A beginner's review - pic heavy

Hello from Vancouver!! although this is not my first post, I think it’s probably my most extensive one.
I’ve been using a straight razor for about a month. I have two different blades and I alternate one each day.
I started with a parker shavette which was a great way to start getting the hang of the movement and how to put my hand. Later I switched to a Dovo shavette with a long blade which gave me the opportunity to learn how to keep an eye on the length of the blade and don’t slash my ear while shaving my sideburns.
So far, the only things I used besides the shavette is an old Omega Boar brush and the Crabtree & Evelyn Nomad soap, so this was my base line.
Once I was comfortable enough with the shavette I moved to the straight razors.
The first one I got was from a classifieds on a forum, it’s the Dovo 5/8 EnVouge Micarta black round point. I loved the pattern on the blade, the user showed me the pictures and it looked pretty clean, he said it was shave ready and that he only used it twice because he prefers bigger blades (7/8 or 8/8) so he wasn’t happy with that. I started doing some research about the blade, the price and value and lucky for me, he lived rather close so I decided to go for it, it was a pretty good deal that I couldn’t pass and I got to see the blade before buying it… it was a win-win situation for me.
My second blade is the Art of Shaving Theirs Issard, black plastic scales, round point 5/8 which I absolutely love. The lines, the design of the scales the longer tang… it’s simply beautiful. And it was a good deal as I had a gift card from TAOS.
Last month I went to vegas and had a terrible AD! I ended up buying four different creams, one soap, two brushes and the TI Blade along with a new toiletry bag, a styptic pencil and two different after shave splashes.
This will be a review of these products, which I’ll try to make it as clean and easy as possible. And remember that I’m still quite new, I only have a couple of months using a SR so let’s keep that in mind.


First of all, I have to say that I now enjoy shaving, I used to hate it and shave once every 2 weeks or so… Now I shave every day and love every minute of it. I still can’t get the perfect BBS as I used to with cartridge razors but it’s getting better. Just a few patches of rough whiskers, specially on the chin and under the jaw line while going XTG or ATG. I’m still figuring out the best patterns to follow and how to put my hand and blade to achieve a comfortable angle to do each pass.
After my AD kicked during that trip, the first thing I used was the Art of Shaving Lavender cream and the Dovo shavette with the long blade. Compared to the C&E it was a bliss to use, the scent is amazing (I love lavender) the glide on the blade was really nice and it lather pretty decently although I had to use it without a brush. It was way better than my experience with the C&E soap.
After returning home I was confident enough to start using the blades, and I started by using the TI one, I used a fine Badger brush, the Penhaligon’s Blemheim Bouquet shaving cream and after shave splash. I still have trouble lathering the Penhaligon’s cream, it’s very tricky as it wants a very specific mix of cream/water. The scent is probably one of my favourite scents of all time, it’s absolutely luxurious, and with the added bonus of the badger brush it was an amazing shave, or at least for my not so BBS standards.
The glide and cushioning is great and I can’t say enough about the scent, it lingers for long after the shave and specially the AS splash that stays quite long. This is the AS Splash with the strongest burn that I have.
Next in line was the Jack Black triple cushioning cream, which I bought a 3oz. tube. The first time I opened it it looked like the cream itself got separated, I had a lot of watery stuff and some lumps of cream. I’ve been shaking it vigorously every day and it’s getting a little bit better but I’m afraid I won’t get it as it should be but once I lather it, it performs as it should.
All in all, this cream is quite nice, it’s easy to lather, provides a very good cushion and the scent is not very strong. I find this one a very nice cream but it does dry a bit too fast. May be I’m still a little slow on my shave, or may be is the mix, but this is what I’ve found so far. Usually I use an E-shave Lavender after shave balm after this one as the scents blend quite nicely.
My other acquisition was a puck of Michel’s Wool Fat soap, which, as everyone says, it is amazing! I didn’t find it too hard to lather as I followed some tips that I found on the forums and it makes a very creamy lather, the scent was subtle and floral and the lather stayed consistently in my face throughout the whole shave. When I shaved that day I used the Captain’s Choice Bay Rum splash and I have to say it burned like hell! even more than any other time I used it.
I’m not sure if it was because of the soap itself, the scrubbing with a new boar brush, the shaving technique and blade that I used or a combination of all of them, but at least, the last two times that I’ve used it the burning sensation is almost unbearable.
Now that we’re talking about the Bay Rum, I have to say that I do like it… but. I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s not the scent I had in mind when I bought it (I had to buy it online because apparently no one in vancouver has it in store) as I’m not too fond of the clover, but all in all, it’s a nice splash and it usually is not as sharp as the penhaligon’s splash. Or at least it wasn’t when I first started using it. I think I have to try more combinations with different soaps and creams to see what’s going on there. With both the Bay Rum and the Blenheim Bouquet the scent lasts for a very long time and I can still smell it during the day, which I absolutely love.
The other brush I bought is a smaller Omega Boar brush which is going to be my travel brush, it’s smaller than my other two brushes and it dries quite fast so it’s perfect for the task.
One thing that I’ve found is that the shavette is sharper, or at least it feels sharper than my other two blades, I feel I can get closer shaves with that than with either the Dovo or the TI. Or may be I’m just more used to ir.
Some thing’s that I’ve read about the Dovo is that some people don’t like either the stainless steel blade or the pattern on the blade and the way it feels on their skin, or the scales being too bulky. I have never had any of these problems. The Dovo does have wider wood scales than the TI and it’s a little bit heavier on the hand, while the TI feels more comfortable and easier to handle. That being said I’ve never had any issues with it and being stainless steel and it does feel sharper than the carbon steel.
Both blades are absolutely amazing shavers, even with the issues I’m having and the patches that I haven’t been able to cover I absolutely love both of them, The pattern on the Dovo is simply beautiful and that’s what brought me to buy it in the first place, although I have to say that I feel more inclined to the TI because of it’s design, for some reason I love the squared point on the bottom of the scales and the cleaner over all look.
All in all, this has been an amazing experience, a great learning curve and a complete shift in my routine, which I absolutely love. And let’s be honest, it’s quite cool when you tell people that you use a SR and the reactions that they have, from “Be careful with the jugular” to the “That’s pretty bad a*s”
I hope these comments would help some one else the way that I’ve been learning this amazing journey.


Shave on!


Cheers.


E.
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