Technique Trumps Tools

Hello everyone!

Leaping off the success of the "Poor Man's Luxury" shave thread focused on assembling a high quality budget wet shave kit (see the surprising results here: https://damnfineshave.com/thread-poor-ma...light=poor ), we now need to provide our new wet shaver with some advice as to how to use that kit.  I envision that guy transitioning from a cartridge razor and canned shave cream (or maybe an electric!) to our hypothetical Poor Man's kit which is generally a $50.00 Maggard's  or Stirling shave kit consisting of an entry level DE razor, shaver's choice of blade, a synthetic or Semogue boar brush and a croap/soap, preferably tallow based.

So, now that he has his kit, what single most important piece of advice (OK maybe two) would you give him about how to use his new kit? 

Again, I will refrain from my advice until things get rolling. 

Also, thanks to FaceScraper for inspiring this topic.

Tedolph

When you think you aren't adding pressure, use even less pressure.

I am surprised that you gentlemen are so restrained in giving advice!

So here is mine to the new wet shaver, which is much like Stickshifts:


Tedolph's First Law of Shaving:

"Closeness does not come from pressure; closeness comes from multiple passes".

And its Corollary:

"Once you have found the correct angle, use only enough pressure to cut, no more!"

Finding the right razor blade for the razor you are using is important and rather tricky. We all have our blade preferences and they are so diverse it is quite astounding.... . from guys who use Feathers to green Astras. Unfortunately, there has to be some sampling as each shaver is unique [whisker type, skin type, razor choice, etc] Novice shavers commonly think rough shaves are coming from the soap, the brush, etc. Tyro shavers are pushing or using too much pressure with a non-optimal razor blade/ razor head combo for their biology. This is a common issue with some of us old timers.

So...
°Use a slick soap or cream
°stick with one razor
°don't push the razor, pull it with light pressure
°learn the angles of your face and whisker growth direction
°don't go for bbs - go for comfort and razor skills first
°take your time building your lather, always add water slowly
°control variables to find the optimal razor head blade combo

¬ use a blade for 3 shaves, pitch it, try the same brand for 2 shaves, pitch it.... If you don't like the shaves, move on to another blade. I would read Ray Clems thread on blade sharpness and smoothness. A spreadsheet he compiled for dozens of blades is presented, and great advice on this topic of blade selection is discussed in detail.






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Finding the right razor blade for the razor you are using is important and rather tricky. We all have our blade preferences and they are so diverse it is quite astounding.... . from guys who use Feathers to green Astras. Unfortunately, there has to be some sampling as each shaver is unique [whisker type, skin type, razor choice, etc] Novice shavers commonly think rough shaves are coming from the soap, the brush, etc. Tyro shavers are pushing or using too much pressure with a non-optimal razor blade/ razor head combo for their biology. This is a common issue with some of us old timers.

So...
°Use a slick soap or cream
°stick with one razor
°don't push the razor, pull it with light pressure
°learn the angles of your face and whisker growth direction
°don't go for bbs - go for comfort and razor skills first
°take your time building your lather, always add water slowly
°control variables to find the optimal razor head blade combo

¬ use a blade for 3 shaves, pitch it, try the same brand for 2 shaves, pitch it.... If you don't like the shaves, move on to another blade. I would read Ray Clems thread on blade sharpness and smoothness. A spreadsheet he compiled for dozens of blades is presented, and great advice on this topic of blade selection is discussed in detail.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

Lots of great advice here. I particularly like these two:

"don't push the razor, pull it with light pressure "

and

"don't go for bbs - go for comfort and razor skills first"

Figure out how your hair grows on the different parts of your face, so you can know how to do your passes.
Don’t feel the need to go against the grain early on, especially if your skin is at all sensitive.
Don’t be afraid to use lots of soap and lots of water. There will always be more soap 

I'm fully in the camp of Technique Trumps Tools. You've already garnered some great advice for a newbie. 

I feel it's important for someone new to using a traditional-style razor to use the exact same setup for at least 30 shaves. Same razor, soap, brush, blade (brand/"model" - not *the* same blade), etc. This eliminates variables and allows focus on technique alone. 

There is a guy who used to wander the halls of The Shave Den (he also has a YouTube channel), and he famously says "A razor is a razor and a blade is a blade". I mostly agree with that saying. A razor does nothing more than hold a blade in place to allow you to shave. Sure, there are differences. Different gaps, different exposures, different blade coatings, etc. But in the end, it's your technique that allows a perfect shave with your setup. All he is really saying is, as long as your technique is up to par, you can get a good shave with any setup.

I've found that as my technique improved, blade choice matters less. For me anyway, I find that the longevity of blades varies depending on the brand/"model", yet I can get a great shave with most any of them - at least those that I've tried. 

To summarize my rambling, stick with the same setup for at least 30 days and focus on your technique. Jumping from one razor to another, or one blade to the next can do a disservice.

So here is what I think we have so far:

1) Stick with the same gear for 30 days;

2) Pull the razor, don't push it.

3) Figure out which way your beard grows so you know how to do your passes.

4) Closeness does not come from pressure, closeness comes from multiple passes.

5) Don't chase BBS initially; chase smoothness and razor skills first.

6) If you think that you are not adding pressure, use even less pressure.


How about something about how to find the right angle?

What about straight-razor techniques?

Navigating neck topography seems to be my final frontier, with maneuvering three inches of steel at the diagonal and horizontal angles needed to get close results being the challenge.

If good shave foundations are fairly circumscribed, what leads to The Perfect Shave is made by dozens of fine details that require quite a bit of commitment. I might be wrong, but trying to summarize ALL shaving technique aspects in just a single thread sounds like a mission impossible to me... The Italian forum I'm from has an entire section about this and I think I've never been able to read it completely!
If I had to choose one word to sum it up, I think it would be time: time to learn, time to understand and time to practice (a lot), just like any manual art.

swellcat: if I get what your issue is (neck ATG), this helped me a lot (min 7:50): https://youtu.be/HIRRD-73Sjc