Going Straight

About 3 months ago I bought a unknown maker straight razor out of Neils bargain section. And he very kindly did some extra refurbishment work on it for me.
This morning after giving it much thought, I had my first straight shave and it certainly focused my mind.
It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, however, the result was not as close as I thought it would be. Possibly because I did not want to use any pressure just incase I cut any bits off, like my ear lobes :lol:
The shave took 20-30 minutes.
Afterwards I cleaned and dried the razor, then stroped it on the inside of my leather RM Williams belt.
The blade was then treated to a coat of very thin oil and put away.

Now, To get a closer shave do I just apply more pressure?
Which is better for a learner? A hanging strop or a paddle strop?

Barely any pressure Steve! Concentrate on the angle and skin stretching instead. And I'd say a hanging strop, though whether it's easier is highly debatable.

Closer means more passes or greater angle - both can cause irritation or loss of flesh.

As said - no pressure.

Concentrate on technique before going in for BBS shaving. Its something that will come with time, much like speed

a good honed and proper razor will be closer and smoother than ANY DE going on 3+ uses..str8 razors tend to be on the thicker side as far as blade quality goes...this would be Wedge grind...full hollow blades are slightly thinner and tend to "flex" a bit...due to them not being as stiff..If I were you..watch videos on youtube about "straight razor shaving"

Arrowhead said:

Barely any pressure Steve! Concentrate on the angle and skin stretching instead. And I'd say a hanging strop, though whether it's easier is highly debatable.

Click to expand...

+1 and please concentrate on streatching and angles

:twisted: :twisted: Try using more of a sawing motion :twisted: :twisted:

Seriously though its about blade angle and how to stretch the skin to get the hairs to stand up. IME its a much slower learning curve than DE I've been at it on and off for about a year and only now am I getting shaves that I am properly happy with without having to do an ATG pass with a DE or SE. I can still get a closed shave with a DE but equally my good straight shaves are on a par with average DE shaves.

Closeness comes from experience and which pass you do. ATG will always be closer than WTG. But doing ATG first is not a good idea for beginners, and I don't think any veterans do it first either. But it is possible, it is painful.

Closeness also comes from angle, which is determined by the angle of the bevel.