ok so i have discovered something and see my mistakes whe shaving with a straight razor

[Staggers and Jags]

ok so i figured out my main problem with getting as little irritation as possible. firs of all i have to grip the razor tight to be able to do more fine controll. ive been using way too much pressure to shave i found that the right angle and basically just skimming of the lather they cut waay better
im still trying to get the fine control in my arm to keep the right pressure throughout the shave. i should have listened to the old timers a year ago and used their advice but no i thought i had it all figured out when all i did was renforce a years worh of bad technique they cut smoot as butter when you use no pressure. i wonder how a natural stone feels like that

 

[rbscebu]

You your lads never listen to the wise advice for us old fogies .

 

[PintoPlain]

You your lads never listen to the wise advice for us old fogies .

Kids these days, walking around like they rent the place. Get off my lawn!

@Staggers and Jags, now you have found where you were going wrong, keep at it. Your shaves will only improve and/or get quicker without loss of quality. Congratulations on your progress.

 

[Herrenberg]

Eh, the path doesn't matter, you got to the right place. Getting pressure right took me a long time too.

"If the fool would persist in his folly, he would become wise" -- William Blake

 

[marz1]

ok so i figured out my main problem with getting as little irritation as possible. firs of all i have to grip the razor tight to be able to do more fine controll. ive been using way too much pressure to shave i found that the right angle and basically just skimming of the lather they cut waay better
im still trying to get the fine control in my arm to keep the right pressure throughout the shave. i should have listened to the old timers a year ago and used their advice but no i thought i had it all figured out when all i did was renforce a years worh of bad technique they cut smoot as butter when you use no pressure. i wonder how a natural stone feels like that

Same here, I reduced my pressure and instantly got much better shaves with much less irritation.
I still think I can go even lighter though. I just need to get over the psychological block where my mind tells me I couldn't possibly get a close shave if I go any lighter on the pressure!

 

[Frank Shaves]

When I started my journey, using light pressure was not intuitive and I had to constantly remind myself to lighten up the pressure. The weird thing is that now using light pressure is beginning to seem intuitive.

 

[duke762]

When I started my journey, I struggled too keep my hand from shaking. I've never given the actual gripping style much thought and have landed on a sabre type grip just naturally I guess. My method follows no rules. Kind of barbaric it seems compared to the shaving videos I see posted here and there. I'm happy and that's all that count's.

If I have to apply pressure, I've failed some where along the line. My edges have been pretty darn good lately. I could easily take out next weeks growth, but it will sting a bit.

I have never felt burn after any straight shave, like I'd get off of my electric or multi blade gizmo's. Even my feeble first attempts at straight shaving were more comfortable then an electric razor. Dang, I wish I had started this when my kids were little. Lord only knows how much stubble burn I put on them when they were little....

 

[CarbonEdge]

Light pressure and a steep angle I find works best

 

[Calou]

im still trying to get the fine control in my arm to keep the right pressure throughout the shave.

Personally, to have a good control of the pressure and the angle I do like the barber shop. the arm places the blade on the face and only the wrist shaves.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

Light pressure and a steep angle I find works best

when you say steep do you mean closer to the face?

 

[CarbonEdge]

when you say steep do you mean closer to the face?

Yep exactly

 

[Staggers and Jags]

Yep exactly

i tried that today and it workeds much better. im thinking about skipping the across the grain pass and go just with the grain ad agains and see if that lessens some of the irritation from being a perfectionist

 

[CarbonEdge]

i tried that today and it workeds much better. im thinking about skipping the across the grain pass and go just with the grain ad agains and see if that lessens some of the irritation from being a perfectionist

trying and testing these things will be the best way to find what works for you. Try skipping the across, then try just the wtg and xtg passes without an atg. Just keep on trying new things til you find what gives you the best shave.
Also, you may need to look at other things also as you may be doing everything right but something else is letting you down.
For example I found that having a really slick lather - to the point it almost drips off the razor especially on the atg pass can help make that pass really smooth.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

i also think that i was judging when my razors were done in the wrong way. i used to test them cutting hair on my arm and i thought they were good if they cut hair using a little pressaure but i realised that may be why im not getting the best edges. now i test by seeing if the blade will cut by weight of the blade only. i still havent gotten to tree topping arm hairs. i can tree top chest hairs but my arm hairs are very thin

 

[steveclarkus]

trying and testing these things will be the best way to find what works for you. Try skipping the across, then try just the wtg and xtg passes without an atg. Just keep on trying new things til you find what gives you the best shave.
Also, you may need to look at other things also as you may be doing everything right but something else is letting you down.
For example I found that having a really slick lather - to the point it almost drips off the razor especially on the atg pass can help make that pass really smooth.

I second that. Wet thin lather makes a huge difference. I dip my brush a bit and re-wet the lather as I shave.

 

[steveclarkus]

i also think that i was judging when my razors were done in the wrong way. i used to test them cutting hair on my arm and i thought they were good if they cut hair using a little pressaure but i realised that may be why im not getting the best edges. now i test by seeing if the blade will cut by weight of the blade only. i still havent gotten to tree topping arm hairs. i can tree top chest hairs but my arm hairs are very thin

Same with me.

 

[CarbonEdge]

i also think that i was judging when my razors were done in the wrong way. i used to test them cutting hair on my arm and i thought they were good if they cut hair using a little pressaure but i realised that may be why im not getting the best edges. now i test by seeing if the blade will cut by weight of the blade only. i still havent gotten to tree topping arm hairs. i can tree top chest hairs but my arm hairs are very thin

If you’re learning to hone and SR shave at the same time, then there is every chance that your edge is the problem.
I’d suggest if you have two razors, send one out to get honed and then practice your honing on the second. Keep the one honed by a pro as a reference.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

If you’re learning to hone and SR shave at the same time, then there is every chance that your edge is the problem.
I’d suggest if you have two razors, send one out to get honed and then practice your honing on the second. Keep the one honed by a pro as a reference.

i do a good enough job to get a comfortable now. ive changed the way i shave and its bbasically changed the kind of results im getting for the better