Shaving with various blades not working

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6
Hi all

I've been shaving now for a while and have worked my way up to using Feather blades as they are the only one that seems to get through my stubble. I'm using a Merkur basic DE razor and have found that no matter how I shave, it always leaves stubble. However, I was surprised to find that a disposable razor (Gillette Blue II) gets a better shave. I must be doing something wrong so any ideas?

Bipman
 
My first (inexperienced, inexpert and probably wrong) thought is that you're getting the angle wrong with the Merkur. The fixed blades on the disposable one are set to an officially good angle "for everyone", but you set your own angle for the DE. I find still (after about a month or two) that I roll my DE around from vertical to horizontal while moving it down a cheek to find the best cutting angle. Unfortunately every face, razor and blade get a different "best angle", so there's no easy rule.

Oh, and no doubt someone will check you're using a brush in a swirly pattern to get all the hairs to stick up from the face...

I once saw the explanation as: with a cartridge/disposable it's like driving an automatic, hard to go too wrong, with a DE it's driving a manual, easy to go wrong, but you can get better performance out of it.
 
Hi all

I've been shaving now for a while and have worked my way up to using Feather blades as they are the only one that seems to get through my stubble. I'm using a Merkur basic DE razor and have found that no matter how I shave, it always leaves stubble. However, I was surprised to find that a disposable razor (Gillette Blue II) gets a better shave. I must be doing something wrong so any ideas?

Bipman
What and how many passes are you using?
 
Hi all

I've been shaving now for a while and have worked my way up to using Feather blades as they are the only one that seems to get through my stubble. I'm using a Merkur basic DE razor and have found that no matter how I shave, it always leaves stubble. However, I was surprised to find that a disposable razor (Gillette Blue II) gets a better shave. I must be doing something wrong so any ideas?
Nothing wrong with the equipment you are using. However you need to consider good preparation, blade angle and gradual reduction of the stubble. The difference with the DE is that a single pass is not usually enough and a 2nd and even 3rd pass will be required to get a close shave. With the Blue II the second blade follows with a second cut in the same pass.
The most important factor for efficient cutting of the stubble is correct blade angle where a shallow angle (blade to surface angle) gives the best result. This tends to be the hardest change to understand when switching from the cartridge to DE razor.
 
Thanks all, I'll check the angle. I do one shave with the grain and two against; any more and I get bad razor burn and I do swirl the brush around to get the soap (Tabac or Palmolive) in properly. I use the Blue II's when I go away on business as it's just easier than taking all the bits.
 
The Blue is a twin blade razor, in most incarnations these carts design gives effortless shaves on tough stabble, a bit like using the R41 without the fear factor.

Sent from my Redmi 3 using Tapatalk
 
Something of Interest.
http://thecloseshave.com/mapping-your-beard-grain/
shave_angle_zpsce0004eb - Copy (2).jpg
The image to the left is the angle for a Aggressive razor or using a Aggressive blade,such as a Feather.
the image to the right is the angle for a a Non-Aggressive Razor or using a non-Aggressive blade. such as a Derby extra.
The angles on the images have been slightly exaggerated, this is just a general guide..i find that Aggressive Blades work well in non-Aggressive razors and vice versa...hope this help, train your mind to shave the lather from your face, rather than the stubble, this really helps me to apply no pressure whilst shaving with great results.Regards.;)
 
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Nothing wrong with the equipment you are using. However you need to consider good preparation, blade angle and gradual reduction of the stubble. The difference with the DE is that a single pass is not usually enough and a 2nd and even 3rd pass will be required to get a close shave. With the Blue II the second blade follows with a second cut in the same pass.
The most important factor for efficient cutting of the stubble is correct blade angle where a shallow angle (blade to surface angle) gives the best result. This tends to be the hardest change to understand when switching from the cartridge to DE razor.

This + 1.

I will only state that good prep cannot be stressed enough. Don't be afraid to really lather up well for several minutes with the brush on your face as that lifts/hydrates the hairs (to a certain extent) which is of vast importance. The problem is that modern disposable razors make men "lazy" in that respect.
 
This + 1.

I will only state that good prep cannot be stressed enough. Don't be afraid to really lather up well for several minutes with the brush on your face as that lifts/hydrates the hairs (to a certain extent) which is of vast importance. The problem is that modern disposable razors make men "lazy" in that respect.
+ 1 I totally agree.. learning your technique & good preparation are the key to great wet shaving results.
 
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