Hi all,
I need some help deciding what route to go from here. I am not sure if I want to keep on with straight shaving. I have tried two different straights. I am not very happy in a general sort of way with either. One is a 5/8 square point which I kept scraping myself with. The other is a 4/8 I feel is too small for me. I am still curious as to whether or not straight shaving is for me. I am thinking of investing in a 6/8 full hollow dovo roundpoint and maybe a new strop. My other question has to do with the length of the blade and if it will be significantly longer than a 4/8 or not. Does that depend on the maker or the width of the blade, both or something else? And if anybody has any words of encouragement or advice, I could use that as well. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any responses.

If you're not pleased with the shaves right now, I'd say put the blades away for a while. DO NOT get rid of them just yet. Lightly oil 'em, the tuck them away. Come back to them for another try when curiosity gets the better of you.

I do have to ask, though, what is it you're not satisfied with? If it's the blade, has it been honed properly? If it's your technique, only time will fix that. If it's the whole deal of everything that goes into the maintenance of straights, then stow them for later when you might want to try again.

Don't know if all that was helpful or not. I do hope so.

Mostly SRs are about the same length the size difference comes in measuring from edge to spine. 5/8 is a pretty standard norm these days though there are plenty of other sizes to be had.

If you don't like the square point and need to get a new razor, I would suggest a 5/8 round point. 6/8 might be a little more difficult to manage just starting out.

What strop do you have?

For advice I can only offer this: it took me a good 6 months of daily shaving to get really comfortable with straights. Start with a properly honed razor and focus on stropping. Many a good edge has been ruined by poor stropping. Take your time and focus on the fundamentals: blade flat on the strop, light pressure, smooth and even stroke up keeping the blade flat at all times, carefully roll the razor on the spine and repeat the process back. 30 - 60 complete passes should suffice.

For the shave, keep light pressure and use short strokes. Perhaps just do the cheeks for a while to get comfortable with the razor. You can finish the shave with something else. Once you get comfortable with the checks, add the neck. Before you know it, you'll be comfortably shaving the whole face.

Another resource is Lynn Abram's video. He discusses sharpening, stropping, preparation and the actual shave. It should be available from his store called Straight Razor Designs.

You can get this. Once you're over the learning curve, you'll wonder why you ever shaved any other way.

I'm always available by PM, as I'm sure many others are.

Before giving up, I would try one of Ken Rup's (RupRazor) Gold Dollar razors. They're shave-ready, round point, and 6/8 -- and best of all, they're comparatively inexpensive. When I started shaving with straights, I started with a 5/8 square point Dovo and did not like it at all. I switched to a wider, round-tipped blade and found the shaving experience to be much more pleasant. Now, I will shave with nothing less than 6/8 in. Also, you might consider getting Ken's Filly strop, which is a good, inexpensive strop.

I am not positive what it is... I just sort of got a little turned off by all that goes into it, but it really isn't that big of a deal. I think the poor technique and the steep learning curve are the problem. I am not ready to give up yet, though, and have been taking a break for the last week or so. I feel like giving it another go.

Yes, I have that DVD but haven't watched it yet. :ashamed001 But I plan to. Maybe today. I think maybe I jumped in too fast and did my whole face and wasn't happy with the results. There are alot of factors in me being a little put off. I think you gave some really good solid advice there (as always) and I will take it to heart. My strop is a ten inch thing I got for cheap.

Thank you. I guess I am going to have to figure out whether or not I want to spend any more money on this hobby. I don't mind shelling out for a razor I know I will use, but I am not sure I will use another straight. I want to, though.
I kinda wanna give this another whirl. But I think I am going to wait until after the weekend before I pull the trigger to think about this. I might shave just my cheeks with the 4/8 round point I have. And watch that DVD. Thanks for the responses so far... I appreciate the help.

PM me your address, I have a hollow ground round tip that you can try.

You might need to hone / strop the heck out of it in order to get a better edge on it. It will ping hairs off my arm, but I don't know if that means it is shave ready.

Well, I appreciate your offer, Jeff. And as you know, I took you up on it. I will let everybody know how it goes.

I think Steve touched on one of the most important issues for new straight users.

With cartridge razors you can pick them up and straight away get a good shave.

With disposable blade safety razors, it requires a bit more work but you can get good shaves off them relatively quickly as well, or so I have heard.

With a straight razor, not so much.

Even if it has been honed to perfection and stropped beautifully, so that all you have to do it hold it to your face and shave, 99 out of 100 new users will not get a "good" shave off a straight for the first few months at least.

Add to that the need to master stropping (which many of us along the way have managed to screw up our edges with), and perhaps honing (which can take years to truly master), and you have a shaving experience that is, let's just say, not suited to those with pressing business elsewhere .

There are no pivoting heads to help glide the razor over the contours of your face. There are no safety bars to stop the blade digging into your flesh. The blade is not kept at an optimal angle by the encasing hardware. You are on your own. Man versus blade. It is first principals shaving in the true sense of the term.

As Steve said, it takes a lot of people many months to get a good shave from a straight. And those many months can be frustrating, and quite a few people question the actual benefit of persisting with straights.

All I can say is that when you come out the other side, not only are you a better man for it )), but you will find that mastering a straight will give you excellent shaves, and shaves that are a real pleasure.

So I would say don't give up - forge ahead. Take people up on their offers of PMs, check out the dvds and youtube videos on straights, ask as many questions as you can. Also make sure your razors are in good shape by perhaps sending one or both out for a professional honing. Could be the best 25 bucks you ever spent.

Good luck!

James.

:happy096 Well said, James.

Putting On the Pressure

I don't mean to rock the boat or anything but I don't personally believe in the concept of "no pressure." It just doesn't work for me. I had used some straight razors honed by honemeister's brought up to a level of sharpness beyond my finishing hone and chromium oxide pasted paddle strop. Using no pressure and a steep angle can actually result in what seems to be a very smooth stroke, but on finger-tip grazing after the shave, with the most aggressive direction used by the straight, reveals the blade simply cut the hairs just above the skin, instead of at the base of the hair. My skin may be kind of rough and bumpy, I can definitely feel a difference between a two day growth vs. daily shave.

I found the quality of my str8 shave to be much better if I used more pressure. The angle thing was more important for more aggressive directions, that's the risk of razor burn. The WTG pass required a higher angle, flirting with ATG naturally required a much lower angle. But pressure was always required. Maybe permitting someone with safety/disposable/cartridge history to use "pressure" could be a bad idea, because pressure is a relative thing. But I prefer to use more pressure with less strokes to get the difficult parts of the bearded regions of my face, rather than less pressure (or "no" pressure) and more strokes. I get less irritation with more pressure and more effective strokes. Just my two cents.

It's funny, reading a thread on B&B criticizing youtube videos of dudes drinking hard liquor just before/during shaving with a straight. Sure, it may seem stupid but for some people it gives them more confidence and with their skin or facial hair situation they may achieve very nice shaves even if liquored up. I know I have given myself some very nice str8-razor shaves while inebriated... it helped teach me the power of more aggressive shaving.

Stroking my face and looking in the mirror under a bright light I inspected for irritation and follicle bumps the day after an alcohol-fueled shave. That's when I really looked at the faster shaving (not necessarily drinking) youtube shaving videos and explored a more aggressive style. In the beginning of str8-shaving I probably had skipping and jumping not just from letting the soap dry, but from too little pressure and tentativeness. Nowadays I just grab it and go. Now I save maybe 5-10 minutes when I use a double-edge safety razor vs. a straight-edge when I go for a close shave, not hurrying either. Just following the natural pace that evolves from a more aggressive style than my interpretation of the advice given for this shaving implement.

After all this encouragement I have decided to give it another go. I bit the bullet and shelled out for a nice new razor and strop from straight razor designs. I am anxiously awaiting that package. I am going to give it a good week of shaving and hope for the best. I watched Lynn's DVD except the part on restoring razors. Nice. I learned a few things and am encouraged by it. I will take it slow and excercise what patience I have. Thanks for all the support, people!!
PS- a special thanks goes to Jeff aka Stingraysrock, for sending me a razor to try out!! Thanks Jeff!!

That's the spirit!! Looking forward to hearing about your progress.