New to Straight Razor Shaving

[NotTheGolfer]

Hello all!

I’m new to B&B, and this is my first post! I entered the world of traditional wet shaving back in 2016, and since that time, have come to LOVE my DE Safety razor, Feather Blades, and Stirling Shave Soaps/Post-Shave balms!

This past week, I took the plunge and bought my first straight razor - a Dovo Best Quality 5/8” with a Dovo XL strop. After two shaves (cheeks Nd sideburns only), I havent really even cut myself, but MAN, it’s hard to get the blade to “glide”/move smoothly over my face. I stropped 10-15 laps on the hard leather side, and about 20-25 times on the softer leather side. I’m attempting to stretch the skin like they talk about in all the videos. I’m doing all the face prep stuff beforehand, but the blade just won’t move smoothly. I’m wondering if my blade didn’t come sharpened from the factory?

Any advice would be welcome!

 

[sanookd]

Hello all!

I’m new to B&B, and this is my first post! I entered the world of traditional wet shaving back in 2016, and since that time, have come to LOVE my DE Safety razor, Feather Blades, and Stirling Shave Soaps/Post-Shave balms!

This past week, I took the plunge and bought my first straight razor - a Dovo Best Quality 5/8” with a Dovo XL strop. After two shaves (cheeks Nd sideburns only), I havent really even cut myself, but MAN, it’s hard to get the blade to “glide”/move smoothly over my face. I stropped 10-15 laps on the hard leather side, and about 20-25 times on the softer leather side. I’m attempting to stretch the skin like they talk about in all the videos. I’m doing all the face prep stuff beforehand, but the blade just won’t move smoothly. I’m wondering if my blade didn’t come sharpened from the factory?

Any advice would be welcome!

Welcome to B&B and the world of straight razor shaving. Depending on where you purchased your new Dovo Best Quality it very well may not have arrived into your hands in what is considered “shave ready” condition.
My advice to you is to send it out to a known honer from this forum to put a really “shave ready” edge on that blade. Then you will have a benchmark edge to know what a truly “shave ready” edge feels like. When you get a freshly honed blade back from a honer, don’t strop it. Just shave!
What you’ve just described is quite common sad to say.

 

[NotTheGolfer]

Welcome to B&B and the world of straight razor shaving. Depending on where you purchased your new Dovo Best Quality it very well may not have arrived into your hands in what is considered “shave ready” condition.
My advice to you is to send it out to a known honer from this forum to put a really “shave ready” edge on that blade. Then you will have a benchmark edge to know what a truly “shave ready” edge feels like. When you get a freshly honed blade back from a honer, don’t strop it. Just shave!
What you’ve just described is quite common sad to say.

Welcome to B&B and the world of straight razor shaving. Depending on where you purchased your new Dovo Best Quality it very well may not have arrived into your hands in what is considered “shave ready” condition.
My advice to you is to send it out to a known honer from this forum to put a really “shave ready” edge on that blade. Then you will have a benchmark edge to know what a truly “shave ready” edge feels like. When you get a freshly honed blade back from a honer, don’t strop it. Just shave!
What you’ve just described is quite common sad to say.

Who are some reputable honers you know of?

 

[Kentos]

Welcome to B&B!

It’s very unlikely the blade came shave ready from the factory, unless the vendor you purchased it from advertised it as shave ready.

I would take a meander over to the straight razor forums and see what you need to do to bring that razor up to speed.

 

[silverlifter]

Who are some reputable honers you know of?

Honemeister

IntroductionThis page is part of Joel's Interactive Guide to Straight Razor Shaving. This list is intended to list all the active Honemeisters by country and region. The list was

www.badgerandblade.com

Welcome aboard!

 

[sanookd]

Who are some reputable honers you know of?

Are you in the USA?

 

[Doc Dan]

I was going to suggest that the razor isn't ready for shaving, but I see others beat me to it. When a place says the razors are "shave ready" it doesn't mean they are actually honed properly. It still needs to be properly honed by an expert.

Welcome to the wonderful world of straight razor shaving. You are going to love it. Your beard will be softer, you won't get irritation or bumps, and you will enjoy the meditation as you concentrate on each stroke.

Remember, you don't always want to use the entire edge, just the heel or toe, until you learn what you can get away with. Use short strokes.

The soap you use will have a lot to do with the quality of the shave. Many soaps and creams that work well with a DE safety razor find themselves challenged by a straight razor. What are you using?

 

[Vahala]

welcome aboard!

 

[Kentos]

I would like to add, from a personal standpoint, half or more of the joy of straight shaving is the honing aspect. The comfort and ease of a shave off an edge that you specifically sharpened to match your beard and skin shouldn’t be discounted.

It can be a frustrating and expensive journey, but it’s a lot of fun if you are that type of person that enjoys experimenting and tinkering.

 

[Eric_75]

Hello from Nashville, TN.

Welcome to B & B!

 

[NotTheGolfer]

I was going to suggest that the razor isn't ready for shaving, but I see others beat me to it. When a place says the razors are "shave ready" it doesn't mean they are actually honed properly. It still needs to be properly honed by an expert.

Welcome to the wonderful world of straight razor shaving. You are going to love it. Your beard will be softer, you won't get irritation or bumps, and you will enjoy the meditation as you concentrate on each stroke.

Remember, you don't always want to use the entire edge, just the heel or toe, until you learn what you can get away with. Use short strokes.

The soap you use will have a lot to do with the quality of the shave. Many soaps and creams that work well with a DE safety razor find themselves challenged by a straight razor. What are you using?

I’m using Stirling Soap Company shave soap.

 

[NotTheGolfer]

Yes

Are you in the USA?

 

[sanookd]

Yes

Many people here send blades for honing/restoration to @Doc226 or @Bayamontate. Contact either but you need 10 posts to send either a private message.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

I suggest you check in with the guys on the straights forums. They are are the real experts!

 

[Doc Dan]

I’m using Stirling Soap Company shave soap.

Good choice.

Enjoy your journey. I remember when I got over my fear and started with a straight razor a few years ago. I love it so much that I rarely shave with my DE razors any more. I got them all out and did a rotation a few months ago and though I got good shaves, I kept missing my straights. My characters often use a straight razor because I love them so much.

 

[Koop]

A lot of experienced guys say you need at least 30 straight razor shaves before you start to get into the groove. It held true for me. But since that point it gets better and better with every shave!

 

[Lightcs1776]

Welcome.

 

[blethenstrom]

Welcome to B&B! We are certainly glad you decided to join us. Greetings from Raleigh, NC

 

[dunadan]

Aside from the advice folks have already given about making sure your razor is truly shave ready (and skin stretching, which you're already doing), one thing I found when making the switch from DEs to SRs was that I needed to make sure the lather was properly hydrated.

With a DE, you can get away with any level of hydration in the lather. With SRs, you want it super slick so the blade glides over your skin. So more water. Like a lot more than you're used to (and soap, if needed). If the lather is gooping of your razor, and flying all over the place, its correctly hydrated.

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!