antdad said:Probably best to put it away for a while if you are feeling like that. Would you say your a tentative straight razor user or are you confident in wielding the blade but just not getting the results?
IanM said:Currently on my 3rd attempt at mastering the straight razor, and although things are better than my last 2 attempts, I'm still disappointed with the progress and results.
For example, this morning I used my Kropp 5/8, and on my face I performed 2 WTG passes. No blood, no real issues apart from a bit of skipping when I got the angle 'wrong' but all in all it felt okay.
Then I rinsed my face. There was still LOADS of stubble left on my face, but instead of picking up the Kropp again (which I decided would have taken things too far) I picked up my Trumper DE and did a very quick WTG pass which easily removed the remaining stubble to a more acceptable level. What the Kropp alone had achieved was not what I would describe as an acceptable WTG shave.
At the moment, I get good shaves with a DE with 1xWTG and 1xXTG passes. At the moment, I can't see how this can be achieved with a straight razor.
So, I suppose that the question is, can a straight razor shave ever rival the efficiency or closeness of a DE shave?
Ian
IanM said:It's funny that 2 of you have mentioned a wedge, as I have been considering a razor with a stiffer (ooo, matron!) grind. It seems that a fairly big leap forward came when I changed my grip on the razor to 3 fingers on the spine. This enabled me to steady the blade and also added some pressure or weight to the blade in the direction of cutting. With that in mind, maybe it's time to try something a little heavier?
I had a quick read over on SRP about this, and of course, it's pretty much a 50/50 split between "oh yeah, a stiffer grind will be better for a tough beard and "it doesn't matter about the grind, if the razor is sharp it will work".
Neil has a couple of candidates, but I'm not sure that throwing money at another razor is the answer. You know, bad workman and blaming tools! Having said that, I'm am fairly confident in my technique. The fact that I am not slicing myself or getting ANY razor burn may be testament to that.
I'm not ready to give up yet. After a short period of frustration I am usually ready to take up the challenge again!
I apologise to anyone that is getting fed up of me whining about this, but I need to get this nailed. Yes, Vinny is right, it's only shaving, but this really has got it's teeth into me!
Ian