Read These First
Joel’s Shaving Guide
Dr. Moss's Shaving Guide
Mantic's SR Shaving Video
Jockeys (from SRP) Youtube Video v3.0 part 1
Jockeys Youtube Video V3.0 part 2
Your freshly honed razor is likely to come to you coated with oil, honed, and stropped. As a new straight razor user, it is quite probable that you will nick your strop, roll the edge, or otherwise cause damage to a shave ready razor. Much time and effort has been spent discussing proper v. improper stropping. Simply put, the risks outweigh the benefits. All that is needed is to wipe the oil off the blade, lather up, and shave.
Is your razor sharp? There is no universal test for razor sharpness other than the shave test. The shave should be comfortable and irritation free. However, poor technique is going to give you false negatives. I’m going to take the time now to discuss some of the common problems. Bleeding is caused by a sharp razor digging into your face. Bad razor burn is also caused by the same problem. There is a difference between what a veteran calls a “harsh finish” and “the razor clawed my face like an angry cat.” This is discussed further in the pressure section. Pulling is caused by either a duller razor or too high of an angle. A dull razor can be compensated for by increasing the angle, however a super sharp razor will pull like a crazy shopper trying to nab that last item on sale if you use too high of an angle.
All that said, most men are able to pop the hairs off their left arm by hovering the razor above the skin. If you have super fine hairs, this will obviously not work. As you can see, the test is not perfect and may not work for all people. Unless you have a control razor you know is ridiculously sharp, you really have to just trust the person who honed your razor.
Practice makes perfect. Before I ever put a razor to my face a very long time ago, I would test my knives by shaving arm hairs. This probably proved valuable. Before I put the razor to my face, I practiced on the back of my left hand. This was probably beneficial because it taught me about which angles will cut, how the razor feels during cutting, and how to hold the razor properly. This may not be necessary and may not help, but that’s what I did.
You might want to limit your first SR shaves to your cheeks and other easy areas. In addition, short strokes may help. Finally, a straight razor likes slick lather. So, for all you DE fans, adding some water may help.
Stretch that skin! I don't think enough is said about stretching the skin in the beginner guides. It is very important. You need to give the razor a surface to cut on. Scissors cut so well because of the shearing action. You cannot rely upon the razor's hair popping abilities to shave your whiskers off. That'll hurt. Instead, give the razor something to shop the hairs on. Stretch that skin taut!
Keep the angle low! After discussing this subject with many senior and new shavers, the following is what I have concluded. The angle necessary to effectuate a comfortable and close shave is dependent on several factors. The direction of the hair & what pass (ATG, XTG), the sharpness of the blade, and your particular beard. A super sharp blade will pull if you use too high of an angle, even 30 degrees can cause irritation. Increasing the angle of the razor can compensate for a duller blade.
Therefore, my advice is to start with a low angle, and increase the angle until you find your perfect angle. A good place to start is to place the spine against your skin and raise the spine very slightly. For a discussion about lowering your razor’s angle, search for Seraphim’s thread entitled “ANGLE” at SRP.
Advanced strokes for different folks Sorry if the pun is in bad taste. The against-the-grain (ATG) pass and Across-the-grain (XTG) are more advanced techniques that should be reserved until you feel very comfortable and confident with the straight. Much damage to your face will result if you attempt these passes with less than good technique. Alright, what you need to know about these passes is that the razor requires an even lower angle than the WTG pass. ATG requires the lowest angle, XTG requires an angle somewhere in the middle. If you use too high of an angle, you’ll get irritation and possibly weepers. On the ATG pass, you may have to place the spine against your skin in order to get a good shave.
The slicing, scything, & guillotine stroke are very advanced strokes, not to be undertaken by the relative newcomer. They are relatively dangerous and will cut you frequently if done incorrectly. The benefits are a better cutting motion for your razor, but the downside is lots of cuts. Thus, I implore you NOT TO TRY IT UNTIL YOU’RE READY!!!! Click here to learn more
Pressure. Yes, you do need to use some pressure when using a straight razor. Yes, the wedge grinds do compensate for this. No, the wedges do not shave any better, they just shave differently. These are the answers to some common beginner questions. SOME pressure is good because you are using your skin as a “cutting board” of sorts. Some pressure is good, too much will cause irritation and can cut you. Too much pressure will cause weepers, blood, and otherwise “rip up your face.” You must be careful with pressure because added pressure compensates for a duller razor, so if you switch to a sharper razor, its going to feel harsh and cause bleeding if using the same amount of pressure. In addition, a wedge (being heavier) will compensate for technique and pressure. In other words, you need to use less pressure with a heavier razor. Mparker had some great insights into how much pressure is good.
If you have been using a DE, the pressure required for a straight is about the same. If you’ve been using a disposable or electric, you probably have to ease up on the pressure you use.
Stropping. Joel’s guide to stropping is pretty good. I only have a few things to add. It is imperative that you keep the blade flat on the strop throughout the whole motion. Notice the pictures in the tutorial. Go slowly until you “get” the motion, then slowly increase your speed. This is not a race. Poor stropping is worse than going “too slowly.” What might be helpful is to take your hanging strop and lay it on the kitchen counter, textbook, or a flat surface. Then, once you’ve got the motion understood, you can move on to hanging the strop. The benefit is to remove one variable from the hanging strop, yet still keep your hanging strop.
Razor upkeep. This is the question that gets asked a lot. I discussed it in my Beginner’s Guide to Honing, but I’ll talk about it again here as well. You do not need a hone to keep your razor in shave ready condition for a year or longer. Yes, you can damage your razor through negligence, but at that point, the finishing stone isn’t going to be of much help. In addition, the cost of the hone is just the tip of the iceberg. What you don’t see is the incredible amount of time it will take to master the hone; not to mention the onset of HAD.
What you want is either .5 micron diamond spray or .5 micron chromium oxide. AKA pastes. There are many advantages. The first is cost. You can get the Filly strop from Ken for ~$20 in 2009, and it comes pre-pasted with crox on the back. Additional crox can be had for little more than a song. Second, the motion used to sharpen your razor with paste is the same exact motion as stropping. It is imperative that you master stropping if you want to keep your razor sharper longer and not put undue wear & tear on the razor through excessive honing. Thus, you should have already mastered stropping by the time you need to touch up your razor using crox. Finally, the edge you will get from crox is going to be better than anything you will be able to put on your razor using hones. At least for the first few years or thereabouts.
Still interested in honing? Read my tutorial.
Please let me know if you’d like anything added or changed. I will try to keep up with new info for as long as I can edit the thread.
Joel’s Shaving Guide
Dr. Moss's Shaving Guide
Mantic's SR Shaving Video
Jockeys (from SRP) Youtube Video v3.0 part 1
Jockeys Youtube Video V3.0 part 2
Your freshly honed razor is likely to come to you coated with oil, honed, and stropped. As a new straight razor user, it is quite probable that you will nick your strop, roll the edge, or otherwise cause damage to a shave ready razor. Much time and effort has been spent discussing proper v. improper stropping. Simply put, the risks outweigh the benefits. All that is needed is to wipe the oil off the blade, lather up, and shave.
Is your razor sharp? There is no universal test for razor sharpness other than the shave test. The shave should be comfortable and irritation free. However, poor technique is going to give you false negatives. I’m going to take the time now to discuss some of the common problems. Bleeding is caused by a sharp razor digging into your face. Bad razor burn is also caused by the same problem. There is a difference between what a veteran calls a “harsh finish” and “the razor clawed my face like an angry cat.” This is discussed further in the pressure section. Pulling is caused by either a duller razor or too high of an angle. A dull razor can be compensated for by increasing the angle, however a super sharp razor will pull like a crazy shopper trying to nab that last item on sale if you use too high of an angle.
All that said, most men are able to pop the hairs off their left arm by hovering the razor above the skin. If you have super fine hairs, this will obviously not work. As you can see, the test is not perfect and may not work for all people. Unless you have a control razor you know is ridiculously sharp, you really have to just trust the person who honed your razor.
Practice makes perfect. Before I ever put a razor to my face a very long time ago, I would test my knives by shaving arm hairs. This probably proved valuable. Before I put the razor to my face, I practiced on the back of my left hand. This was probably beneficial because it taught me about which angles will cut, how the razor feels during cutting, and how to hold the razor properly. This may not be necessary and may not help, but that’s what I did.
You might want to limit your first SR shaves to your cheeks and other easy areas. In addition, short strokes may help. Finally, a straight razor likes slick lather. So, for all you DE fans, adding some water may help.
Stretch that skin! I don't think enough is said about stretching the skin in the beginner guides. It is very important. You need to give the razor a surface to cut on. Scissors cut so well because of the shearing action. You cannot rely upon the razor's hair popping abilities to shave your whiskers off. That'll hurt. Instead, give the razor something to shop the hairs on. Stretch that skin taut!
Keep the angle low! After discussing this subject with many senior and new shavers, the following is what I have concluded. The angle necessary to effectuate a comfortable and close shave is dependent on several factors. The direction of the hair & what pass (ATG, XTG), the sharpness of the blade, and your particular beard. A super sharp blade will pull if you use too high of an angle, even 30 degrees can cause irritation. Increasing the angle of the razor can compensate for a duller blade.
Therefore, my advice is to start with a low angle, and increase the angle until you find your perfect angle. A good place to start is to place the spine against your skin and raise the spine very slightly. For a discussion about lowering your razor’s angle, search for Seraphim’s thread entitled “ANGLE” at SRP.
Advanced strokes for different folks Sorry if the pun is in bad taste. The against-the-grain (ATG) pass and Across-the-grain (XTG) are more advanced techniques that should be reserved until you feel very comfortable and confident with the straight. Much damage to your face will result if you attempt these passes with less than good technique. Alright, what you need to know about these passes is that the razor requires an even lower angle than the WTG pass. ATG requires the lowest angle, XTG requires an angle somewhere in the middle. If you use too high of an angle, you’ll get irritation and possibly weepers. On the ATG pass, you may have to place the spine against your skin in order to get a good shave.
The slicing, scything, & guillotine stroke are very advanced strokes, not to be undertaken by the relative newcomer. They are relatively dangerous and will cut you frequently if done incorrectly. The benefits are a better cutting motion for your razor, but the downside is lots of cuts. Thus, I implore you NOT TO TRY IT UNTIL YOU’RE READY!!!! Click here to learn more
Pressure. Yes, you do need to use some pressure when using a straight razor. Yes, the wedge grinds do compensate for this. No, the wedges do not shave any better, they just shave differently. These are the answers to some common beginner questions. SOME pressure is good because you are using your skin as a “cutting board” of sorts. Some pressure is good, too much will cause irritation and can cut you. Too much pressure will cause weepers, blood, and otherwise “rip up your face.” You must be careful with pressure because added pressure compensates for a duller razor, so if you switch to a sharper razor, its going to feel harsh and cause bleeding if using the same amount of pressure. In addition, a wedge (being heavier) will compensate for technique and pressure. In other words, you need to use less pressure with a heavier razor. Mparker had some great insights into how much pressure is good.
If you have been using a DE, the pressure required for a straight is about the same. If you’ve been using a disposable or electric, you probably have to ease up on the pressure you use.
Stropping. Joel’s guide to stropping is pretty good. I only have a few things to add. It is imperative that you keep the blade flat on the strop throughout the whole motion. Notice the pictures in the tutorial. Go slowly until you “get” the motion, then slowly increase your speed. This is not a race. Poor stropping is worse than going “too slowly.” What might be helpful is to take your hanging strop and lay it on the kitchen counter, textbook, or a flat surface. Then, once you’ve got the motion understood, you can move on to hanging the strop. The benefit is to remove one variable from the hanging strop, yet still keep your hanging strop.
Razor upkeep. This is the question that gets asked a lot. I discussed it in my Beginner’s Guide to Honing, but I’ll talk about it again here as well. You do not need a hone to keep your razor in shave ready condition for a year or longer. Yes, you can damage your razor through negligence, but at that point, the finishing stone isn’t going to be of much help. In addition, the cost of the hone is just the tip of the iceberg. What you don’t see is the incredible amount of time it will take to master the hone; not to mention the onset of HAD.
What you want is either .5 micron diamond spray or .5 micron chromium oxide. AKA pastes. There are many advantages. The first is cost. You can get the Filly strop from Ken for ~$20 in 2009, and it comes pre-pasted with crox on the back. Additional crox can be had for little more than a song. Second, the motion used to sharpen your razor with paste is the same exact motion as stropping. It is imperative that you master stropping if you want to keep your razor sharper longer and not put undue wear & tear on the razor through excessive honing. Thus, you should have already mastered stropping by the time you need to touch up your razor using crox. Finally, the edge you will get from crox is going to be better than anything you will be able to put on your razor using hones. At least for the first few years or thereabouts.
Still interested in honing? Read my tutorial.
Please let me know if you’d like anything added or changed. I will try to keep up with new info for as long as I can edit the thread.
Last edited:
