Straight Razor Shaving

I think this is where I got by with a similar topic posting before, so I will try it the second time.

I have really been trying to avoid this point in my life, but I can't do it anymore. I am ready for all the verbal abuse I know will come my way, because I know I just can't avoid it anymore.

I am giving up on my straight razor; it is destined to become a hanging on my wall. The bumps on my cheeks and general rough spots on my face are tired of taking the abuse. I am also tired of trying to explain the blood spots on my pillow to my wife. I have tried to follow all the input from members and websites on honing and stropping the razor, but nothing has worked to better the situation. I even soak a washcloth in as hot of water as I can stand, to soak my face before starting. Itstead of worrying about cutting my throat and collapsing on my sink, I am going back to my cup, soap and safety razor.

Bring it on....all I can do is try to endure the abuse I will receive.
:redface: :surrender:

What's going on with your razor? It sounds like maybe you just aren't getting a good edge on it? Each style blade will shave completely different. The hair on your face grows in several different directions so the stroke of the blade can mean everything in getting a good shave. Some guys like to use pre shave oils. Those can help in getting a good close shave. You can also consult your local town barber for advice? I sincerely doubt I'll ever use anything other than a straight edge after getting spoiled the last few years. Don't give up yet!

try to endure the abuse I will receive.

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Won't get any grief from me. Shaving isn't s'posed to be blood-letting. Every face is different, and finding the perfect direction to stretch the skin tight so you can get a safe shave is a 'try-and-see' proposition. If you have too many irregularity's to do it...well that's why they invented beards! :thumbsup:

Gee I stoped shaving altogether fourty years ago after I stopped looking for a new job. :idunno: :idunno:

I started about the same time you did with shaving with a straight razor. For me, the shave keeps getting better every time I try. I only use it once a week and use a modern shaver the rest of the of the time.

I have to imagine, that as you get older, shaving this way probably does become harder to do. Tight skin is supposed to be one of the most important components of shaving.

For me, it was getting the angle right. The cuts became fewer and less severe when I finall got the 30 degree angle right. It's more of a scraping action rather than trying to "cut" the whiskers with the blade.

One more thing. I read that you should wait 24 to 48 hours to strop your blade again after a shave. Apparently, the edges of the blade will naturally flex themselves back up towards the edge on their own a little. Then, you should strop it to return it the rest of the way. Doing it before then can result in a duller blade.

Stick with it, but stop trying shave with it every day if you are. I look at it as a hobby. I don't think my skin could take a shave with it every day. I have sensitive skin and I don't want to think what my face would look like if I shaved with it every day.

How you shave is nobody's business except yours. If you are trying to be 'authentic' I think that is a silly approach. If you want to be 'authentic' use a broken clam shell. :shocked2:
Seriously, modern razors and electric razors were invented to improve our way of life. Do what suits you best.

I concur that maybe you've lost your "edge." I just sent mine out for professional re-honing. After awhile, I just can't seem to keep the edge up and I send them out. Then life is good again.

That's why I marvel how the old timers could keep their razors sharp out in the field. Heck, I can't do it under best of conditions.

Well, I have a beard, so I don't shave most of my face, but just a few spots.....and I don't shave every day. Maybe that's why it doesn't work for me.....I lose the experience gained because of time elapsed between shaves. Maybe I won't hang it on the wall, but just use it to cut patches at the muzzle. Hmmmmm! Expensive patch cutter!?!?
:rotf: :rotf:

Hey, I'm still learning too. I had my razor professionally honed, and then I stropped it wrong and dulled the edge. I haven't been able to get it as sharp as it once was, and shaving with it has been harder than I thought it should be. Then, I discovered I needed a 4000/8000 grit combo stone to get it back to where it was. The finest grit I had was 1200. No wonder.

Deano,

No flames from here.

I've had a full beard since I was twenty so just have to shave cheeks and neck. I just got one of those straight razors that take disposable blades: a cheap way to find out if I like straight razors. So far so good BUT if it turns into a self-sacrifice, I'll go back to the 1950s Gillette safety razor inherited from my father-in-law.

Do what is comfortable.

Jeff

Maybe that's one of my problems. I have a piece of granite left over from a bathroom renovation and I mounted 2000 grit on it to use for honing. My face is telling me this technical BS is more than it wants to deal with.
:rotf: :haha: :rotf: :haha:

not to worry about the 'abuse...' if it won't work for you, then it won't work for you and if you made a good faith effort, that's all anyone can reasonably expect.

I haven't heard of the 24 to 48 hr, stropping method you describe. I tend to strop mine before and sometimes after each shave. 30 passes on the woven fabric then 30 passes along the leather side. Keep the strop pulled snug and straight. Keep that angle which is set on the blade at the top as a guide. I try and go nice and slow with it not putting any pressure on the blade.

When I first started my face would be a bit sore for about an hour or so but that didn't last long. Every now and then I'll get a small nick but it's very minor. While I'm still shaving I might hit it with a styptic pen. I finish up with some bay rum on the face and if you get razor burn on the neck apply something like "Woody's" neck bump treatment.

I keep my razors in the bathroom, they can get rust on them from the people that like to take those long hot showers :cursing: . I've found the best cureall....Ballistol on the blades. Every few days or when needed I coat the blade then wipe off the excess. No more rust and the stuff is safe for your skin although I really doubt much would get on your skin in the first place.

The barber's strop, with a rough fabric weave piece on one side, and a smooth leather strip on the other, usually clipped to the arm of their chair, is used as follows:

To remove any burrs and small- emphasis on SMALL-- nicks in the blade, as well as to straighten the edge, you use the coarse or rough weave. The number of strokes is not critical- the end result IS!! Stropping is done by moving the blade in the direction AWAY from the edge of the razor. Pull on the strop, by holding it with your weak arm, and leaning back against it, while using your strong hand to work the strop, back and forth. Flip the razor over before changing the direction on the strop. If you look closely in natural light- not florescent light found in 99% of barbershops today, you will be able to see microscopic bits of steel on the surface of the strop.

When you can look at the edge down the length of the blade, and 1. see no curves, or bends; 2 see no glints of natural light coming off a nick, and 3. feel no nicks or gouges in the edge of the blade by slowly running the edge over the back of a thumbnail, its time to switch to the leather strop.

With the leather strop, you are POLISHING the edge- nothing more. The tighter you hold this strop , and the slower you run the razor over the leather, the better(sharper) the edge you get.

You can buy barber's strops at barber supply stores, and of course, find them on-line. I use a leather belt, using the coarse side for straightening and removing nicks, then using the smooth side for polishing the edge. I loop the belt over a door knob at home, and lean back away from the knob to tighten the strop. I hold the belt in my hand, elbow bent, across my stomach, my feet a 90 degrees to the length of the strop. This allows my strong hand to hold the razor and move it across the leather in a back and forth motion, flipping the blade when I change directions- just as we used to see Barbers do years ago, when they weren't buying disposable razors to use these days.

The same system will put a razor's edge on any knife, or axe. Only the angles of the edges differ, depending on what work you will use the tool to do. Sharpening involves setting an angle to the edge and pushing the edge into the stone to cut steel.

Coarse stones are used to set the shallow, "approach bevel"; then a fine stone is used to cut a steeper angle on the very edge, while removing false edges( burrs) pushed up by the coarse stones that formed the approach edge on both sides of the blade. How coarse a stone is used depends on how dull the beginning edge is: more work required a coarser stone, and even, sometimes, a bit of work with a fine file!

Sharpening any edge is usually a 3-stage process. First the coarse stones are used to create the approach bevel. Next a fine edge is put on the edge with fine stones. Finally, the edge is stropped to remove burrs, align the edge straight, and polish the edge. If you attempt to skip any of these stages, the result is a dull edge, and sometimes, a ruined edge. Then, you may have no choice but to find a skilled sharpener to repair the damage you have done.

I have been sharpening knives since 1959- long before I decided to go to college or law school. I sharpen knives for friends, when asked.

I encourage anyone wanting to own a straight razor for general use, or for shaving to buy a copy of John Juranitch's book, the Razor Edge Book of Sharpening. Its still the best reference book on taking the mysteries out of sharpening edges. On the cover is a picture of John having his beard shaved off with a double bit axe by his twin daughters, done for ABC's Wide World of Sports TV show many years ago, now. John sharpened the axe. :hatsoff:

great post! ive been wanting to try a straight razor but am afeard of messing up my purty face inoticed as ive gotten older my face seems to get red patches when i shave, i usually use a disposable razor , ive been thinking that maybe a change would keep that from happening?

Tried a straight razor a few times more than 35 years ago. Looked like I'd been in a knife fight.
+1 about the Juranitch book.
Pete

If you get red patches from shaving, you are either using a dull razor, or simply pressing too hard. Use a better shaving soap or conditioner/gel, to "grease" your face before shaving, and instead of pushing really hard on that razor to get a clean shave, be gentle, and simply do it twice. With the 3 bladed razors now available, you should be able to get a close shave without taking skin off- too much. Just remember to clear the soap and whiskers from those blades frequently- after one or two strokes--- so that you don't BEND or NICK those fine edges. That's another way to dull them, or raise nicks that scratch your face when shaving.

On a weekend, when you don't have to "look pretty"( as my wife said) let the beard grow out a day or two, so you can see the directions the whiskers grow in different parts of your face. Then modify your pattern of strokes to take account of these different patterns, and directions, so you don't bruise the skin trying to get a close shave. Shave against the "grain", but do it gently. Let the razor cut the hairs- not heavy pressure from your hands.

As for shaving with a straight razor, I began doing it more than 35 years ago, when I grew out my beard. I stuck with it a few years until I got fairly handy with a straight razor, then decided- at my wife's request-- to shave the beard. I have not used my straight razor for anything other than cutting patches at the muzzle since.

If you don't know what you are doing, you can more easily nick or cut yourself with a straight razor, than with the modern "Safety razors". If you are cutting yourself, or shaving off flesh with a modern safety razor, you need to solve that problem before even considering using a straight razor.

There is a learning curve to all skills, and I have never found any shortcuts. Talk to people who have experience using straight razors about angles, pressure, direction of strokes, etc. before slicing yourself up all out of ignorance. The School of Trial and Error is a difficult, and painful place to learn.

Most of us take way too long a stroke with these modern multi-bladed safety razors. You don't see barbers- other than in western movies[and trust me, that actor being shaved is already shaved under that soap, and that razor has a dull edge(?)]-- taking those long strokes. :thumbsup:

Hey, good to hear from you again, PaulXXXXX. It seems like quite awhile since I read one of your informative posts.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Agreed, short gentle strokes gives me a fine shave. About the only place I tend to shave against the grain is under my chin and the underside of my jawline. Those two places seem to typically give most men problems. Around my chin going across the grain grain seems to work the best for me. I just re-honed a new blade and after some fairly intensive stropping that blade shaves like nobody's business.

What amuses me is before you start using a straight razor most guys just give a quick shave and go on. Once you start using a straight razor most that I know almost become obsessed with getting that absolute perfect shave that you can get with a straight razor.

As another tip, very moist whiskers are the key also.
When I was in the Army, they used (still do) a straight razor and the Barber would put a hot towel on my face for a spell, then proceed to use a good shaving cream and then strop then shave, BEST shave EVER!!!! And not a nick to be seen. :bow:

Cheers, DonK