Struggling with my straight

[Hidell]

I got a Fischer razor from Antique Hoosier about 6 months back and have used it about 20 times. My first straight. I purchased a decent two sided 3" strop and carefully strop the blade before each shave.

the problem is that I can barely shave with it--even on the plain of the cheeks once I hit the jawline on the downstroke the thing just digs in and stops going forward, and then I have been unable to really shave my upper and lower lip. On the plus side, I can get through my problem neck area pretty well, considering my fumbling.

Certainly my technique is in the early part of the learning curve, but this has got me wondering:

1) Maybe my poor stropping motion has dulled the blade to the point where its no longer functional; however I can pop hairs on my forearm easily, so it seems pretty sharp to me;

2) Maybe I need to have it honed;

3) Maybe another style of razor suits me better--this is a 5/8 full hollow Fisher.

If some greybeard would be so kind as to give me some guidance it would be appreciated?

Thanks,

Hidell

 

[Hidell]

Not to mention that when I somehow complete a first pass, my face feels like dogmeat.

 

[ACorazza]

Have you done anything to touch the edge up or only stropping. Also how many passes do you normally do. My first straight started to irritate my skin after a while too and it just needed a good honing which is what I'm guessing yours probably needs.

 

[rickboone1]

You need it honed. I will do it if you pay shipping. Just shoot me a pm. Well, lets put it this way...having it honed will rule out the most obvious.

 

[global_dev]

The edge needs help. 20 shaves early on is respectable. Have you done anything but stropping?

 

[Hangten]

I have been there and felt that exact way. I agree that you probably need a hone and I would go to Doc's site and watch his videos on stropping; they helped me out a lot! That was my main problem. Hang in there!

 

[professorchaos]

Needs to be honed. When you are first learning, you can dull an edge quite quickly. To save yourself some time and money, you might want to consider a diamond pasted paddle strop. Easier than honing, it will keep your razor in fighting shape for a long time.

You need it honed. I will do it if you pay shipping. Just shoot me a pm. Well, lets put it this way...having it honed will rule out the most obvious.

 

[tomjr]

hone it.

 

[Hidell]

I kind of figured you guys would be able to right the ship quickly I appreciate your quick responses and Rick I'll take you up on your very kind offer in the near future.

 

[Hineas]

I agree--hone it. I had similar troubles with a razor then sent it to rickboone1 and now I get a great shave and a have great edge.

 

[Hidell]

I kind of figured you guys would be able to right the ship quickly I appreciate your quick responses and Rick I'll take you up on your very kind offer in the near future.

 

[Mo-beffah]

Now this is a long shot, but you mentioned being able to shave a certain area and not others. My rookie mistake (which is slightly embarrassing) was that I only pulled the blade out to a 90 degree angle. I now know you pull it out all the way to the other side, effectively 270 degrees open so that the scales aren't in the way while shaving. Just a shot in the dark if it was also angle attack that was bothering you. Good luck!

 

[Slash McCoy]

When you say it pops forearm hairs do you mean when the razor is passed about 1/4" above the forearm, or shaving the forearm? If it tops hairs when passing over the forearm by 1/4" or more then it is likely sharp enough. But of course YMMV and at 20 shaves in, honing isn't going to hurt anything.

A great edge maintenance tool is the diamond paste on balsa. I use .1u diamond after every shave and I never have to re hone. Coarser diamond is useful for bringing an edge back to life. I use .5u on my coarse side.

 

[Krodor]

I'm thinking you need more skin stretching.

 

[smalltank]

+1 on getting it honed...night n day difference...skin stretching is also key to getting a closer shave...alum block also helps as it "sticks" to your fingers for easy skin stretching...works great for nicks n cuts

 

[SIG9]

I'm with Krodor on this one. Aside from a proper hone, I think some skin stretching could help some of your issues around the jawline.

 

[gfro]

new to this too. 1st. send it out to a pro. 2nd check your angles and make sure you tighten skin. Also make sure that you have a solid WTG, then a solid XTG before even trying against the grain. I also must say that I started with 34c and 37c and I love the challenges of straight shaving and I get a lot less irritation than with anything else. Provided my blade is sharp AND smooth. If you are going to start honing, take my advice (all 2 weeks of honing worth) and master the norton 4/8k before branching out to 1k and 12k

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I agree with everyone else; get it honed. Also, keep in mind that a full hollow is unforgiving on the angle. IME they can be picky. Half-hollows are less so and wedges couldn't care less about the angles.

 

[Chaloney]

20 shaves in 6 months? I don't think you are giving yourself enough opportunity do develop the needed skill. Get it honed then use it daily. Start with just your cheeks and finish with whatever other equipment you use. Once this is easy, add some strokes on your neck. Later try your upper lip. Chin and lower lip last. All this wtg only. Then I would start full shaves, straight only, wtg for 2 passes for a while before starting the process with adding xtg in the easiest areas first. Skills are learned by repetition. Once every 10 days is not often enough to get better at it

 

[BillC]

If it's popping arm hair then it sounds sharp enough to shave with for me but getting it honed takes away all doubt. Skin stretching, technique improvement matters too - but I agree with Chaloney - you've got to shave with it.

For my first couple weeks I set out an injector (my easiest to use safety razor) and the straight. Stropped the straight and started shaving. First shave I did both my cheeks and the flattest, easiest part of my neck with the straight using right hand for right side and left hand for left side. Put the straight down and finished the shave and XTG, ATG passes with my safety razor. Every shave I tried to do a little more of my face with the straight. In between shaves I worked on grips/angles to get to the next part of my shave. (Sounds a bit obsessive and maybe it was - but that's the way I roll ) Took just a few days to do the WTG pass with the straight although my chin was a bit problematic. Within a couple weeks I was doing three passes with the straight and didn't need the safety razor for touch ups any more. Haven't touched a safety razor since. A couple months in I'm doing a four pass shave every morning in about the same amount of time that it took me to do a three pass shave with a safety razor and the results are better besides.

Maybe it's just me, but when I'm trying to learn a new skill I've got to go through that 'obsessed over it' time to make progress. If I don't do that, I'm never good enough to keep at it. Once I'm over the 'good enough' hurdle I can back off the obsession a bit and gradually improve.