Thread: is the razor sharp enough

Originally Posted by jason240

When i shave it does not take off all the hair and pulls the hair just a little bit , it look like i have a 5 o'clock shadow.

What are you doing for beard prep? Things to soften your beard include: hot shower or wash face w/hot water & soap followed by hair conditioner, then a hot towel followed by a few drops of pre-shave oil or something like Proraso pre-shave before you lather up. Some or all of those steps make a huge, huge difference. They do for me.

Also, until I got the blade angle down, my razor pulled and didn't shave off the hair as well as it does today.

And keep an eye out for any post from JimmyHAD. In his sig he explains how to hold the razor in your fingers. That helped my technique a lot as well.

Be patient & stick with it!
Namaste,
Morty -_-

The blade came hone by lynn. I'm sure it is my technique BC every shave gets better and better.Like others have said , the stretch of the skin and the angle of my blade has done wonder after trial and error. I always shave after i get out of the shower but i think i could prob use a better lather BC im using gillette shaving cream and really nothing for a pre shave. I don't really know to much about what to use when it comes to soaps or shaving cream so if any one has suggestion pleas comment.

Castle Forbes is a decent starting cream and Tabac for soaps. Preferences can vary wildly but these two seem to consistently perform and be readily available on the web.

You'll need a lathering device like a brush (washcloths and even just hands can work) so that's one other consideration.

Here's some good reading.
Shaving Soap - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Brushes - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I'm new to SR shaving as well and only have 5 shaves under my belt. I had a hard time getting a lather on my first couple of shaves and the reason was I was doing it completely wrong. Following the advice of the great people on this forum, I went to Walgreens and bought a cheap shaving brush/soap kit that cost about $8. It came in a green box and the name escapes me right now.

I experimented with it making lather over and over until I got the hang of it. I suggest you do this because good prep obviously equals a good shave.

Originally Posted by Fbones24

I went to Walgreens and bought a cheap shaving brush/soap kit that cost about $8. It came in a green box and the name escapes me right now.

Was it Van Der Hagen?

Amazon.com: Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set (Soap, Bowl, Brush): Health & Personal Care

Originally Posted by Blue

Was it Van Der Hagen?

Amazon.com: Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set (Soap, Bowl, Brush): Health & Personal Care

That was it! I basically made about 10 lathers in a row using that to get comfortable and to figure out how much water to add.

Originally Posted by jason240

i took my razor and honed it on my norton 2times on the 4000 and 8 on the 8000 and the stroped it 45/55 it is shaving a lot better and get closer evry shave

It is very possible that your razor was one that "slipped through the cracks" and wasn't quite there in the sharpness department. It does happen.

Originally Posted by jason240

I'm sure it is my technique BC every shave gets better and better. Like others have said , the stretch of the skin and the angle of my blade has done wonder after trial and error.

This is very normal too, just part of the learning curve.