Painfull!!!!

slrjona

slrjona

Joined
Tuesday January 24, 2012
Location
Devon
I pre-washed my face with pears soap (old)
Then soaked with a hot flannel 3-4 times then applied a thick lather of taylors of bond sreet rose soap then set out to start shaving with the direction of the hair growth....
I've just had the razor since xmas & this is the 1st time its been used since it's been sent off to get honed b'coz it wasn't shave ready....
It really hurts its cutting the hairs but pulling at the same time I tried the hht & it didnt work!!!.Have I got a cheap razor? Or is it me?,I shave with a 20% angle with about 2-3days growth of beard I also rinsed my face with cold water then applied the alum block over my face,WOW! It did half hurt....I'm really upset & feel let down as I was hoping this could be a pleasurable time but alas!!.I have heard that a razor can take a while before it's "Bedded in".

Please help on what I should do.

Thanks
 
Honestly?

Go get a D.E razor, learn how to use that for a couple or three months then once you are fully skilled try a straight again, it will be a lot easier and less painfull in the long term.
 
First of, I've never shaved with a straight! I have ordered one though :)

Can't seem to find your shaving history in your posts, but if you are like most new members here, you are either fed up with your electric or the price of cartridges.

If one of the two are correct, I agree 100% with antdad.

Neither a DE or a straight will have any "give". they are not flexible, so you have to create this yourself by learning good technique.

Most modern cartridges with spring mounted blades will let you use a fair bit of pressure without punishing you. Plus they will allow you to have no idea of blade angle. Those two aspects alone can really give you a sore face with a DE. I assume you can put a factor on top of that if you go to a straight.

So: watch the angle and the pressure, and the correct pressure is NO pressure (that goes for DE as well).

/Max
 
Straight razor shaving since dec 2011
Click to expand...

It's a long learning curve, some say it takes 6 months to learn to shave with a straight so I'd imagine the technique is all over the place just now. Some poor early shaves are par for the course.

It takes about 2 weeks to learn a double edge but a straight is a much finer skill and you'll just need to practice over a long period to develop the muscle memory and techniques. Have you mastered a DE yet? I think it can help a lot. It's hard to go from cartridges to a straight.
 
I have used a DE in the past with no problams apart from the pressure (too hard-habit of a life time I guess).Thanks for the replys.I'll try again in a couple of days & let you know how it goes...The main reson why I choose to SE shave is traditon,I hate modenisation,
 
I would say it takes 20-40 shaves before you even get a half decent shave, with straights. To get really good shaves 6-12 months (after a year most people get very good results) but then there's still room for improvement many years to come ... No pressure is paramount, with a DE too, but even more so with a straight. If this is your classic wet shaving intro, you can do it, but it'll be a rough ride for the first 20-40 shaves or you could do as Antdad suggests (buy a cheap vintage DE and some good razor blades).

Cut throat razors are great fun, but the learning curve's steep.
 
Hanging hair test, eh? What exactly do you suppose that tells you? It's a very useful indicator for honers, who will make sure that they use hair from the same source every time and at the same humidity. For punters, it's a parlour trick. If the razor was honed by a competent professional, rest assured that it is shave ready.

The problem is likely to be a matter of the angle of attack and pressure. Some experience with a DE will definitely help with the latter; the remedy for the former is to keep buggering on, as Mr Churchill used to say according to my mum. If you have a wiry beard, 2-3 days' growth is just going to make things more difficult, so when you next go for it try to have a little less stubble to deal with, and make sure it's properly softened up first. I'd also ditch the alum for now in favour of something a little more soothing if I were you. Mikael's estimate of the learning curve is entirely realistic, so don't expect miracles for the time being.
 
it takes a while to get used to straights ive used one for a few years now but seemed to take forever to master it ,let your face rest for a few shaves then have another go with the straight strop well before you start and take it easy ,start where your sideburns either are or would be thats the easiest part to learn on ,use a de around mouth and nose till you feel comfortable with the straight and good luck .
 
It shouldn't pull your hairs out unless you shave ATG your first time. That pass takes skill. The WTG pass should not be pulling.

What razor do you have? Have you asked the person who honed it their advice? I'd start with the second and see what he has to say.
 
Johnus said:
Remember: pain is just weakness leaving your body.
Click to expand...
Mikael said:
Cut throat razors are great fun, but the learning curve's steep.
Click to expand...

I have been straight shaving for a similar time to yourself. I have been DE shaving for, give or take, a year. Straight shaving is not easy! I absolutely agree with Mikael about cut-throat razors being fun, but hard to master.

I have one straight razor, that was PIF'ed to me by an absolute gentleman on this forum and a Feather Artists Club RG which is quite a bit of kit! I tend to use the Artists Club more often than not.

I have found sharpness of the blade to be quite a factor, a blunter blade causes it to be much more "tuggy" than a sharp one. I am still picking up the occasional nick but a lot less than when I started, although last week I caught my chin when I repositioned the razor and that was rather sore! I have also found that my lathering technique was good enough for DE shaving but not for straight shaving!

Is it worth it? Yes. While I've had to put up with some nicks, blood and pain when I get it right and the shave is absolutely sublime and unbelievably close, with beautiful smoothness.
 
slrjona said:
I pre-washed my face with pears soap (old)
Then soaked with a hot flannel 3-4 times then applied a thick lather of taylors of bond sreet rose soap then set out to start shaving with the direction of the hair growth....
I've just had the razor since xmas & this is the 1st time its been used since it's been sent off to get honed b'coz it wasn't shave ready....
It really hurts its cutting the hairs but pulling at the same time I tried the hht & it didnt work!!!.Have I got a cheap razor? Or is it me?,I shave with a 20% angle with about 2-3days growth of beard I also rinsed my face with cold water then applied the alum block over my face,WOW! It did half hurt....I'm really upset & feel let down as I was hoping this could be a pleasurable time but alas!!.I have heard that a razor can take a while before it's "Bedded in".

Please help on what I should do.

Thanks
Click to expand...

who did you send it to, to be honed?


it shouldn't pull the hairs


my razor was honed at the end of november and dosnt pull hairs ATG


that was the first time i had used it and it was perfect shave (first razor was never properly honed and pulled everytime, even when i tried using it after getting new one)
 
Johnus said:
Remember: pain is just weakness leaving your body.
Tough it out buck•o:)-)
Click to expand...

You dont read mbuk magazine by any chance? (that saying was in a comic strip called mint sauce)

asharperrazor said:
It shouldn't pull your hairs out unless you shave ATG your first time. That pass takes skill. The WTG pass should not be pulling.

What razor do you have? Have you asked the person who honed it their advice? I'd start with the second and see what he has to say.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that advice I shall send him a email.
 
The inivisble edge is where it was honed.I passed it on a strop about 50 times before shaving then started shaving, but it seems to pull even with a thick lather.The stubble can still be seen & felt but very soft & thin hairs(if that makes sence) & I havn't gone ATG yet.It may just be me
 
Speaking from experience, when your honing a lot of razors, one may get 95% there and look & feel done, but aren't quite done. I'd ask The Invisible Edge to rehone it and give it another try before giving up.
 
The problem could be the razor - Cyril Salters are very much a mixed bag - plenty of other threads on here about them, so I won't 'go into one' about them again... yes I will. For my money they are second-quality Dovos, most have warps and uneven grinding and they are what stopped one well-known large english shaving companyfrom stocking straights.

Having said that, some are fine - you just have to be lucky. Most of the 'dodgy' ones can be hones, but it takes ages - 3x - 4x longer than a decent razor and you will still end up with uneven bevels and uneven spine wear.

Regards,
Neil
 
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