Thread: Trouble Getting Straight Shave a Smooth as My DE, Question About Honing

Okay, I have been shaving with two razors I had professionally honed. I stretch my skin and have tried using different angles, but I'm still not getting as smooth a shave as with my DE. I strop before ever shave.

Both are W&B's. A 8/8 Wedge and a 5/8 hollow ground. When I shave with my DE, I always have to go back and shave ATG to get the stubble. Otherwise, it feels smooth to the touch WTG and rough ATG. It feels pretty rough if I try use my straights ATG though and the results still doesn't feel as smooth as my DE shave.

The razors were honed and finished on a Belgian Coticule.

Suggestions?
Could honing on a finer stone possibly help or is it probably just a problem with technique?
I have a grey translucent, but I've been told here it should be burnished before using.

Thanks

First and Foremost, any questions about the quality of the edge should be discussed with the person who did your honing. I know of one Pro who always finishes Sheffield Steel on a Coti/he says they just work so well together. After honing literally 1000's of razors I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.

With that said, I think that you're still learning the angles, the prep etc. Also if your stropping is up to snuff that's going to hurt the quality.

How's the beard prep? I can get away with very little with a DE, but my quality suffers if I skimp when I use a straight.

Also how long to you allot yourself to shave? When I first started using a straight, I could count on about 30+ minutes to prep and then shave. Don't rush yourself/enjoy the time/if you're rushed in the morning try shaving at night. I do and do so most every day.

Hang in there, it will come and once it does, you'll only be using a DE for those 'bad' days such as when a case of the brown bottle flu hits you!

It's likely technique. There are MANY more variables when applying a SR to your face than a DE. One is the sharpness, which you should have covered since your are pro-honed, but other include the angle to the face (which a DE pretty much eliminates if you use it in a normal way) and the pressure (folks tend to use too much pressure with a SR instead of letting it glide with what I call a "soft" hand -- no death grip).

Honing on a finer stone is not the solution to your problem. It's s little like buying more expensive basketball shoes in the hopes of jumping higher.

You can get excellent results with just a coticule and strop, you can also experiment with a pasted strop. Sometimes a little back and forth from the stone and strop will help you zero in on the edge your looking for.

In my experience it is not unusual to get a better shave with a DE than with a straight when in the learning stages. Add to that, the wedge razors might prove more sensitive to technique than the full hollows, though some might argue that point. (no pun) Anyway ..... note that in general a W&B 'hollow ground' is not the same animal as a Solingen full hollow. So it may very well be a quarter hollow, which is a stiffer grind than a full.

Very desirable for an experienced shaver, but not necessarily as easily mastered by a new shaver. Also the coticule edge can be as sharp as any, but not always. They tend to be more gentle than crisp, like a synthetic. I'm sure you've read that there is a 'learning curve' with straight razors. This may be the crux of the matter. Really, without seeing and feeling the razors it is impossible to say. All we can do is theorize.

hello just learning myself to shave with a SR there is a learning curve as you know. I know what you mean about the DE shaving much closer. Here is a few things I have learned as of lately. I shave with the grain on cheeks and neck and then I shave with the DE on all 3 passes and I get a great shave that looks great all day. I notice my skin looks nicer and takes aftershave even better, even though I just used the SR for the few areas that I did. My skin is baby but smooth. When I shave with just the DE such as the case today I shaved with only the DE I was running short of time. I had a great shave but after about an hour I noticed it was not nice as the SR and DE combination. The skin didn't feel as nice or looked as nice a couple hours later.

The bottom line is both will give a smooth shave bot you will get a better quality shave with the SR.
I cant waite till I can do all passes with a SR but that is a long way off.

Here is one thing I learned this past week that has my SR shave be a lot better. I let a 2 day growth grow in on my face so I could see where the grain of my face is actually growing. To my supprise I noticed the cheek was growing to a angle to the right. All this time I thought I was shaving with the grain I was not, the same in other areas. To make a long story short I started to shave in the direction more to the right with the grain. It worked very good not great but it is getting there.

Just hold in there we will have smooth shaving before we know it.

I've been into the journey for 5 years,,, rarely will any of my straights give me a closer shave than my Gillette loaded with a Feather. It has happened,,, this past 6 months , I have brought 3 straights to the point that I can't tell the difference after the shave between them & the Feather.
Ironically they were all 3 finished on a Coticule,,,

The blades were pro honed and unless your stropping is adversely affecting the edge you should be good to go there. If your lather is up to scruff you should be good to go there too. That only leaves your shaving technique to question. Going ATG I find I like the spine fairly close to the skin and a very light touch. Possibly you have to play a bit more with your technique if the other two, edge and lather, are good.

Bob

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I've been into the journey for 5 years,,, rarely will any of my straights give me a closer shave than my Gillette loaded with a Feather. It has happened,,, this past 6 months , I have brought 3 straights to the point that I can't tell the difference after the shave between them & the Feather.
Ironically they were all 3 finished on a Coticule,,,

I think I need to get a coticule!!

Originally Posted by furious

I think I need to get a coticule!!

I've had this Coticule for years & I'm just now getting the best out of her,,,,