Thread: Is It The Blade, or Pilot Error?

Think your problem is that rubbish razor.
Send it to me and I will swap it for you

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I have met this guy and he does seem to know his stuff. LOL There are probably a few variables that can be improved on as time goes by, for one it will take some time to get the hang of this and the other is it will take a few shaves for your face to adjust to the new way of shaving. Dont push it, there is no hurry, the key thing here is that you have fun learning. Good luck and welcome to SRP.

Thanks for the reply! my face is definitely feeling this learning curve - I had no idea it was going to be this drastic! I thought about what I did yesterday, and I think I may have used too much pressure in certain areas as well.

Originally Posted by tlittle

You'll get a far better lather if you use a brush, rather than just rubbing the shaving cream around with your hands.

Apart from that, learning to shave with a straight razor takes time. It'll get better the more you practice.

Also, do you have a strop? You'll need to strop before every shave to maintain the edge.

good news is, I found a brush yesterday! So that problem is now cured (:

I don't have a strop, and I didn't strop it before shaving. Would that have made a huge difference coming straight from a honing?

Originally Posted by bondpunk

It takes a little bit of hands on to learn it. Beard prep, lather making, stropping, stretching, blade angle, Direction of shave (WTG..etc), Lack of pressure. Keep it up and you will be getting a DFS before you know it.

Guess that answers my pressure question!

Originally Posted by robellison01

Pay special attention to the tip as your learning, especially around the ears and neck.

I just finished reading the "cuts" thread, and noted exactly that! I didn't even think of it last time, but next time I will!

Good luck, and great razor by the way!

BTW nice razor

Very nice looking goldedge your grandfather gave you. Thats like getting a Ferrari for your first car.

Originally Posted by England

Think your problem is that rubbish razor.
Send it to me and I will swap it for you

Is there something I should know about this razor??? My grandfather is a collector of everything, so we thought nothing too much of it. We only took notice of how nice it looked, and seemed to be in good shape!

Depending on who honed it for you, they usually strop the blade too. The idea is that you can try the edge out without stropping and possibly rolling the edge yourself.

So, you didn't need to strop the first time out necessarily. However, you'll need to strop before every other shave to maintain the blade.

I'd suggest checking out whippeddog.com for quality inexpensive strops.

Also, Dubl ducks are just considered quality razors, especially ones in such great condition. Use it well and enjoy!

Originally Posted by tlittle

.....
So, you didn't need to strop the first time out necessarily. However, you'll need to strop before every other shave to maintain the blade.

Just to clarify since I would have missed read this as a new shaver....stropping should be done before or after EVERY shave, except when being returned from professional honing.

I think you will get better results if you massage some shaving cream with water with your fingers on your face. I remember a youtube video from few years ago where a barber in turkey does just that. I tried it and it worked very well (I still did the brush afterwards). But I don't do it anymore as for me it's messier than shaving brush and I get really good results with just the brush.
Remember that you want lubrication and cushion on the skin and softening of the hairs (they absorb water and expand), so don't let whatever's on your face to dry out, it will not work well.
You will also get better results if your goal isn't absolutely smooth face. It's not a bad idea to do just one WTG pass and leave it at this. It'll still look very presentable, especially after your face dries, the hairs shrink and recede back a little. Irritation is bad, you can get that with any disposable razor, so no point of spending all this effort with a straight razor for the same result.

Luckily neither I nor any of the pilots I have dispatched have screwed up that bad.

Originally Posted by gugi

You will also get better results if your goal isn't absolutely smooth face. It's not a bad idea to do just one WTG pass and leave it at this. It'll still look very presentable, especially after your face dries, the hairs shrink and recede back a little. Irritation is bad, you can get that with any disposable razor, so no point of spending all this effort with a straight razor for the same result.

+1. Don't worry about absolutely smooth. Go for good and comfortable. Before you know it, your shaves will be better than you've ever had. Lovely razor by the way, and an heirloom to boot. Lucky man.

So after the gnarly razor burn, I decided to let my face rest up for 2 days. Went back at it again this morning, and it went much much better. It could be that I also picked up a Strop (Dovo), and found a brush...but I think it was down to better technique. I only did one pass today (WTG), but by doing so I've already learned when not to push it. Had no razor burn, but a little mild stinging for about an hour - perhaps my face is still getting used to the blade.

Should also note that I stropped the razor 20 times (20 up, 20 down) on the leather side, AND HOLY WHAT A DIFFERENCE! My shave was pretty bad today (only using the straight), but nothing tomorrow can't fix (:

Originally Posted by poppy926

Luckily neither I nor any of the pilots I have dispatched have screwed up that bad.

I'm just ribbin' ya! You Delta, ASA, or GA?

I fly for ASA/ExpressJet. Moving our SOC to ATL has been quite interesting. Thankfully, our DX are, as always, top notch.

Originally Posted by Sc00ter

I'm just ribbin' ya! You Delta, ASA, or GA?

I fly for ASA/ExpressJet. Moving our SOC to ATL has been quite interesting. Thankfully, our DX are, as always, top notch.

Oh I know. You gotta have a since of humor in aviation. I am with WOA in PTC.