I had the same issues as you are having, especially going ATG on the neck. For me the problem was pressure and especially angle. I start with a very shallow angle with most of the top cap in contact with my skin. I then adjust the angle until I just feel the blade starting to contact the whiskers and proceed with the lightest possible touch. It felt very awkward at first and I got a bit discouraged, but everyone advised me not to give up. So I stuck with it and it gradually became more comfortable and efficient. As far as blades go I find Feathers are sharp enough for me. My beard is tough on blades and I get two good shaves per blade.
No sharp blades available? What am I missing?
- Thread starter sprase
- Start date
Welcome to B&B. +4 on all the above advice. The only other thing that caught my eye is that you
mentioned "soapy lather" Lather should be rich & slick (readily achieved from a cream) so you get a good glide with the razor. You are using a good cream in TOBS. If you are face lathering, try getting an old cup or small bowl and whip up the lather that way (bowl lather). Will help you gauge the thickness/richness of the lather before applying it to your face. Getting a good rich lather is determined by the cream/water ratio, and different creams have varying ratios depending on how dense the cream is. A good example is a Castle Forbes cream. Very dense so more water, Captain's Choice is a soft cream, so less water. Hope that adds to the above.
A good tip is to be consistent at first. Same razor, same blade (I suggest GSB), same cream, same lathering technique.
With that consistency, now focus on your technique (razor angle and no pressure except what the weight of the razor gives you (i.e. Don't apply pressure by pressing on the razor. That's a really bad thing (IMHO)
Mikey
mentioned "soapy lather" Lather should be rich & slick (readily achieved from a cream) so you get a good glide with the razor. You are using a good cream in TOBS. If you are face lathering, try getting an old cup or small bowl and whip up the lather that way (bowl lather). Will help you gauge the thickness/richness of the lather before applying it to your face. Getting a good rich lather is determined by the cream/water ratio, and different creams have varying ratios depending on how dense the cream is. A good example is a Castle Forbes cream. Very dense so more water, Captain's Choice is a soft cream, so less water. Hope that adds to the above.
A good tip is to be consistent at first. Same razor, same blade (I suggest GSB), same cream, same lathering technique.
With that consistency, now focus on your technique (razor angle and no pressure except what the weight of the razor gives you (i.e. Don't apply pressure by pressing on the razor. That's a really bad thing (IMHO)
Mikey
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #23
All, thanks a lot for the suggestions. The blades I've tried do cut hair, it just seems more like it's scraping it off rather than cleanly cutting it, especially around the jawline. I'll work on the blade angle, keeping pressure to a minimum, and try lathering for several more minutes to soften the hair up more. I am sure as my technique improves it will get smoother.
Good to see you post again- I was starting to fear that we had scared you off! Keep at it, the results are well worth it in the end.
It may be a little early for this but you may eventually want to try slants. The torquing of the blade makes it stiffer and gives me a more distinct feeling of slicing through the hair.
I definitely recommend working on the angle first like most have said but if you can't get it to feel quite right give one a try.
I definitely recommend working on the angle first like most have said but if you can't get it to feel quite right give one a try.
