A Question about the 1st pass

AJP

AJP

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Just to annoy Hawkeye even more..... ;) (Ducks, puts body armour and helmet on and awaits explosion!! Only kidding :D )

The past couple of times i have tried my new straight, i have found the 1st pass WTG almost uncomfortable, as it feels like the hairs are being pulled. What is this most likely to be due too? Bad angle? Too much/little pressure? It is the same across my face on that 1st pass not just in one area.

Any pointers gratefully recieved.

Thanks,
 
This is interesting. I had a similar thing when I started using a straight. Tugging and not particularly comfortable. I thought it may be due to the blade not being sharp. I purchased mine from a member on SRP, who said it should be OK to shave with straight away. He sold it from a seven day set and only wanted a few from it. On SRP place they suggested to dry lather, incorrect angle. They also mentioned that if the seller claimed it was OK to shave with, he was correct as he was well respected on the forum. Well, after a bad nick, I've stopped using my straight (I will return). However a few weeks after, the original seller contacted me to say that he honed his straights and they really needed it. I will get mine honed (by an expert) and see how I go. I just need to get round to sending it off.

there has been a good clip on B&B by Joel, using a straight, he doesn't do much prep, or I should say, take a long time doing it. He gets an acceptable shave with 1 pass.
 
The first pass is never a particularly smooth affair for me unless I've soaked myself in the bath. Probably just tough bristles. A full hollow seems to make easier work of it than a wedgy razor for some reason; subsequent passes are much better with any razor.
 
AJP said:
The past couple of times i have tried my new straight, i have found the 1st pass WTG almost uncomfortable, as it feels like the hairs are being pulled.
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I had this when I started, but I don't get it now. I put it down to blade angle, I'm probably going in at about 20-25 degrees instead of 30 (I'm just guessing, I haven't owned a protractor for about 25 years). It's certainly fetching the stubble off because you can see it in the soap when I wipe the blade.
 
I found a big part of it was confidence in my stroke. For my first few shaves the blade was skipping around and dragging. I found doing the exact opposite of what was recommended to me helpful, using long sweeping strokes from ear to chin and from the jawline right down the neck - once I could get a decent pass like that I started shortening my strokes.
 
Proinsias said:
I found a big part of it was confidence in my stroke. For my first few shaves the blade was skipping around and dragging. I found doing the exact opposite of what was recommended to me helpful, using long sweeping strokes from ear to chin and from the jawline right down the neck - once I could get a decent pass like that I started shortening my strokes.
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+1 that. A lot of it is about confidence.

And none of it, PigCat, is about length of strokes.
 
Yes, always hard to tell. If the person who honed it is up to snuff then it is probably the angle of approach, poor skin-stretching technique, pre-shaving prep (least likely) or lack of confidence in the stroke. One other thing that rarely gets mentioned is the difference between what we expect to achieve and what we actually achieve - a bit like reading a car manual and then getting in it and trying to drive it with no prior experience. I mention this as an example because it is something that happened to my grandad - he drove a tank in the army for a bit and they gave him a driving licence when he returned to civvy street. He was lethal for years.

Regards,
Neil
 
:lol: Your father´s maybe a relative to my sisters father inlaw, he manged to drive on the wrong side at the high way and bitched about how all the other drivers was mad :eek: . He was the worst driver ever born in Sweden, for sure. I was allways scared to death when he drove, may he rip.

My experience is that you have to keep it up, in other words keep on shaving and it will be better you more you learn about your skin and hair, just my two pennies though. +1 to what other s had said also about skin-stretching, angels and strokes.

Neil Miller said:
Yes, always hard to tell. If the person who honed it is up to snuff then it is probably the angle of approach, poor skin-stretching technique, pre-shaving prep (least likely) or lack of confidence in the stroke. One other thing that rarely gets mentioned is the difference between what we expect to achieve and what we actually achieve - a bit like reading a car manual and then getting in it and trying to drive it with no prior experience. I mention this as an example because it is something that happened to my grandad - he drove a tank in the army for a bit and they gave him a driving licence when he returned to civvy street. He was lethal for years.

Regards,
Neil
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+1 on what neil says, angle and blade not being sharp enough being the main points to watch.

One thing i do if my bristles are tough is rather than go wtg i try and catch them diagonally if you know what i mean, if i go wtg the razor doesn't always catch them right.
 
It sounds to me like skin stretching could be a big factor. Unlike feather blades or DEs, straights are a little thicker and even the sharpest blades will hesitate without the proper pulling of the skin. Try pulling the skin up on your cheek as high as you can, and pull the skin on your neck back toward you ear. Also , don't pull the blade down perpendicular to your side burns, use more of a wrist motion in an arc, as if waving (once)....

If that doesn't seem to help, it may simply be a dull blade.

I hope this helps!
:shave
 
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