Anyone use a straight razor?

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Aabrewedxxxx

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I just bought one and I just used it and my face hurts. BUT I didn't get cut! WOOO semi success!

I have a few important questions though.

How do I know the blade sharp enough?

I can't get the lather thick enough it is always super thin and dries quickly.

When I am shaving with the grain I feel the hair being cut. and a slight pulling. Against the grain however hurts like a *****. There is so much pulling I can barely stand it. Especially around the thicker areas like the chin.

I know I must be doing something wrong. Maybe my angle I am shaving in is too small? Maybe the lather is too thin? Maybe the blade is dull so it is pulling instead of cutting?

My guess it is the lather soap because I feel my face drying and tightening as I write this.

I doubt it was my angle because I tryed several different angles and at 45degrees I was scraping my skin not shaving.

So it is either the lather soap or the blade dullness.

Before I kill myself saturday morning what is some advice?

Thanks

-Age
 
Don't have one but I'd like one. I do use a brush and a tub of cream instead of regular shaving cream and love it. I use the men's shaving cream from The Body Shop which costs $12, but lasts me nearly a year and don't have any problems with the lather.
 
I did for about two years. I stopped because I realized the truth of an advice column I read in GQ. It said something like, "Shaving with a straight edge is like making your own soap. Sure you can do it, buy why would you want to?"

These days I never shave unless I have to wear my respirator at work.

I don't think I ever did anything that really made my face hurt. But I never shaved against the grain with it. I don't think you are supposed to. I'm quite impressed you did without cutting yourself.

I'd also recommend putting on a thick layer of shaving foam. And after shaving, use lotion on your face. You're scraping off a lot more skin than with a disposable and you're removing a lot more moisture from your skin with it.

Is the one you got a blade that needs resharpening or is it one you replace the blades on? If its a blade you have to resharpen, I'd sharpen it a little before every use. If its one where you are replacing razor blades, expect to put a new one in every 5 to 7 days. I think I was doing once a week, but when I used my straight edge it shaved so close I really only needed to do it every other day.
 
I sometimes shave with a straight razor. I am not good enough yet to give you good advice, but I will let you know I am with you. Good job for not cutting yourself. I have probably shaved about ten times so far and not cut myself more than a very minor abrasion. Get an alum block or steptic pencil for that...and go slow to avoid cuts.

Angle is important, but you might need to work on the sharpening. I still have a bit of a painful time when shaving my mustache area. I go with the grain, never against, but that's just me.

Many razors are not shave ready just out of the box. You must use a leather strop to sharpen them. I don't have any yet, but need to use diamond sharpening paste to work into the strop for that extra sharpness. This may produce a cleaner cut with no "pull".

I am so slow, that my shave cream is dry on the other side of my face by the time I finish the first side. I end up having to reapply several times. No big deal, beats rushing and cutting myself. use a good badger/boar hair brush and hot water.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/straightrazorplace/ is a good source, a forum of other razor users, much like this forum is to homebrewers.

Also, I have ordered products from http://www.classicshaving.citymax.com/Home.html and been pleased. Good luck!:cross:
 
In 1975, in Groton Connecticut, I purchased a carton of Trac II blades (it was a salvage store). I'm on the last package & I intend to buy more as needed. I inherited very tender skin from my Dad. On the occasions when he went to a pro for a shave, they always asked him to not come back!
 
Adrian Ab I doubt it was my angle because I tryed several different angles and at 45degrees I was scraping my skin not shaving. So it is either the lather soap or the blade dullness. Before I kill myself saturday morning what is some advice? Thanks -Age[/quote said:
Try it at about 23 degrees. Shave angle and sharpening angles should be virtually identical.
Click to expand...
 
"Shaving with a straight edge is like making your own soap. Sure you can do it, buy why would you want to?"
Click to expand...

Kind of like making beer, huh? :drunk:
 
Ummmmm. I've always wanted to learn how to shave with a straight razor. I've used a brush and mug and a safety razor for the past 25 years, but never a straight razor.

I recall when I was young my barber used to shave the back of my neck and around my ears with a straight razor after a laying on a steam towel for a bit and then rubbing on a thick lather of hot shaving soap. It was a glorious feeling.

Now I'm going to have to visit the shaving forums to learn what razor, strop, stone, and brush to buy.
 
beer4breakfast said:
I recall when I was young my barber used to shave the back of my neck and around my ears with a straight razor after a laying on a steam towel for a bit and then rubbing on a thick lather of hot shaving soap. It was a glorious feeling.
Click to expand...

It sends shivers down my spine! They scare the absolute beejesus out of me! Something to do with being born in Paisley, which used to be known as the knife capital of Scotland. Have been threatened twice with knifes but was not scared as they were not razors.

Never had a barber use one until I moved to Tasmania, the first time he picked it up off the shelf in front of the mirror I nearly got out the seat! Funny looking back but at the time... :eek:

Was less scared doing a parachute jump!
 
When I am shaving with the grain I feel the hair being cut. and a slight pulling. Against the grain however hurts like a *****. There is so much pulling I can barely stand it. Especially around the thicker areas like the chin.
Click to expand...

Your razor is not sharp enough or you haven't stropped it and removed the burrs. I am 59 years old and have used a straight razor most of my life. The first few years I shaved, I used the old double edge and used to cut myself regularly.

I began using a straight razor and I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have nicked myself. I bought two razors in 1971 and a strop from a barber that had too many on his hands. He took the time to show me the ropes and suggested the stones I should get for sharpening. I still have the same razors and stones although I have replaced the original strop leather on one side.

Key to not nicking yourself or having razor burn aside from having a properly sharpened and stropped razor is using a hot washcloth to soften the beard before applying soap. Just like in the western movies, they got it right. Yeah, you can shave without this step but it is worth the trouble especially if you have a tough beard.

I will look at the links and if I can add more, I will.
 
Shaving sucks, period. I do it maybe once or twice a week to silence SWMBO otherwise my beard would look like ZZ Top.
 
Forgot to mention that you need a hone as well. In the forum I mentioned in the previous post, many of the more experienced recommend the 4000/8000, which is what I use.
you can find it here: http://www.classicshaving.citymax.com/catalog/item/522944/196094.htm

Straight razor shaving is a rewarding experience, like homebrewing. You can get a more quality product. Also, you can help the environment by not wasting all that plastic and steel. I started for these reasons and because I was tired of paying roughly $2 for each disposable blade (Mach 3)! I still do, but not as much and eventually, I'll get to using a straight razor strictly. What are they up to now, seven blades? :D

Well done. Good choice.
 
desiderata said:
Forgot to mention that you need a hone as well. In the forum I mentioned in the previous post, many of the more experienced recommend the 4000/8000, which is what I use.
Click to expand...

*blink* I have alot to learn. But I certainly seemed to look in the right place!!!!!! I am going to take a hot shower, lather up and try to shave. I read somewhere that I should first go against the grain then with the grain to pick up the cowlicks. When I went with the grain the first time it seemed to just push the hair down and scrape off all the skin around it. Fact is, hair is harder then skin. I'll take EXTRA extra time stroping. And try my darndest to get a thicker lather. Maybe it is because I have hard water. And soap gets more foamy in softwater and less so in hard water, right? *shrug* We'll see. I'll post my experience with the new sugestions.
 
Pain again:
No cuts!
I shaved once against the grain and once with the grain. I made my face super hot. I put on a thicker lather. I stropped double.

When I began shaving the blade didn't smoothly run over my face subtly cutting the stuble. I felt considerable resistence. Particularly around the chin. So much resistence that the blade would halt in the tracks of my thickest chin hair. Which leads me to belive that the darn blade is dull! What makes me belive this even more so is that my face still looks (and feels) like I didn't shave it! Very little if any hair was cut off.

SO I did a test. I pulled a hair out of my head and held both ends of it and pulled it across the blade. It didnt cut at the blade: it snapped at the blade.
That darn blade is too dull to shave with! I think I gotta buy a hone! FFFFFuuuu....

Anyway, my face hurts again. I still have hair on it. It is probably even more visable due to a few layers of missing skin!

So yes, I need a sharper blade.

Otherwise the shaving experience was rather interesting. My skill in using the tool is increasing signifcantly. I can shave, I mean scrape, large sections of my face an neck in a few strokes. I learn rather quickly due to a visualisation technique which is probably why I haven't cut myself yet.

Anyway I gotta get a hone and sharpen that butter knife. Thanks for all the advice everyone!
 
yeah to me it soounds like you just need to get a GOOD edge on that bad boy. I shave my head so I dont use a straight razor, if I did I would probably decapitate myself, but what you are describing is exactly the same feeling I get when I have been too cheep to replace my blades in my razor.

About the hot towel and beard softening . . . another good method to do the same thing is shave AFTER you take a nice hot shower. It will do the same thing as the hot wet towel and it's sort of like knocking out 2 birds with one stone. When I am shaving my head there is a noticable difference in shaving my head if I do it befor or after my shower, not only in the feel of the shave but in the end result as well.
 
Adrian Abascal said:
Pain again:
No cuts!
I shaved once against the grain and once with the grain.
Click to expand...

What I understood from reading this Razor Central site is that you should generally not shave against the grain. Partially against the grain in some situations may be necessary. You are perhaps doing it because your razor doesn't have a proper edge, but the site says this is a major cause of irritation. I found that site very informative. I'm not sure how accurate since I haven't shaved with a straight razor, but worth reading, I think.
 
Pumbaa said:
. . . another good method to do the same thing is shave AFTER you take a nice hot shower. It will do the same thing as the hot wet towel and it's sort of like knocking out 2 birds with one stone.
Click to expand...

It sounds like that's what he did. I wish I had a barber's chair to lay back in with a hot towel on, but I guess any recliner would do.

AA, here is another straight razor forum site: http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/index.php

Are you practicing shaving with both hands? It would be easiest to start out learning that way, than having to relearn it later. Try to stretch the skin tight with the nonshaving hand while shaving, it should help with the pull. It's kind of ironic that a sharper blade produces a safer shave than a less sharp one. :p

Honing will take some time and practice. I don't even think I'm very good at it. I've heard that it is possible to overhone, which will make the blade dull again.

By the way, what kind of blade do you have? Did you buy it new or used? There are experts on these forums who will hone the razor for you if you send it to them. No, they won't keep it :D They may charge a fee, though. When you get good, you shouldn't have to hone the razor but only a few times a year. With a good honing, stropping should produce a sharp enough blade in between.

Lots of good information from reading this, as well:
http://homepage.mac.com/drmoss/.Public/The Straight Razor Shave.pdf
:mug:
 
I have a 2 carbon steel blades from Zeepk.
Full hollow ground biconcave blade with round point
Size: 5 1/2" sharp blade.
I got it new. It came out of the box witht he blade covered in oil.

The strop:
"Made of Best Quality Leather, it was designed and intended for "Professional Barbershop Use,The Strop measures 2" X 18" and is actually two separate strops, one made of Prime Quality Leather, the second of "Barber's Best" Fine Weave Linen Finish."
Overall it has 4 sides and I don't know which side to use. I am useing the smoothest side. which is the soft black leather side.
There is one rough side with flares of leather. Another side with smooth leather but is wavy and warped. Another side with linen and another side with soft black leather.

A BASS brush and stand.


Here is the link I bought it from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=110052055838&rd=1&rd=1
 
The carbon steel is less durable than stainless steel (and less expensive), meaning that it doesn't hold an edge as long, but on the flip side, it is easier to produce an edge when honing. It is what I have as well, and what is recommended for beginners.

I've clueless as to the strop side that is wavy leather. :confused: I have a two sided strop--one leather, the other linen. I use the linen first for about 25 passes each side, and then the leather side for about 25-30 passes each side. I have read conflicting advice about which side to use first. Better refer you to the other sources I listed above on that.

Like homebrewing, with straight razor shaving there is certainly a learning curve, and best done with a lot of research beforehand. Also like homebrewing, it is much more difficult to do from hearing/reading, than with someone to "show" you. But definitely possible. You are doing the right thing by asking questions.
:)
 
Yea my first shaving disaster wasn't half as bad as my first homebrew disaster. Oh god.... I used so many paper towles.
 
Maybe it is because I have hard water.
Click to expand...

Yes, yes, yes. I have had soft water for so long I forgot how much tougher it is to shave in really hard water. You can compensate by using the heated towel or shaveing after a hot shower and then using a very good soap.

As to sharpening. A good set of stone will cost a pretty penny. My first set were a set of three - Soft Arkansas, Hard Arkansas and Black Arkansas. This was in the early '70s and I paid around $60.00 for the set back then.

I notice that one of the links has a sharpening service fro $19.00. I have only had to hone mine a couple of times a year and use the strop the rest of the time. You might find it more affordable to use their service to get started off right and buy stones later if you continue using the razor.

I did that for a couple of years until I could afford the stones I needed and it worked out very well for me. ( for you guys who laugh at me not being able to afford $60.00 right away, just remember, that is probably 4-600 dollars in today's money )

My best razor is german silver steel and it holds the best edge.

Another thing I should mention. I got my razor and strop from an old barber. Now, especially since they don't use them anymore, you might look up some old barbers that may be willing to sell their razors, strops and stones. May be some bargains out there.
 
the_bird said:
I use a straight razor when I shave my balls...
Click to expand...
It seems like one of the things you can only do once. But int his case. Maybe twice if you have the balls to do it.
 
Adrian Abascal said:
I have a 2 carbon steel blades from Zeepk.
Full hollow ground biconcave blade with round point
Size: 5 1/2" sharp blade.
I got it new. It came out of the box witht he blade covered in oil.

The strop:
"Made of Best Quality Leather, it was designed and intended for "Professional Barbershop Use,The Strop measures 2" X 18" and is actually two separate strops, one made of Prime Quality Leather, the second of "Barber's Best" Fine Weave Linen Finish."
Overall it has 4 sides and I don't know which side to use. I am useing the smoothest side. which is the soft black leather side.
There is one rough side with flares of leather. Another side with smooth leather but is wavy and warped. Another side with linen and another side with soft black leather.

A BASS brush and stand.


Here is the link I bought it from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=110052055838&rd=1&rd=1
Click to expand...


Here is a list of information compiled by someone for straight razor newbies. I found this quite interesting and informative.

A lot of people say that most razors are not really shave ready from the factory. You might want to send your razor off to a professional honer to make it share ready initially
 

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