Rate my shave and give me tips(video) **new to straight razor shaving**
- Thread starter Stapelfeld
- Start date
This is very impressive. I was not nearly so smooth, that early in my straight razor shaving. Some observations:
The whiskers are being affected, but not as much as I'd expect if the razor had a truly keen edge.
You are doing some stretching, but you need to do far more. Some of your stretching does not seem to substantially affect the area you are actually shaving (the ear pull, for example). You want a consequential stretch, whether by hand or facial arrangement or both, on pretty much every stroke. I suspect that if your razor were keener, some of your strokes on unstretched skin would have produced weepers.
Your angle is not bad on the cheeks; maybe could be a little lower. But it's definitely considerably too high on the ATG strokes on the neck. A high angle will take tiny divots out of your edge, and diminish comfort over time.
The coconut oil -- it would be nice to dispense with it. Most shavers dispense with pre-shave oils once they have both their selection of the right shave soap for them, and sufficient hydration for the lather, dialed in. My experiment with oils was brief, because they seemed to cause the blade to want to stick instead of glide.
I'm not that familiar with Cremo, but you may want to consider more water in your lather. The range of lather consistency for straight razor shaves, for most, ranges from yogurt to almost dripping off the face, depending on preference. I do concede that I've seen YouTube shavers using lather that looked a lot like yours.
The whiskers are being affected, but not as much as I'd expect if the razor had a truly keen edge.
You are doing some stretching, but you need to do far more. Some of your stretching does not seem to substantially affect the area you are actually shaving (the ear pull, for example). You want a consequential stretch, whether by hand or facial arrangement or both, on pretty much every stroke. I suspect that if your razor were keener, some of your strokes on unstretched skin would have produced weepers.
Your angle is not bad on the cheeks; maybe could be a little lower. But it's definitely considerably too high on the ATG strokes on the neck. A high angle will take tiny divots out of your edge, and diminish comfort over time.
The coconut oil -- it would be nice to dispense with it. Most shavers dispense with pre-shave oils once they have both their selection of the right shave soap for them, and sufficient hydration for the lather, dialed in. My experiment with oils was brief, because they seemed to cause the blade to want to stick instead of glide.
I'm not that familiar with Cremo, but you may want to consider more water in your lather. The range of lather consistency for straight razor shaves, for most, ranges from yogurt to almost dripping off the face, depending on preference. I do concede that I've seen YouTube shavers using lather that looked a lot like yours.
- Thread starter
- #3
thank you very much for these! i will try to further improve.
Excellent video my friend!
You got guts and honesty, with a good ladle of openness!
I'm a humble DE/SE user. Bravo to you my friend in taking on the challenge of the SR. I hope your technique just refines and progresses.
I would use a slightly thinner lather, good facial scrubbing action in evidence though.
I'm an arko! stick face latherer so what do I know eh?
Look luck Brother @Stapelfeld
- Thread starter
- #5
thank yo very much for that kind comment! I feel like lather making is a huge area I can improve at.Excellent video my friend!
You got guts and honesty, with a good ladle of openness!
I'm a humble DE/SE user. Bravo to you my friend in taking on the challenge of the SR. I hope your technique just refines and progresses.
I would use a slightly thinner lather, good facial scrubbing action in evidence though.
I'm an arko! stick face latherer so what do I know eh?
Look luck Brother @Stapelfeld
It looks like your shavette shaving have given you good muscle memory to transition into straght razors.
The against the grain pass can tell you allot about the quality of your edge. You can probably benefit from a sharper edge. Your technique should allow you to handle keener edges.
I you are considering getting a Dovo Bismarck, you will probably get a better edge due to the better steel, and from a more acute bevel angle compared to a GD.
The Bismarck is one of Dovo's best razors in my opinion. It is also quite easy to hone, and easy to shave with.
The against the grain pass can tell you allot about the quality of your edge. You can probably benefit from a sharper edge. Your technique should allow you to handle keener edges.
I you are considering getting a Dovo Bismarck, you will probably get a better edge due to the better steel, and from a more acute bevel angle compared to a GD.
The Bismarck is one of Dovo's best razors in my opinion. It is also quite easy to hone, and easy to shave with.
+1 on the edge not being sharp enough and on the need for some extra skin stretching. Rather than pulling your ear, try to really push up or pull your skin just under your sideburns. I tried pulling my ear, it doesn't seem to stretch the skin on my cheeks. But we're all different.
If you happen to pull the trigger on the Bismarck, the official Dovo site (both German and US) offers an extra honing service. I would advice you to add that to your order.
Best of luck & keep at it!
If you happen to pull the trigger on the Bismarck, the official Dovo site (both German and US) offers an extra honing service. I would advice you to add that to your order.
Best of luck & keep at it!
Nicely done. I have nothing to add to the comments so far.
You've got the confidence and an interest to find what works for you, and that's half the story. From here it's just refinement.
You've got the confidence and an interest to find what works for you, and that's half the story. From here it's just refinement.
- Thread starter
- #9
That is great to hear! Honestly all these positive comments and tips are a huge help, I’m glad I found this community. I will try to rehone my Razor today, I did notice the bevel is higher on one side than the other.
Great video! I posted a thread once asking members about creating shaving videos, would you do it? My feeling being that I just looked goofy. You don’t! You look like you know what you are doing, confident. Refinement with both SR and technique will improve over time. Have fun on your journey.
- Thread starter
- #11
Thank you very much! I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements a year from now
