Had my first shave with my new straight razor today.

[Fishdog72]

I had some extra money so I decided to take the plunge and buy a straight razor. After looking around the web and here, I decided on a Dovo 5/8 Silver Steel with ebony scales. I included pictures of it. While it doesn't look as nice as some of the amazing custom ones I've seen on B&B, I think it looks pretty nice. I bought it from Straight Razor Designs where it was professionally honed by Lynn Abrams who I read online about in several places as being one of the foremost people in the straight razor hobby. I also watched his videos and several others on stropping and shaving with a straight.

On to the shave. Every time I buy a new razor I also buy a new soap and brush. I settled on a Semogue 1800 boar and some Trumpers Lime soap. Since I'm new at straight shaving, I only did my cheeks and neck since I'm a little nervous about using it on my chin (I have a dimpled chin that makes shaving there more difficult. ) and lip areas. While I can't say it was the best shave of my life, and far from irritation free, I feel good enough about it to keep doing it. In a way, liking it may be a bad thing since I now will have another shaving temptation to spend my money on, and all the fault goes to this website.

 

[Strop Dragging My Heart]

Congrats, Fishdog! I am not too far ahead of you, SR shave wise. The Dovo 5/8 SS was my first razor as well! (I now have 3 other vintage razors to go along with it... careful - it is a sickness, and I believe it is contagious through this website...)

Keep at it - it sounds like you had a successful number 1 shave!

 

[Lmarkow]

Congrats on what sounds like an excellent start! Real nice razor too!

 

[Fishdog72]

Keep at it - it sounds like you had a successful number 1 shave!

Well, it was at least successful enough to keep at it. I liked shaving with it more than I did with a Parker Shavette.

 

[labrax]

Congrats on the first straight shave and getting yourself outfitted with a nice honed razor, a very nice brush and soap. You are on your way!

 

[Fishdog72]

Congrats on the first straight shave and getting yourself outfitted with a nice honed razor, a very nice brush and soap. You are on your way!

I'm not too happy with the soap. It has a weak scent. I love the brush. It's soft for a boar but still stiff enough for hard soaps.

 

[labrax]

I'm not too happy with the soap. It has a weak scent. I love the brush. It's soft for a boar but still stiff enough for hard soaps.

I have that brush and it is a nice brush for sure. My particular copy has a large glue bump, so it does not splay like my 620, but great handle.

I am only about a month ahead of you with straights. Don't get discouraged if you have a bad shave - there will be good ones and an occasional speed bump. Your technique and speed will improve and so will the results.

Have a good weekend,

Pete

 

[Steve56]

You'll get everything dialed in with time. The straight should be more forgiving and possibly smoother than the shavette. It's a fun thing to do, so just make sure you have fun!

Cheers, Steve

 

[Mango]

First of all welcome and congrats !
I like the way you jumped in and your methodical approach to the journey, soap and brush included.
I believe some more straights will come to haunt your bathroom...soon !

 

[Mtn Man]

Congratulations, glad to see you off to a good start. i bought a Dovo as my first as well. best of luck

 

[Fishdog72]

So I had my second shave today with my straight, and it went better than the first one. I used my Proraso White cream instead of the Trumpers soap and had an easier time with the blade going across my face. This resulted in a lot less razor burn, but there still was some. My Jack Black cooling gel relieved that. The toughest thing with using the straight is doing my upper lip and near my left ear, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.