Thread: Tearing me up.

In addition to all of the great advice so far, I would add one thing that helped me a great deal.

With regard to angle, pay attention to the *spine* of the blade as opposed to the edge. The edge is on your face and obscured, if you watch how far the spine is from your face, you can keep the angle better. Helped me anyway

Once you get a bit farther in, the angle will speak to you through the feel of the razor against your skin.

Perhaps watching for the right angle is not as easy/helpful as feeling for it. I learned by laying the blade flat on my face and gradually raising the spine as I shaved until I could hear the whiskers being dispatched.

Ya, I will definitely be giving this some more attention. As soon as the face heals and the hair grows back I will update. =) Thank you everyone for all the thoughtful advice.

My DOVO Bismark from SRD is absolutely fine...... Go through WIKI and even have a look at some or the vids available.

It shouldn't be tearing your face up... what do you mean in terms of the 'damage'? Razor burn...nicks.. slices.

This is the place to be anyway in terms of solving problems... a lot of great members!

Keep at it and best of luck!

Originally Posted by ace

Perhaps watching for the right angle is not as easy/helpful as feeling for it. I learned by laying the blade flat on my face and gradually raising the spine as I shaved until I could hear the whiskers being dispatched.

Awesome advice.... can I second this!!!

Originally Posted by baldie

My DOVO Bismark from SRD is absolutely fine...... Go through WIKI and even have a look at some or the vids available.

It shouldn't be tearing your face up... what do you mean in terms of the 'damage'? Razor burn...nicks.. slices.

By "damage" I meant that it feels like it is pulling every hair from my face and leaving gaping, bleeding holes behind and there is massive razor burn.(especially on the neck) There really hasn't been any nicks or cuts yet. I'll give it a good stropping today and put all of this new-to-me information to use. Thanks everyone.

Make sure you check out the videos here (on the Wiki?) before you strop. I'm still working on getting the feel of stropping. It can either refresh the edge or make it painfully dull, if done incorrectly. And the difference between doing it right and wrong can be subtle.

MrClean,
Welcome to SRP. I am still a newbie--3 1/2 months into the straights and I'm just now starting to get some pretty decent, consistent results--for me it was practice, practice, practice. There is some great advise in this thread--stretch the skin and give it time. Don't give up!

I am by no means an expert on the subject. I started wet shaving recently and acquired an Iwasaki Kamisori razor a few weeks ago which I later found out was purchased at SRD. I have been shaving with the razor for two weeks and progressively getting better. Thank God I have not cut myself once. Prior to touching my face with a razor, I read all the outstanding advice provided here at the forum. The information is invaluable. I also purchased the Lynn Abrams dvd which is a treasure for a newbee. I take a hot shower while letting my brush soak in hot water. I then use pre-shave oil (the Art of Shaving), and lather up well. For now I only shave with and across the grain.. Short strokes at about a 30 or 25 degree angle. Very slowly I begin under the sideburns then the neck area, chin, and under the nose. I put not pressure at all on the blade. The weight of the blade is enough. I only glide the blade across my face. I must admit I have a fear element but I appreciate and respect the razor. I then re-lather, and repeat the process with the blade gliding ever so gently, slowly, and in short strokes. Afterward, I rinse with hot water, then cold, and a aftershave balm. I still have alot to learn in my technique, especially the chin and neck. The advice here is great. I have the feeling that this is the beginning of a long relationship with my new razor. Thank you to all on this forum. Wonderful place to learn about shaving and many other topics.

K, so I waited a day and stropped the hell outta that razor and took the plunge. I started with a hot shower while the brush soaked and the soap warmed up. Started with an initial lather and HOT HOT towel. Rinsed that off and applied another lather and started the shave. Short strokes, about 30 degree angle and then I noticed it. The hair seemed to just melt away. It seemed as if the less pressure I used, the better it worked. This had to have been my best shave yet. Thank you so much everyone for all your assistance. Especially Lynn. Thank you for organizing this site so that all these like minded people can discuss and exchange ideas.