technique change

[robofunk]

recently i have been using the STR8 for the downstroke....

and the DE for the up/side stroke...

does anyone else follow this step, or am i just bizarro?

when the STR8 gets raised to my skin for that somewhat against the grain pass, it sticks. it catches. i cut myself. though i'm busy pulling my skin taught, and keeping the STR8 at an appropriate cutting angle ( i've changed around to find what works best; nothing really does ), i'm doing more hurt than good.

and that's where the mighty DE comes into play. i open up my gillette to 7 or higher and let the mowing begin! granted i have to be careful with any upwards pass, but i am simply getting more successful shaves with this combo.

 

[Joe Lerch]

It is a little bizzare, but I understand where you'e coming from.

Many times when people have trouble going against the grain it's because they're trying to do it too soon. The best approach is to take one or two passes to reduce the beard to a fine stubble, then you're ready for the counter-grain. If it's still a problem, go against the grain ion an angle.

Are you sure your str8 is sharp enough? If you can't glide over the whiskers when you have that fine stubble, it may be a sign that your razor just isn't keen. Try the thumb test. With the edge up and the razor supported in your hand, run the opposite thumb (dampened) across the blade at a few locations. A sharp blade will really grab the thumb and may even move with it. If your blade isn't doing that it may need a little more stropping or refeshing on a .5 micron pasted strop.

recently i have been using the STR8 for the downstroke....

and the DE for the up/side stroke...

does anyone else follow this step, or am i just bizarro?

when the STR8 gets raised to my skin for that somewhat against the grain pass, it sticks. it catches. i cut myself. though i'm busy pulling my skin taught, and keeping the STR8 at an appropriate cutting angle ( i've changed around to find what works best; nothing really does ), i'm doing more hurt than good.

and that's where the mighty DE comes into play. i open up my gillette to 7 or higher and let the mowing begin! granted i have to be careful with any upwards pass, but i am simply getting more successful shaves with this combo.

 

[robofunk]

Many times when people have trouble going against the grain it's because they're trying to do it too soon. The best approach is to take one or two passes to reduce the beard to a fine stubble, then you're ready for the counter-grain. If it's still a problem, go against the grain ion an angle.

joe, thanks for the tip! i tried that this morning and it definitely helped. 2 x n-s is the way!

 

[Joe Lerch]

Glad it helped.

Did you try sideways on the second pass? Usually the change in direction will pick up some additional whiskers, and the cross grain is still gentle.

 

[AverageJoe]

recently i have been using the STR8 for the downstroke....

and the DE for the up/side stroke...

does anyone else follow this step, or am i just bizarro?

when the STR8 gets raised to my skin for that somewhat against the grain pass, it sticks. it catches. i cut myself. though i'm busy pulling my skin taught, and keeping the STR8 at an appropriate cutting angle ( i've changed around to find what works best; nothing really does ), i'm doing more hurt than good.

and that's where the mighty DE comes into play. i open up my gillette to 7 or higher and let the mowing begin! granted i have to be careful with any upwards pass, but i am simply getting more successful shaves with this combo.

Hey.......whatever works! That's how I feel. No one has to know how you shaved or how many razors you used. It's the end result that counts and I don't see any reason not to use whatever tool you need to do the best job. I, too, find myself wanting to stick to one or the other (DE or straight) for the whole shave simply because of the "purist" in me, but it's the RESULTS that people will be looking at----so I say simply "do what works best".