. I was tilting between the blade and the bar, not the head and the blade. The difference has been astounding. Previously I could feel the razor dragging across my face. Now that feeling is gone and I'm getting nice, close shaves without the irritation.
Don't give up-your shave is out there!
ps-The best advice I've been following is to not change up the equipment. Still using all the crappy stuff I started with weeks ago and getting immensely better shaves.
here is something that helped me immensely early on...
When shaving your neck, dont have the head of the razor straight side to side.. like West to East, as you stroke downward, but rather turn it sideways so it is pointing SW to NE, or the opposite.
Weepers come from too many passes or too much pressure or both.
Your perfect shave will come, stick with it. And remember if your razor is actually touching your face, its too much pressure. An exageration, but you get the point
When shaving your neck, dont have the head of the razor straight side to side.. like West to East, as you stroke downward, but rather turn it sideways so it is pointing SW to NE, or the opposite.
Weepers come from too many passes or too much pressure or both.
Your perfect shave will come, stick with it. And remember if your razor is actually touching your face, its too much pressure. An exageration, but you get the point
When I first switched from cartridges to DE shaving, I got weepers all of the time. Eventually, though, I had an epiphany, shaving is about cutting hair, not scraping skin. Since then, I seldom draw any blood. Just remember that you only need enough pressure at the right anglle to cut the hair.
I had a similar experience with a specific razor when I was starting - back around last January. When I went back to that razor last month - no problem - got a great shave. I attribute this to improved technique, and - and I think this was the most important factor, proper lather. I finally figured out how to make decent lather. Revisit Mantic's lather videos, and see if there is something there that may help you. Ditto, by the way, and the previous suggestions about trying different blades. Good luck, and welcome to our crazy world!
+1. I've been wet-shaving for over ten years, and DE wet-shaving for close to six months. It's only in the last week, though, that I've really begun to pay close attention to my angles: I stopped using a TTO razor and started using a Gillette Tech clone. My impression is that the Tech and its clones leave you nowhere to hide, as it were. There's no bulky set of silo doors protecting your face from a less-than-ideal angle. Either you master your shaving angles, or you scrape your face in a continuing series of weeping object lessons.
I got lucky and caught on to DE shaving very quickly, but I started with a EJ89L and a blade sampler. I have never shaved with the razors you mentioned, but I do have a couple of Rockets and they shave very well. I would guess that its either your blades or your using a bit of pressure while shaving, or a combination of each. When they say no pressure they mean no pressure at all, let the razor and the blade do the work.
I also only shaved with the grain for the first couple of weeks, and lived with the not so close shave till I got the whole angle thing down. Also map out your face what is with the grain for me could be against the grain for you. In the long run the learning curve is worth it, or at least I feel it was.
By reading his post I am not sure he has a Tech. The advice is sound, but the same thing can be accomplished with your new. I didn't want you to go by a Tech unless you wanted to.
You have gotten lots of good advice. My two cents: technique is the most important factor. Try using really short strokes. Vary the angle until you get the lather off with the least pressure. I hold my DE with just three fingers, and that grip is very loose. I think my shaving angle is pretty aggressive, but my touch is very light.
Lather quality is a factor in this, but if your technique is really good, you can shave with crappy lather without getting weepers. If your lather is not better than Barbasol from a can, that means some adjusting is needed. Try some Barbasol if you have doubt about your lather.
DamnFineBob said it well in an earlier post. Use less pressure!
Lather quality is a factor in this, but if your technique is really good, you can shave with crappy lather without getting weepers. If your lather is not better than Barbasol from a can, that means some adjusting is needed. Try some Barbasol if you have doubt about your lather.
DamnFineBob said it well in an earlier post. Use less pressure!
+1
Also, relearn the basics over and over, even if you think you have it down. I have been at it the summer and I find my technique going up and down at times. You can always find things to improve.
Angle
Pressure
Grain direction
lather quality
