Today was my first straight razor shave, I began slowly and only shaved my cheeks but noticed a lot of tugging. Could this be a result of the blade not sharp enough or incorrect blade angle? I thought the blade angle was fine, from what I've seen in videos. Or could it be a combination of face and lather not being wet enough? This could be the case because I noticed my Gillette 7 o'clock blades tugged a little also and I was on the second shave with the that blade. My second pass did not tug with the 7 o'clocks and made sure to add more water to my lather mixture. I was using MWF soap today.
My First Str8 Shave Today
- Thread starter Cuttingboard
- Start date
its probably an angle/technique issue
make sure the spine is close to your face
make sure the spine is close to your face
Did you strop the razor before you shaved? You don't mention whether you did or not.
+1. When I first started, I thought I was using the angle I saw in the videos, but got a lot of tugging. When I brought the spine closer to my face, the blade starting slicing through the whiskers like butter.
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- #6
No, didn't strop but the gentleman that I bought it from indicated that he stropped the razor before he sent it to me.
I don't know if you took a shower beforehand, or how long you spent lathering, but another big factor is time. Time for your beard to get wet. Meaning you may have not let the lather (water) soak on your beard quite long enough to be adequately absorbed and make the hair shaft soft. Which may help explain why the second pass went better, as your stubble would have continued to soften.
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- #8
I took a shower before shaving, soaked my brush in hot water and placed a small amount of warm water on MWF while showering. I think the combination of not enough water in the lather and incorrect blade angle is the problem.
This sounds about right. I used to get that same sensation when I first started, but bringing the spine closer to my cheek and shaving with confidence alleviated the issue within a couple of shaves. Stretching the skin also makes a huge difference. It will feel awkward trying to get your stretching hand in the right position and still seeing your face in the mirror, but it gets easier with practice.
If it was mine (I know you've picked up a couple
), that razor is silly sharp and got 50 passes on linen and 50 on the felted leather side of a Filly before going out, so it should have been in good shape strop-wise when it got there. Give it a couple of tries, and if you're still not convinced, PM me and I'll do what is necessary to make it right.
Dave
I'm still struggling myself. I've taken to doing my cheeks and any area I can with a guillotine cut, that is holding the blade diagonally and pulling it down. This has given me the smooth cutting action I expected from a straight, so you might want to try it. Caution though, as it seems to be much easier to cut yourself this way, I've got two diagonal slices on my face from my last two shaves incorporating this method. If the blade gets caught on anything it seems like it will slide and slice.
This still hasn't helped with my lip and chin area though. It's like those areas are made out of kevlar hair or something. I think I need to learn some tricks to stretching these areas more.
The saving grace seems to be it takes less passes for me to get better shaves. I can usually skip the XTG pass with the straight it seems.
This still hasn't helped with my lip and chin area though. It's like those areas are made out of kevlar hair or something. I think I need to learn some tricks to stretching these areas more.
The saving grace seems to be it takes less passes for me to get better shaves. I can usually skip the XTG pass with the straight it seems.
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- #11
If it was mine (I know you've picked up a couple
Give it a couple of tries, and if you're still not convinced, PM me and I'll do what is necessary to make it right.
Dave
Not the razor I bought from you...hope to get yours today. I did see your video yesterday and it was very informative. What's wrong with your bathroom door?
Definately not the razors fault, I'm pretty sure that the blade angle was a little steep. I received my filly strop yesterday so I should be stropping in no time!
We're suppose to get 2 feet of snow this weekend, so that'll give me plenty of time time to practice.
Keep at it, it takes a bit of patience to learn proper technique. The first few shaves for me I remember thinking WTH just happened to my face.
Then it started getting better and better.
Good luck, and enjoy the ride.
Then it started getting better and better.
Good luck, and enjoy the ride.
What's wrong with your bathroom door?
If you "Paws" it at 2:25, I bet you can spot the problem with the door.
+1 on the steeper angle and keeping the face very wet. I found that as my speed increased I was getting much better results. I connected the dots that it was because I when I was taking so long the lather was drying on the unshaved parts. Refreshing with hot water did the trick for me.
Any updates?
I was wondering the same thing. It's okay if you're not a pro yet - we want updates, man!
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- #17
Sorry guys, because of the snow, I haven't had to go to work since last Thursday. No work, no shave but I have been practicing my grip. Suppose to snow 10 more inches tomorrow night so it may be a good time to practice without having the pressure of hurrying for work at 6AM.
Dave - I still haven't received my razor from the Post Office and they show it delived on February 3rd. I'm guessing they'll give it to me when they feel like it.
Dave - I still haven't received my razor from the Post Office and they show it delived on February 3rd. I'm guessing they'll give it to me when they feel like it.
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- #18
Dave - received the razor today...after a call to the post office. All I can say is awesome...beautiful razor. Better than I anticipated and I'm very happy!!! Thank you so much.
