Relearning with a straight

[HeavyD]

Good morning all,

I was posting and learning with a straight razor about 8 years ago. Everyone here was so supportive and helpful. I was pretty close to crossing from apprentice to journeyman level, then had some health issue and meds causing shakes. As a result I tossed in the towel on the straights. They got thoroughly oiled up and stored for years.

Now for the good news! My health has improved, the shakes are way better and I’m stepping back in as a novice. I took a small pile of razors to a local hone meister (yes, I will learn that too in time).

I’m 4 shaves in and seem to have passed the bloodletting stage. If I recall correctly, that is the first step. Then close shaves come sometime in the following month. I still do a clean up pass with the cartridge.

To my fellow newbies, when you are struggling with picking your first razor and an old timer says not to worry, it won’t be your last, he’s right! I think I have at least 8 already.

confession time: I know I shouldn’t be playing around with all different kinds of razors while I’m relearning, but I can’t resist! Old wedges, 1/2 hollow, hollow, extra hollow… the only ones I’m avoiding for now are the square and spike tips. I don’t think I was ever good enough for those (don’t need any red stripes). I used to complain about shaving and how fast my beard grows. Now I look forward to the experience and it feels like it my beard doesn’t grow fast enough! Looking forward to the shave was something I completely forgot about.

My goal is to get proficient and good enough that I can also be supportive and helpful to the newbies just as you all were with me!

Thanks!

PS. Please forgive me if I posted in the wrong thread. I’m relearning the forum too.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Welcome back, @HeavyD!

Looking forward to hearing about your progress.

 

[HeavyD]

Thank you! I’m very excited to be back.

This evening I tried an old near wedge razor and a newer extra hollow ground. The extra hollow was not my friend. Even on a simple cheek pass it was not enjoyable. I played with angle a bit but it still seemed I had to fight it and push it through.

Now for the good news: that big fat wedge was as smooth as silk. I think I found a new favorite from the old pile. I wish I was more eloquent so I could describe it better, but it just glided effortlessly with no discomfort whatsoever like it was simply wiping the cream away from a smooth surface. Now I will say I’m a bit chicken coming in at near 90 degrees under the nose with that blade being so tall (has to be about an inch from edge to spine).

I’m still doing just one pass WTG and touching up with a cartridge razor. Aside from the chin that I haven’t mastered, the clean up isn’t cleaning up much.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Success! Welcome back.

 

[PintoPlain]

Well done getting back on the horse. As you have had previous experience, it should come back fairly quickly.

One thing to remember with straights is patience is your friend. Don't rush or you will make a blood sacrifice to the shaving gods. That doesn't matter if you are starting out, relearning or have shaved daily for years (I'm an example of the latter, I gave myself a decent nick last week. I should have known better).

Congratulations on your recovery.

 

[HeavyD]

Thank you!

“a blood sacrifice to the shaving gods” - that was hilarious! And I’m with you. I gave myself a nice red stripe on day 1. Not sure if I was cocky or what, but humility is here. Since then it’s been better every day.

Going by memory, step 1 in the learning is the ceasing of cuts and nicks (almost there). Step 2 takes a while longer - close shaves.

I really should stop playing around with the various razor types in my pile. I think I’ll pick the one I do best with it and practice with one rather than trying to adjust style off the bat. I’m down to a top 4 at least!

Hopefully my Christmas gift to my self will be proficiency and good shaves with the straight!

 

[cajunrph]

I'll be learning with you. I just acquired some straights, stones and a strop. I've been wet shaving on and off since 2011, I had a beard for much of that time. I look forward to the adventure.

 

[HeavyD]

Welcome to the club! I’ll be happy to share experiences and lessons learned.

One thing I can share off the bat. You’ll see people and web sites all over saying to use a 30 deg angle. Baloney! I find anywhere between 3/4 to 1 1/2 spine width from the face is best. Smoother and less tugging, irritating And scraping.

 

[cajunrph]

Welcome to the club! I’ll be happy to share experiences and lessons learned.

One thing I can share off the bat. You’ll see people and web sites all over saying to use a 30 deg angle. Baloney! I find anywhere between 3/4 to 1 1/2 spine width from the face is best. Smoother and less tugging, irritating And scraping.

That's way shallower than 30 degrees. The WiKi here recommends to lay the blade flat, start the downward stroke then raise the spine till you feel the blade. I'll give that a whirl unless I am informed otherwise.

 

[HeavyD]

In hindsight, it could be an optical illusion. I keep my eye on the blade, not the scales. When the spine looks 1-1 1/2 spine widths away, the scales look close to a 30 degree angle.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I have always held the blade at an angle based on the feel of the edge against the my beard. That said, I have noticed that the angle decreased recently and my shaves have improved.

 

[HeavyD]

There is one minor caveat I would add to an item the list of Do’s and Don’ts.

Straight Razor/The Do's and Don'ts!

Introduction

www.badgerandblade.com

”Don't - Use another type of razor (DE, Electric, Cartridge) to touch up areas you might not have done too well in. This is counter-productive to you learning how to properly tackle all areas of your face.”

I completely agree with this statement provided you have become comfortable and proficient handling the razor. For your first few shaves while you are worried or nervous and figuring out the basics, you’ll likely end up with some boo boos. At least I did. I’m not ashamed to admit that after that, I switched to one straight razor pass WTG and clean up with my old razor for about a week as I learned the fundamentals. Once you have the fundamentals down, you begin to play around with stretching differently, making funnier faces, trying different directions, strokes, and other “experiments”.

That leads me to another thing that dawned on me. I’ve read many times not to worry about the quality of the shaves at first you’ll get better shaves in time. This is true only if you keep experimenting and trying different things. Watch videos, read forums, ask questions. If you do exactly the same thing every time, nothing will change except cementing bad habits. This is an epiphany that came to me thinking back on how long it took me to make any progress years ago. As my dad used to say “Experience is a tough teacher. It tests first, teaches later.”

 

[cajunrph]

My first Straight Razor shave was today. Both ears and my nose are intact. No blood at all. I followed the wiki advice to just do WTG passes on my face and used my trusty Super Speed for the rest. A timid start but I settled down after the first few strokes. I’m looking forward to tomorrows shave.

 

[PintoPlain]

My first Straight Razor shave was today. Both ears and my nose are intact. No blood at all. I followed the wiki advice to just do WTG passes on my face and used my trusty Super Speed for the rest. A timid start but I settled down after the first few strokes. I’m looking forward to tomorrows shave.

In my view, the first objective of starting to use a straight is to keep blood on the inside of the skin. In this regard, well done.

Keep at it and as you get more comfortable with the thought of moving an exceedingly sharp piece of steel across your face and develop your skills in holding the razor and working out angles etc, close shaves will come.

As mentioned in my earlier post, patience is your friend with using a straight. If you're not feeling comfortable, finish off with a DE, cart or whatever, then try again tomorrow. You'll get the hang of it eventually.

 

[HeavyD]

My first Straight Razor shave was today. Both ears and my nose are intact. No blood at all. I followed the wiki advice to just do WTG passes on my face and used my trusty Super Speed for the rest. A timid start but I settled down after the first few strokes. I’m looking forward to tomorrows shave.

Keep at it. I’m almost a month in and am making big improvements and discoveries almost daily!

Here’s a couple tips I don’t recall reading but learned the hard way:

1. Angle - 30 degrees is harsh, nasty, and bleedy for me. I use a very shallow angle and it works just fine. The shaves became painless. Many people balk at this but imagine your razor flat on a hone with a whisker sticking up out of the middle of the hone. do you think the whisher wouldn’t be cut if the blade slid past it? To be clear, I’m not saying to shave like that, nor do I do so.

2. Pressure is critical. You want as close to zero as possible. You want no more than contact. If I had to guess, the pressure would be in milligrams. “More pressure” is NEVER the answer. “Hey, I just cleared all the shaving cream and there’s still whiskers.” Those used to a cartridge razor automatically press harder and the whiskers get cut. Why is that? The squeegees before and after the blades stretch the skin. If you see stubble after a straight razor pass, you did not stretch the skin correctly. Yes I have trouble spots and think WTH, I stretched like crazy And it didn’t work. I’ll try making funnier faces, pushing out with air or the tongue, pulling in a different direction, etc. basically the goal is to get the whisper to stand up so the blade whacks it. Take your time and play around. Rinse your face and relather when needed. When you take a pass and still see some whiskers, try a different stretch method and take another pass instantly without adding more lather (while skin is still slick with lather residue). This helped me a lot. Back to #1, trying a steeper angle to hit missed hairs doesn’t work, but does provide the harsh nasty, bloody shave to that area.

Since learning these two tips, I’ve had some of the most enjoyable, comfortable, and pain free shaves. At times when I’m doing well, it feels like I’m just wiping noisy lather off my face.

I hope this is of help to you or someone else.

PS. I forgot to add that some of this playing around is for after you’re comfortable (no longer timid) with the straight razor.

 

[cajunrph]

Keep at it. I’m almost a month in and am making big improvements and discoveries almost daily!

Here’s a couple tips I don’t recall reading but learned the hard way:

1. Angle - 30 degrees is harsh, nasty, and bleedy for me. I use a very shallow angle and it works just fine. The shaves became painless. Many people balk at this but imagine your razor flat on a hone with a whisker sticking up out of the middle of the hone. do you think the whisher wouldn’t be cut if the blade slid past it? To be clear, I’m not saying to shave like that, nor do I do so.

2. Pressure is critical. You want as close to zero as possible. You want no more than contact. If I had to guess, the pressure would be in milligrams. “More pressure” is NEVER the answer. “Hey, I just cleared all the shaving cream and there’s still whiskers.” Those used to a cartridge razor automatically press harder and the whiskers get cut. Why is that? The squeegees before and after the blades stretch the skin. If you see stubble after a straight razor pass, you did not stretch the skin correctly. Yes I have trouble spots and think WTH, I stretched like crazy And it didn’t work. I’ll try making funnier faces, pushing out with air or the tongue, pulling in a different direction, etc. basically the goal is to get the whisper to stand up so the blade whacks it. Take your time and play around. Rinse your face and relather when needed. When you take a pass and still see some whiskers, try a different stretch method and take another pass instantly without adding more lather (while skin is still slick with lather residue). This helped me a lot. Back to #1, trying a steeper angle to hit missed hairs doesn’t work, but does provide the harsh nasty, bloody shave to that area.

Since learning these two tips, I’ve had some of the most enjoyable, comfortable, and pain free shaves. At times when I’m doing well, it feels like I’m just wiping noisy lather off my face.

I hope this is of help to you or someone else.

PS. I forgot to add that some of this playing around is for after you’re comfortable (no longer timid) with the straight razor.

10 straight razor shaves in today. I am getting more comfortable with the straights. I just do WTG passes with my straights so far, I still use the DE to touch after two WTG passes. I have noticed the angle needs to be flatter, today I was noticing that more. Days prior the blade bit me, no blood, but near blood. I was conscious of shaving with a shallower angle today. I am also focusing on hardly any pressure, just enough to remove the cream. This is a new development after some rough days. I also am doing little buffing strokes as well. Progress is being made. Rome wasn't built in a day, and all those other cliches. ;^)

 

[HeavyD]

10 straight razor shaves in today. I am getting more comfortable with the straights. I just do WTG passes with my straights so far, I still use the DE to touch after two WTG passes. I have noticed the angle needs to be flatter, today I was noticing that more. Days prior the blade bit me, no blood, but near blood. I was conscious of shaving with a shallower angle today. I am also focusing on hardly any pressure, just enough to remove the cream. This is a new development after some rough days. I also am doing little buffing strokes as well. Progress is being made. Rome wasn't built in a day, and all those other cliches. ;^)

I am happy to hear that! I think I’m around 20 shaves in.

I’m mostly doing WTG still myself. I’ll occasionally foray into an XTG. My thought is if I haven’t mastered WTG first, what’s the point? If I’m still seeing missed spots, I didn’t do WTG correctly. I’ll do 2 passes with the straight WTG, try to clean up any missed spots and learn from that. If I have a stubborn area after that, I note it and clean up that spot with the old razor.

you're very right about the time it takes! My goal is decent comfortable shaves in 2 months. I think I’ll make it. If not, I’ll have to extend the deadline. LOL. As long as we’re having fun, that’s all that matters!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[PintoPlain]

@HeavyD you're correct on the 30 degree shave being harsh. I don't know where that came from originally, but it seems to get thrown around as if it's gospel. Many (most?) Gents on this forum appear to advocate keeping the spine between 1 and 2 spine widths away from the skin.

I would typically aim for 1-1½ spine widths, and just try to remove the lather. If your edge is good enough, by doing this you should also remove whiskers.

 

[HeavyD]

@HeavyD you're correct on the 30 degree shave being harsh. I don't know where that came from originally, but it seems to get thrown around as if it's gospel. Many (most?) Gents on this forum appear to advocate keeping the spine between 1 and 2 spine widths away from the skin.

I would typically aim for 1-1½ spine widths, and just try to remove the lather. If your edge is good enough, by doing this you should also remove whiskers.

Sage advice! I think the 1-1 1/2 spine widths is about where I’m at when it is smooth and comfortable.

 

[HeavyD]

Quick question for the experts. I pulled out an extra hollow ground razor last night and got a much closer and better shave than with the half hollows and wedges. Obviously the thicker grinds shave just as well so there is something to be learned here. Can anyone think of what I’m doing wrong in technique that I do well with an extra hollow than a heavier grind?