Question on beard

[JimP]

Ok, I received an artist feather SS the other day with the Feather Pro (?) blades. I commenced to slashing and cutting my way through my first straight shave. Not enough blood loss to qualify me as a donor but darned close. I then watched a few videos to up my technique and to see what I was doing wrong.

Tried again this morning with a VERY light touch and cut myself even worse. The issue/question I have for the folks here is with regard to my beard. All the videos and all the reading I have done stress NOT to put any pressure on the razor, to let the blade do the cutting.

My problem is that after the first shave with two days growth, the razor was catching and I had to force the cutting and the razor the get through the beard. This morning I figured things would be easier as the growth was only a day. Still had the catching and the pulling. It is almost as though I have to force the blade through the beard.
What may I be doing wrong?

First shave was after a shower prep and good lather. Same prep this morning but with the addition of using coconut oil as a prep before the cream.

Any comments?

 

[noahpictures]

Congrats on the Feather SS! I really enjoyed shaving with it before I moved on to traditional straights. The no pressure thing usually applies to DE razors using DE blades. Straights including the Feather SS are very different. Keeping the skin taut by stretching it (apply alum block on finger tips to increase grip or use a small piece of paper towel), use short, confident strokes in a pulling motion. If your strokes are too slow the blade will drag and pull your whiskers causing an uncomfortable shave. Keep the angle as shallow/flat as possible. During the first few shaves don't shave below the jawline until you become comfortable holding the razor. There is no shame in finishing up with another razor that you're comfortable with.

Prep is very important. At the beginning stages I recommend using a pre-shave oil or pure vegetable glycerin used as a pre-shave on wet whiskers then lather immediately.

Be patient and have fun. It might take a hundred shaves to get it right but it will be worth it. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

[sychodelix]

Keep it in motion, and check your angle. Those two things make a big difference with any straight.

 

[Zephyr]

You don't want much pressure against your skin, but you want and need some pressure against the beard/stubbles.

As noahpictures said you want to use short confident strokes as you keep the blade angle as low as possible, within a few shaves you will gain more confidence using the Feather and your shaves will improve gradually as you figure out what combination of angle and pressure that works for you.

This is all part of the learning curve of shaving with a straight, but hey, that's half the fun isn't it?

Good luck and lett us know how it works out.

 

[wquiles]

I too started shaving with the Father SS - my thread here has a lot more feedback/photos/etc., but I am curious about what angle you are using. The SS worked best for me when it was flat enough that it would almost not cut (it was ridding on the lip):

then you raise the SS a little bit more, which then "engages" the cutting edge with the beard.

The other thing I also noted is that when you transition from DE to str8 shaving, your lather needs to be specially slippery - more so than with DE's.

 

[JimP]

Great tips gents...I'll keep you posted. I should have regenerated enough blood by next weekend to give it another whack or two. Right now I have a few pretty good cuts healing up on my puss. I just tell folks..: "You should see the OTHER guy!!".

 

[Kentos]

No matter how sharp the blade the sheer number of whiskers it has to cut on each pass necessitates a little bit of pull sensation. With really good technique that feeling can be minimized to the point it feels like you are squeegee-ing the hair off your face.

 

[tomjr]

i have heard a similar story of a dull razor. come to find out someone had used the razor to open packages (SWMBO). not that this happened here but i thought it was an amusing story. but i would change the blade for my next shave. just my $0.02.