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New guy first/second straight razor shave question!

Hey so I finally bought a straight razor and the accompanying supplies. I did my first and second shaves. I nicked and cut myself here and there *surprise surprise*
but I feel like my razor tugged on the hair.

I was under the impression that a straight razor didn’t really tug. I’m pretty sure I’m at (or pretty close to ) 30 degrees.

I guess I am just not really sure about what I’m doing wrong. I’m looking for some advice and help.

Thanks in advance gentlemen!
 
The blade may not be properly honed as well.

This is also true.

Major problems typically encountered.

1) wrong angle / technique
2) razor is not as shave ready as you might need
3) you rounded the bevel with poor stropping technique
4) lather

Points 2 and 3 can be a bit daunting.

If you bought a shave ready razor ... It might not be as shave ready as you would like, which can generally be addressed through good stropping and sometimes with paste. I like paddle strops - one side plain leather, the other with a fine paste - I use Dovo black paste. You might also need a round of Chromium Oxide first.

Why I like paddle strops is the feedback. You can tell whether a blade is ready from the way it pulls on the strop.

The paddle stropping approach is seen as a bit old fashioned though. There seems to be a lot of love for pasted balsa, which is also very effective. Have a search for this topic.

Hanging strops are great - I think they require fewer rounds - but it's easier to make mistakes when you are starting out.

Practise your stropping technique with a butter knife on your thigh - that's how I learnt many moons ago. There is a lot of focus on honing on the forums, but a good stropping technique will help with many happy shaves.

Lather shoulder be slicker than with safety razors. If you are used to building thick lathers, do as normal, then dip your brush into warm water and work it across your face. You should end up with a good lather but one with enough moisture. If the lather is not hydrated enough the razor can stick and tug.
 
This is also true.

Major problems typically encountered.

1) wrong angle / technique
2) razor is not as shave ready as you might need
3) you rounded the bevel with poor stropping technique
4) lather

Points 2 and 3 can be a bit daunting.

If you bought a shave ready razor ... It might not be as shave ready as you would like, which can generally be addressed through good stropping and sometimes with paste. I like paddle strops - one side plain leather, the other with a fine paste - I use Dovo black paste. You might also need a round of Chromium Oxide first.

Why I like paddle strops is the feedback. You can tell whether a blade is ready from the way it pulls on the strop.

The paddle stropping approach is seen as a bit old fashioned though. There seems to be a lot of love for pasted balsa, which is also very effective. Have a search for this topic.

Hanging strops are great - I think they require fewer rounds - but it's easier to make mistakes when you are starting out.

Practise your stropping technique with a butter knife on your thigh - that's how I learnt many moons ago. There is a lot of focus on honing on the forums, but a good stropping technique will help with many happy shaves.

Lather shoulder be slicker than with safety razors. If you are used to building thick lathers, do as normal, then dip your brush into warm water and work it across your face. You should end up with a good lather but one with enough moisture. If the lather is not hydrated enough the razor can stick and tug.

But if stripping or honing is my issue, how could I tell? My blade looks sharp. I cannot get any light to reflect off the edge, which I thought was an indicator.

So how might I know if this is the issue?
 

EB Newfarm

Cane? I'm Able!
I can relate. I have been struggling with a similar issue. I'll read the advice you get and hope to figure this stuff out.
 
Sharpness: standard advice is to get a shave ready razor from a reliable source. Use this as a benchmark.

However, my idea of shave-ready differs from the reliable sources I've tried. But the difference tends to be one of how well stropped the razor is. Any reliable source will at least set the bevel, and polish out the edge. The rest is stropping. For this reason I would concentrate first on your stropping technique.

The second test is to be able to tree top your arm hair. The further up the hair away from the skin you are able to cut the hairs the sharper, and with a really sharp blade, the hairs should feel like they are pinging off when the edge touches them.

This doesn't however help with smoothness and consistency of edge.

The test I like is to feel the draw / drag on a good leather paddle strop which will indicate both smoothness and sharpness. You can feel the resistance smooth out when the blade is right. This is the method have I used for years and years.

The other objective test I use more recently is to look at the bevel under a loup. You can pick up something that works well for a few dollars / pounds off the bay. You need to look for three things. That the edge is perfectly straight with no indentations in the cutting edge itself, that the bevel is polished like a mirror - no scratches, and that there is no burr.

Do bear in mind that the grind and metal of the razor can make a big difference to how the razor will feel. It's important not to confuse drag with blade feel. (my carbon extra hollow razors cut through hairs differently to the more solid feel of a stainless or a half hollow)

I am sure you will get other different advice. This is what works for me over a number of years - others' mileage is sure to vary. There are more modern and scientific approaches, lapping film, balsa pasted with diamond paste.

Get your razor from a good source, practise stropping, make sure your lather is hydrated, vary your angle.
 
One other bit of advice to throw in, as HHT and angle have already been thrown in, don’t forget to skin stretch with your off hand. It improves an SR shave immensely!

It also may just take some getting used to the SR. When I started, I went with a vendor who was well known for a quality initial hone. Still, I felt that the blade was “tuggy” compared to my DE shaves. After a journey of over 100 open blade shaves, I’ve still pulled that SR out from time to time (same edge, only refreshed on balsa a few times) and I find it to actually be superb and comfortable now.
 
Don't skimp on prep! This alone will make a huge difference.
As Gear Noir says stretch skin well and start with a properly honed razor as Seveneight has said.
To not see any light reflect off your edge is far from a reliable indication of shave ready.
If you can try to reach out for someone to hone 1 for you, do so. Many members will not charge anything other than postage.
Where are you located?
 
Don't skimp on prep! This alone will make a huge difference.
As Gear Noir says stretch skin well and start with a properly honed razor as Seveneight has said.
To not see any light reflect off your edge is far from a reliable indication of shave ready.
If you can try to reach out for someone to hone 1 for you, do so. Many members will not charge anything other than postage.
Where are you located?

Good to know about the edge, like I said I am extremely new.

I’m still learning to skin stretch, it’s a bit odd woh glasses.

I am in Queen Creek Arizona.
 
Keep the angle closer to your face and try to shave your cheeks. If you can shave that closely then you blade is sharp and the rest if probably just technique/learning. If you can't shave your cheeks (flattest are of your face) then the blade probably isn't sharp enough.
 
So Seveneighth,

I tried tree topping, my arm hair, and it would hardly even cut it against the skin. I was advertised that I was receiving a Gold Dollar #208 which was honed and stripped by the honemeister at a local shop.

I’m unsure whether or not it’s a GD208 or not, all of the ones I’ve seen are marked in some way as such, this one however has no markings whatsoever.

All of the other equipment I got in the kit are pretty solid, but this razor seems lacking.

I ordered a Portland Razor Co. Hydra. I have read a lot of good about them and feel confident it will be of quality. (Really hope I like shaving with it since I’ve sunk some more $$$ into it.)

Here’s some pics of the razor I have currently.
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So Seveneighth,

I tried tree topping, my arm hair, and it would hardly even cut it against the skin. I was advertised that I was receiving a Gold Dollar #208 which was honed and stripped by the honemeister at a local shop.

I’m unsure whether or not it’s a GD208 or not, all of the ones I’ve seen are marked in some way as such, this one however has no markings whatsoever.

All of the other equipment I got in the kit are pretty solid, but this razor seems lacking.

I ordered a Portland Razor Co. Hydra. I have read a lot of good about them and feel confident it will be of quality. (Really hope I like shaving with it since I’ve sunk some more $$$ into it.)

Here’s some pics of the razor I have currently.
proxy.php

proxy.php
I hate to give a good person bad news but it doesn't sound shave ready. All is not lost though because there is a large base of Gold Dollar fans within this forum and I'm pretty certain they can help you to get that to be an excellent shave.

I can't give you advice about the two razors you mentioned, as I have no experience of those. Only general stropping advice.

The simplest and most effective way to get sorted is to repost in the honing section and see if anyone will offer help. Or to contact the Whipped Dog website - no experience myself but everyone seems to rave about their honing service. For forum members I suggest looking at their posting history (how long, whether they are posting about Gold Dollar razors they have honed and are shaving with), and for any testimonials from other members.

There are a couple of things you could try yourself.

First of all you need to work out which of two things has happened here. Was the razor never honed well or did you roll the edge stropping it? Did you try the razor before stropping? If you stropped did you keep the strop taut and the blade flat?

If it was bad stropping on your part or if the bevel is good just not sharpened, you might be able to bring the edge back.

Look for a thread started by @slashmccoy called :

How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop

The thread is very detailed. It's a relatively inexpensive approach using a reliable modem approach.

If this is too much info you can go more low tech :


You can make more than one. With newspaper or leather strops I prefer solid crayons rather than the diamond pastes. Look for Dovo strop paste, red and black. You get two tiny crayons for about $10. They go a long way even if small. You will also want a Chromium Oxide crayon. Find one which has the micron grade specified.

Or buy a couple of cheap paddle strops. You want ones which are three inches wide and add plaste to these instead.

Finish on a plain leather or newspaper strop.


Learning to strop

Whatever has happened it's a really good idea to develop a good stropping technique. How I was taught was with a butter knife - the straight blunt type with a fake bone handle.

Sitting, wearing a pair of jeans or similar heavy canvas pants, hold the knife by the handle near the blade between finger and thumb, and practise spreading (imaginary) butter back and forth up and down your thigh. Flip the knife on its spine between your fingers to change direction. The idea is to keep the blade completely in contact with the canvas of your jeans without fealing like you are pressing into your leg. Really it is like spreading soft butter - no more pressure than that - as if you want to spread a consistent fine layer across your jeans. Keep doing this until you can produce enough friction to create a slight warmth without pressure.

As long as the bevel is not completely messed up, a good stropping technique, especially with paste, can get a difficult razor shaving again.

I should add - if the razor is not honed correctly you will need to get someone experienced to sort it out. Perfecting your stropping routine won't make things worse, will be invaluable for maintaining your razors, and might just sort out the problem of you are lucky.
 
I hate to give a good person bad news but it doesn't sound shave ready. All is not lost though because there is a large base of Gold Dollar fans within this forum and I'm pretty certain they can help you to get that to be an excellent shave.

I can't give you advice about the two razors you mentioned, as I have no experience of those. Only general stropping advice.

The simplest and most effective way to get sorted is to repost in the honing section and see if anyone will offer help. Or to contact the Whipped Dog website - no experience myself but everyone seems to rave about their honing service. For forum members I suggest looking at their posting history (how long, whether they are posting about Gold Dollar razors they have honed and are shaving with), and for any testimonials from other members.

There are a couple of things you could try yourself.

First of all you need to work out which of two things has happened here. Was the razor never honed well or did you roll the edge stropping it? Did you try the razor before stropping? If you stropped did you keep the strop taut and the blade flat?

If it was bad stropping on your part or if the bevel is good just not sharpened, you might be able to bring the edge back.

Look for a thread started by @slashmccoy called :

How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop

The thread is very detailed. It's a relatively inexpensive approach using a reliable modem approach.

If this is too much info you can go more low tech :


You can make more than one. With newspaper or leather strops I prefer solid crayons rather than the diamond pastes. Look for Dovo strop paste, red and black. You get two tiny crayons for about $10. They go a long way even if small. You will also want a Chromium Oxide crayon. Find one which has the micron grade specified.

Or buy a couple of cheap paddle strops. You want ones which are three inches wide and add plaste to these instead.

Finish on a plain leather or newspaper strop.


Learning to strop

Whatever has happened it's a really good idea to develop a good stropping technique. How I was taught was with a butter knife - the straight blunt type with a fake bone handle.

Sitting, wearing a pair of jeans or similar heavy canvas pants, hold the knife by the handle near the blade between finger and thumb, and practise spreading (imaginary) butter back and forth up and down your thigh. Flip the knife on its spine between your fingers to change direction. The idea is to keep the blade completely in contact with the canvas of your jeans without fealing like you are pressing into your leg. Really it is like spreading soft butter - no more pressure than that - as if you want to spread a consistent fine layer across your jeans. Keep doing this until you can produce enough friction to create a slight warmth without pressure.

As long as the bevel is not completely messed up, a good stropping technique, especially with paste, can get a difficult razor shaving again.

Wow that’s very good advice. I will definitely look into that! Thank you!
 
I believe after about three months I started understanding a little better. If you can try to stick to a set routine that will help. As to see if you are improving.also try to do every other day. I scraped my face daily for a bit. If you stick with it you will get better and better. Good luck
 
I believe after about three months I started understanding a little better. If you can try to stick to a set routine that will help. As to see if you are improving.also try to do every other day. I scraped my face daily for a bit. If you stick with it you will get better and better. Good luck

Thanks man! That gives me hope! I have been doing every other day so far, I don’t usually grow facial hair quite fast enough to really need to shave on a daily basis.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
The second test is to be able to tree top your arm hair. The further up the hair away from the skin you are able to cut the hairs the sharper, and with a really sharp blade, the hairs should feel like they are pinging off when the edge touches them.

Actually, with the very sharpest of edges, you will not feel anything at all when the razor mows the hairs down. Such edges are not common and require a lot of skill, a good piece of steel, time, patience and effort, and a little luck. Not only would you not feel the hair being disturbed, but you will not hear a "tink" sound, either, or else (with an extra full hollow "singing" razor) the sound will be greatly attenuated, if you manage to create an edge that sharp.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I tried tree topping, my arm hair, and it would hardly even cut it against the skin. I was advertised that I was receiving a Gold Dollar #208 which was honed and stripped by the honemeister at a local shop.

That is not a shave ready edge. It is not even a very good pocketknife edge. The guy who did it should be strapped down in a barber's chair and forcibly shaved with it.

Okay, not really. Everyone has off days now and then. But the guy who honed it, if he even shaves with a straight razor and understands the principles of honing a razor, should be happy to get it back and have a chance to make it right. My gut suspicion though, is that he is clueless.
 
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