Blade "skipping"

[mmain]

I have a n00b question. I have been attempting to wetshave for about 2 weeks. I am using Proraso(green), a Merkur classic, and Merkur blade. I start at my upper check and slowly tilt the handle down to the correct angle then begin pulling the razor down my check and the razor seems to get stuck and then goes creating a "hopping" effect. This isn't creating nicks or cuts and doesn't feel like it is the blade getting stuck. It more feels like the safety bar is just sticking to my skin. My lather seems to be good and moist, as I have watched all of mantic's videos several times. I have even used that really good rich lather that you get from squeezing the brush and it still happens. I do know that I have hard water because my bright shiny Merkur has a cloudy haze all over it each time that I use it.

Is this caused by the hard water or am I doing something wrong?

[PalmettoB]

Welcome to The Shave Den, mmain. Hard water will definitely keep lather from being as slick and effective. Even if it seems like you are getting a sufficient volume of lather, it might not be "slick" enough.

Otherwise, I'd say you might want to experiment with the angle some. Make sure the blade stays in contact with your face all the way through a stroke, rather than letting the safety bar get more of the contact. Also watch not to use too much pressure. Just let the razor do the work.

Honestly, some folks have trouble with Merkur blades. I know they don't work as well for me as some others. Might want to try a few other blades.

Good luck. Let us know how you progress.

[IsaacRN]

Welcome to the DEN :)

[rick]

Greetings to you !

sounds to me like your prep is OK.
I'd have to agree with Blair in that maybe the angle of your dangl....oops....er, uh.... razor is not correct.
Work on that and see if you have better luck.

[Mottern Man]

I had the same problem with Merkur Blades, then I switched, problem went away.
Welcome Aboard.:cool:

[TraderJoe]

First, Welcome :eatdrink004

Now, onto the important stuff.

I've gone on the record as saying this, and shall do it again.

Proraso Cream is junk. Many people like it, I simply do not. Supposedly it is used in barbershops in Italy for years and years, but that doesn't mean its good.

I find that my razor skips while using the Proraso cream, I doubt any blade will change that. I got so digusted with it, I threw half a tube out.

Taking it one step further, I find any cream containing SLS to make the razor skip. Could be my skin, could be my water, could be anything. But I have found this to be 100% true across the gambit of creams with SLS.

[sparky5693]

Try varying the amount of water you use in your cream. Remember you're looking for tiny bubbles in that lather.... almost like cool whip. Big bubbles, (think washing the dishes) aren't good.

[Queen of Blades]

Nothing to add.

Welcome to The Shave Den, mmain!

[Scorpio]

I would follow Doc's advise. Get a blade sampler pack and dump the Merkur blades.

Raf

[mmain]

I wanted to thank everyone for being so helpful. I am amazed at the amount of replies in such a short amount of time. I think that I am leaning toward TraderJoe's response. I have heard so much about Proraso that I assumed it was good stuff. I started out with Williams Mug soap before the Proraso got here, and I must say that I didn't like it, but I don't remember it causing the skipping problem either. Right now Proraso is all I have and Merkur blades and Personna blades (from Wal*Mart) are all that I have.

[TraderJoe]

I wanted to thank everyone for being so helpful. I am amazed at the amount of replies in such a short amount of time. I think that I am leaning toward TraderJoe's response. I have heard so much about Proraso that I assumed it was good stuff. I started out with Williams Mug soap before the Proraso got here, and I must say that I didn't like it, but I don't remember it causing the skipping problem either. Right now Proraso is all I have and Merkur blades and Personna blades (from Wal*Mart) are all that I have.

Until you get more "stuff", I think one thing that could resurrect that pig of a cream would be to super-lather the Williams with it. Just an idea

Williams is good like that, it makes a mean superlather with Palmolive red too

[Mottern Man]

May I suggest some new products on the cheap? :D

Proraso (I hate the smell so I did not use it that much)
Williams (dose not work for me at all)

Stuff to try, Kiss My Face and Tom's of Maine creams.

Col Conk and anyone of the popular online vendors soap (i.e. Sue, Sue, Sue, Sue, Colleen, Sue, Sue, Sue, Charels at QED, Sue, and oh yea Suzie, I hope I named all of our Sue's).

All well with in budget and very well performing.

[PalmettoB]

The Personna/Wal-Mart blades will still be better than the Merkur, IMO.

Soaps/creams: VanDer Hagen (used to be "Surrey") isn't too bad, or the Williams. The Kiss My Face and Tom's creams that Doc recommended are good ones. Check out a Whole Foods store if you have one nearby.

Col. Conk is a favorite of mine, and sometimes available at a tobacco shop or old general store near you. That would get you going immediately until something could come in the mail.

Otherwise, your best bet is online, and you don't have to spend a lot to get started. Check out the Shave Shopping Index (http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1463) for some ideas. It's kinda like a shaving mall. :D (And also check out our classifieds; somebody may have some stuffs to sell or trade.) Of course, online your choices are limited only by how long you want to wait for shipping and your budget. ;)

[mmain]

Thanks all for the suggestions. There are so many choices that it helps to hear all the other experiences. I went to Crabtree & Evelyn today because there is one here in town. I wanted to buy their $35 Best Badger brush, but the salesperson wasn't knowledgable enough to tell which brush was which. I ended up buying their Nomad shaving cream. Also I orded the Extended sampler pack from WestCoastshaving last night. A question about the brush: The badger brushes that I saw at C&E were very small compared what I currently have (which I think is boar hair) and I haven't had any problems with it nor do I think it is uncomfortable. I think I prefer the larger brush, so am I better off with a smaller Badger or a larger boar? My plan right now is to save up for a large badger brush, maybe around Christmas time.

[TraderJoe]

I think I prefer the larger brush, so am I better off with a smaller Badger or a larger boar? My plan right now is to save up for a large badger brush, maybe around Christmas time.

It will definitely come down to personal preference.

In my case, I prefer variety. Some days I like soft brushes, some days stiffer. Some days smaller (shorter loft), some days bigger.

[Mottern Man]

It will definitely come down to personal preference.

In my case, I prefer variety. Some days I like soft brushes, some days stiffer. Some days smaller (shorter loft), some days bigger.

Some days I feel like a nut, some days I don't

Joe is right on this. I will say that pound for pound the 22 knot C&E Best is pound for pound the best bargen in history. I love my Kent, and Savile Row but if it came down to one brush, maybe, just maybe I would choose the C&E.

[mmain]

i just tried the C&E Nomad that I bought today to compare it to Proraso and I honestly can't see the difference. No doubt this is from my lack of experience, but for me it was the same thing with a different smell. I still get nicks on my neck on my 2nd pass. I am using a new blade everyday. I have heard some guys say that sometimes they get a better shave after the 2nd or 3rd use. Should I be re-using my blades more?

[Straight Arrow]

All of the above is great advice. I would add that in my experience I also noticed a lot of skipping early in my DE learning curve. As my technique improved the skipping disappeared. I think it has less to do with what equipment and lather you are using and more to do with your finesse at wielding the razor.

[Scorpio]

i just tried the C&E Nomad that I bought today to compare it to Proraso and I honestly can't see the difference. No doubt this is from my lack of experience, but for me it was the same thing with a different smell. I still get nicks on my neck on my 2nd pass. I am using a new blade everyday. I have heard some guys say that sometimes they get a better shave after the 2nd or 3rd use. Should I be re-using my blades more?

YES absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is probably one of the reasons you are tearing your face. Re-use the same blade unless it is a bad blade. I would suggest a blade change every 3-4 days but your face will tell you when it is time. Ease off on the pressure applied and let the weight of the razor do the work for you. Reduction of stubble with each pass is important to a good shave. Good lather is the other half. In my opinion there is a huge difference between C&E product and Proraso as far as soap or cream is concern. If you could post pics of your lather so we can see what it looks like this way we can then offer more guidance.

Raf

[mmain]

Check out my lathering skills and see what you think! Do you think it looks too dry when it is on my face? I never have gotten a "fluffy white beard" on my face, the lather seems to stay a thin layer. I am applying it in circular motion with the bristles spread to about half my check. Also, I am still waiting on my blade sampler, but I am suspecting that the merkur blades may not be working for me. Either that or I need to toy with the angle more. This "blade skipping" seems to be that the blade doesn't have enough gusto to cut through the whisker so it stops, which causes more of a tug from me, which makes it move, then it stops again and the cycle starts over. I am applying absolutely no pressure. I would liken it dragging a rake over rough ground. Without applying any downward pressure to the rake it just bounces and jumps randomly. This seems to be the same reaction the razor has as I pull it down my check without apply any pressure into my face. As you can see in the pic of my neck that i have very bad ingrown hair and razor bumps on my neck. I have always had these since i was a teenager. They are actually better now than ever, but they make it very difficult to shave with DE.

[TraderJoe]

Good pics.

Lather looks to be on the thin side. Very thin, actually.

[redorchestra]

I found the same problem with the murkur razor. I was using a personna blade though. Could It be the shiny finish on the murkur?

[mmain]

Good pics.

Lather looks to be on the thin side. Very thin, actually.

Thin like too much water or thin as in the amount that I have on my face?...

[Queen of Blades]

Thin like too much water or thin as in the amount that I have on my face?...

Too much water.

[mmain]

Yeah, I watched mantics video on lathering again and I agree that my lather is much thinner. It still looked like I was starting w/ the same amount of cream, but of course I can't tell how much water he has vs. how much I have. I'll thicken it up tomorrow night and update...

[Queen of Blades]

Best of luck!

Keep us posted.

[rick]

DUDE !
Take a cuppa days off now and just practice making your lather.
You need some heal time.

Your lather looks very thin to me as well.
Try using more soap / cream than you think you need and make it drier than you think you should.
When you get the mix "pasty", add a few drops of hot water to the breech of the brush and keep building lather. You will learn what good lather should look like.
There are many variables involved and it takes time and practice every time you change / add something new to your routine to keep it all right.

[qhsdoitall]

DUDE !
Take a cuppa days off now and just practice making your lather.
You need some heal time.

Your lather looks very thin to me as well.
Try using more soap / cream than you think you need and make it drier than you think you should.
When you get the mix "pasty", add a few drops of hot water to the breech of the brush and keep building lather. You will learn what good lather should look like.
There are many variables involved and it takes time and practice every time you change / add something new to your routine to keep it all right.

Too much water. Curious though. What cream or soap did you use for these pictures?

[Ucliker]

The problem with hard water is you want to add more water to get a better result try less water, Also like many have said the Merkur blades arent great so try a sampler pack. In the pictures it seems like you get a lot of irritation try shaving with the grain for a while until your face gets used to the drastic changes.

[mmain]

Too much water. Curious though. What cream or soap did you use for these pictures?


This was Crabtree&Evelyn Nomad cream...


...In the pictures it seems like you get a lot of irritation try shaving with the grain for a while until your face gets used to the drastic changes.

I have been doing the first pass w/ the grain short strokes, then the second pass straight down which on me would be across the grain. It seems like no matter what direction I go on my neck it is not good... Any suggestions for how to allow the irritation at my neck go away. Like should I just not shave at all for a week or two and then try again?

[Mottern Man]

This was Crabtree&Evelyn Nomad cream...




I have been doing the first pass w/ the grain short strokes, then the second pass straight down which on me would be across the grain. It seems like no matter what direction I go on my neck it is not good... Any suggestions for how to allow the irritation at my neck go away. Like should I just not shave at all for a week or two and then try again?

1. You need better lather, maybe your water is bad. Try heating bottled water and see if that helps. Use a good ammount of cream and slowly add water, when you get it on your face you should look like Santa after a trim.

2. Check your angle.

3. NO PRESSURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! NONE, NADA, NHIL, ZIP, ZILTCH. Be like Yakov Smirnoff and let "razor shave you" (I am going to make that my sig line:D).

[qhsdoitall]

This was Crabtree&Evelyn Nomad cream...



Well, you have a good cream that is for sure.

[Scorpio]

okay, good pics. So as to not change too much, use the a little less amount water from what you have been using but add more cream. C&E cream is very good and will lather thick and creamy. You are looking for a merengue like consistency in the cream. you are almost there keep it up. Maybe for the next few days just shave with the grain to give your face time to heal a bit.

When you apply the lather to your face it should cover the skin to where you can't see skin, at least that's how I make mine.

Raf

[qhsdoitall]

When you apply the lather to your face it should cover the skin to where you can't see skin, at least that's how I make mine.

Raf

Agreed. Just remember to rinse the razor more often or you'll clog it.

[Infotech]

The best piece of advice is to take a break for about a week and let your neck heal...

One thing I read that helped me is this: If you think a batch of lather isn't right, ditch it and start over.

Like others have said, use more cream. Try using at least half a teaspoon and go from there.

Good Luck!

[mmain]

I just wanted to state for the record that I recieved my blade sampler pack, so I tried the Wilkinson Sword blade and I thickened up my lather. It was a whole new ballgame. I can't say whether the blade made all or any of the difference, I'm sure the correctly made lather made the most difference. I am going to continue working through the sampler and find my favorite blade.

Thanks to everyone who contribute to the forum.

[qhsdoitall]

I just wanted to state for the record that I recieved my blade sampler pack, so I tried the Wilkinson Sword blade and I thickened up my lather. It was a whole new ballgame. I can't say whether the blade made all or any of the difference, I'm sure the correctly made lather made the most difference. I am going to continue working through the sampler and find my favorite blade.

Thanks to everyone who contribute to the forum.

You're welcome.

[TraderJoe]

I just wanted to state for the record that I recieved my blade sampler pack, so I tried the Wilkinson Sword blade and I thickened up my lather. It was a whole new ballgame. I can't say whether the blade made all or any of the difference, I'm sure the correctly made lather made the most difference. I am going to continue working through the sampler and find my favorite blade.

Thanks to everyone who contribute to the forum.

Thanks for the update, glad to hear you're making good progress :happy088

[Mottern Man]

Good to hear things are going well. :D