Hello everyone! I hope all of you are having a good year so far. After de shaving for over a year and just getting a Vikings Blade Meiji razor [which I love!] I have fallen deeper into the hole. I just received my Dovo Bismark in the mail today. It came shave ready with a strop from shavesmith.com. It is a very beautiful and sharp razor. I have been watching a lot of videos on how to shave with a straight. But I think I will use my Meiji for my somewhat problem areas under my nose and chin until I am more skilled. I am somewhat concerned about using my left hand for the left side of the face. gonna just take it slow. But I have a question, most people say that you should strop before every shave. But one video I watched said that you can go for 4-5 shaves between stropping. Is that true ? I think that I will have to strop before each shave because I have a tough beard with sensitive skin. Of course YMMV. Any advice would be helpful and greatly appreciated. I am going to by a canvas strop and some red and black paste. Down the road some stones. But for now I am going to have it honed by a pro. Anyhow, thanks in advance! One final thought; I want to try to avoid any embarrassing cuts on my face. So I might do some manscaping below the belt before I use it on my face. What could go wrong?;]
I just went deeper into the rabbit hole!
- Thread starter Panzermeister Dave
- Start date
EUNUCH
Apologies if the entire post was in jest (starting straights with manscaping? Really?), but you can do anything you like. Your razor. Your shave. Your choice.
How long the edge will remain shaveable depends on:
How long the edge will remain shaveable depends on:
- The starting state of the edge
- Your whiskers
- Your skin
- How frequently you shave
- Your mastery of shaving technique
- How good a shave you expect/demand
- How much discomfort you can tolerate
- Etc., Etc., Etc.
Hi @ Panzermeister Dave , I just looked back at earlier posts. On Dec 10th I forecast a straight razor in your future. You really did take the plunge didn’t you. Enjoy yourself like we all do!!!!
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Strop the razor between each shave - it makes a difference and it's a very relaxing part of the process.
- Thread starter
- #6
Only the last comment was a joke. The rest was serious. I was thinking about getting a cheaper razor to start with. But I heard so many bad things about cheap Chinese razors, that I decided that it would be better to just get something that is good quality to begin with.
- Thread starter
- #7
Yes I did! The crazey thing is that when I first started reading this forum over a year ago; I said to myself that there is no way that I would even try a straight. But I started watching vids of people like Geofatboy talking about how great a shave you can get with a straight razor. So I got to thinking. But I am going to blame some of you guys for helping to make me slip farther down the rabbithole. Anyhow, I think this just might be the ticket for me.Hi @ Panzermeister Dave , I just looked back at earlier posts. On Dec 10th I forecast a straight razor in your future. You really did take the plunge didn’t you. Enjoy yourself like we all do!!!!
- Thread starter
- #8
Yes, I think that would be part of the enjoyment. Kind of like lathering with a brush. I remember when I hated shaving. Now I look forward to it. I like trying different soaps and all that. So straight razor shaving is gonna be a whole new world for me. And trust me, there will be no manscaping! Man, I wonder if anyone has even tried that.
I bought a shave-ready Dovo Bismarck (Carre) on September 19, 2020 and have shaved with traditional straight every other day since. There is a learning curve that takes time, and this includes the honing, the stropping and the shaving. If you just stick with it, all of these aspects will improve, you will find your way, and you will be rewarded with great shaves. Just be patient, stay focused and enjoy the process!
- Thread starter
- #10
I agree, patient and focused is the way to go. Today I used my Bismarck for the first time. I was amazed how sharp and smooth this razor is. For a second, I thought that I was not going the cut myself. Wrong! I messed up my angle when first placing the blade on my face. But I only got cut once. I got a half inch cut about 1 1/2 inches below my right eye. It looks far worse then it feels. But it made me to remember to stay focused. I only did a 2 pass wtg on my face. Gonna wait awhile before I try my chin and neck areas. Using the left hand is going to take some getting used to. But I can't believe how close a shave I got with just going wtg. After I shaved, I stropped the razor very carefully. At least the strop did not get cut. Anyhow, thanks to everyone that gave me advice. It was part of the reason I was looking at Dovo razors when making my decision to buy a straight.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
A Dovo Bismarck is an excellent choice. Very ergonomic design, a pleasure to hold, use, hone or strop. Sure, it's fine to hold it in reserve and make newbie mistakes on something cheaper, and it is a good idea to send it out for honing, but be careful who you send it to. There are those who have a pro shingle out, who TBH just don't hone very well. Or worse. Stick with someone recommended by others in the community. There is this forum and there are a handful of others where you can ask about a particular honemeister. If a forum member of long standing and who seems respected by the board recommends a particular honemeister, then the guy is probably pretty good. If he is unknown on the forums, then give him a miss. Everyone who is anyone in the community is known by everyone else. An outsider will not be a very safe pair of hands to put your precious into.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Never trust anyone who does not shave daily with a straight razor, to hone yours. It will end badly.
You "can" skip stropping, but why would you? And stropping before every shave has a proven track record. EVERYBODY strops before shaving or at least after the previous shave. It has been proven to make a difference, for at least a couple hundred years.
I strongly recommend that you do not use any paste on any hanging strop. IMHO this is a bad idea. And as for the red and black or green or whatever, IMHO diamond paste is far superior and is available in a tremendous range of grits, from 60u (about 320 grit, I think) to .1u, which is roughly 200,000 grit. Also it is much much much more effective when used properly, and this means not on cloth or leather or any loose floppy hanging substance, but on BACKED and LAPPED balsa. Guys have tried using pastes of every flavor for generations and only got so-so results. Since some of us started using this optimized system, the rules of the game have changed and the bar has been raised to pretty much the theoretical maximum. However, it only works on a sharp edge. It will make a sharp edge sharper, impossibly sharp it would seem. It will not do anything at all for a dull edge. How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop | Badger & Blade
Also, at every opportunity, test your razors for sharpness. Is My Razor Sharp? The Treetopping Test | Badger & Blade
- Thread starter
- #12
Thank
Thank you. You just saved me from buying the red and black paste. I am gonna check out the links that you gave. I will do a lot more research before I get involved with any other items. For now, I am just going to stick to stropping on my leather strop.
- Thread starter
- #14
Thank you Slash McCoy for the great info. I also watched your you tube video. I am going to order some diamond paste. I can get the balsa at my local Hobby Lobby. Also, I want to get a 3in wide leather strop. I have a thinner strop that came with the razor. But a 3in would be a little easier for me to use. Do you still strop on plain canvas anymore? You said that you were having good results by stropping on plain balsa after using the diamond treated balsa. Of course I can get a double sided leather/canvas strop. Anyhow, On a different note, I had my second shave with a straight yesterday. No nicks this time. What I like is that I get just as close a shave with a 2 pass WTG as I do with a de with Feather blade doing a 3 pass shave. One WTG and 2 XTG , But with less razor burn. Except the left side of the face. It is taking some getting used to when shaving with my left hand. I also found that a 30 degree angle is not for me. I am around 15 or so. Of course I have a long ways to go. But so far I am loving a straight!
The 30 degree mantra on the net seems to be a gross exaggeration. Seems more accurately a spine width of the blade away from your face. Against the grain the blade is almost flat.
- Thread starter
- #16
Yes, I would agree, at least for my taste. It seams that on the second pass that I can increase the angle a little to get a bit closer. But most important is comfort and not getting cut. I actually went to the trouble of drawing out angles on a piece of paper and setting my straight point down to kind of figure what it looked like. One spine width is not even close to 30 degree. More like 10 or so. Of course I am new and YMMV. But I like the control a straight gives. I case anyone wonders, I don't consider this rocket science. But I was just curious about the angle thing, and the voices inside my head told me to draw it out on paper.;] By the way Sanookd, since you called it for me on Dec 10th, I was wondering if you are psychic? If so can you please give me the winning lotto numbers?;]
I’m not psychic. I think you just got a swig of the same Kool Aid I did 6 years ago!!
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
No, I never strop on any secondary component. I never found it to do anything that leather alone can't do. I also finally decided that stropping on the clean balsa just isn't enough, and now I don't bother. I strop on all three balsas after honing a razor, and after shaving I strop on the .1u balsa only so I never have to hone again. Immediately prior to shaving, I also strop on a clean hanging leather strop.
- Thread starter
- #19
Changed my mind about manscaping with a straight. But I might try it in the future when I am drinking whiskey with mountain dew. So what if I get the shakes, It will be a challenge!;]
- Thread starter
- #20
Please don't take the last post seriously, I forgot to take my meds today.
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