Saving Face with a Damascas

First off I'd like to say thank you to all the contributors, you guys have literally saved me a lot of blood and introduced me to a wonderful hobby. I'm hoping you can help me figure out what I'm doing wrong here.

A couple of months ago I bought a Dovo Shavette to see if I could get the hang of the shave before I invested in a "real" straight. That first shave was not pretty- Kentriv I had you beat my friend, I was a bloody mess. Anyway, after a lot reading and practicing I can now get a passable shave, without any nicks or cuts. I get the nice "oooo" from the lady in my life and she can't keep her hands off my face, so I see that as success. I learned the important lessons on blade angle, letting the razor do the work, etc. I'm by no means an expert, but I do fine when I take my time and pay attention.

So I bought a very nice Maestro Livi from Lynn, and he was kind enough to hone it for me, so I know that it was truly shave ready (in fact he shaved with it- which is plenty good enough for me testing wise). So I go to shave for the first time. I've got a seriously thick foam (truefitt and hill), my beard was ready (out of the shower and 5 mins of hot towels). I was careful and I watched my angles. The blade catches and hops on my beard. I did four passes just to make sure (2 with, two cross grain, didn't dare go against), and I'm still shaggy. I didn't donate any blood, but I plainly missed the mark. Now I know it's not the razor. I did NOT strop it (since I was worried I'd blow all Lynn's hard work)- is it that simple? Should I change angles? I must say it is much more forgiving that the shavette, but I have to be missing something. I tried more heat, more lather, still catches. Has to be me guys- I just don't know what I'm doing though- like I said I get great results with the Shavette...:shrug:

Cliff

You might have to adjust your angle a bit. I can't say for certain as you didn't give us a benchmark. You might try raising the spine away from your face to get a 20-30 degree angle. The easy reference is two widths of the spine away from the face.

I don't think it would be a stropping issue, as it was just honed. However, wait to see what some of the other guys think. It is possible, but I wouldn't think not stropping would cause such a poor shave.

Stropping can make a world of difference. An unstropped blade will feel like a wire edge and that same blade after 30 passes on the strop will make the stubble run away.

Tried about a 30 degree angle, pretty much the same I use for shavette. Do you have to use different angles with different razors? I'll also try the strop in the morning, sounds like it may be the problem as well.

For other noobs out there, in my limited experience the regular straight is MUCH more forgiving than the shavette, if I had to do it over I'd definitely start out with this one. (And it is definitely worth it to have one of the honemeisters work on the blade for you, I'd be lost trying to figure out whether it's me or the razor without having had it honed for me).

For some razors you do need a steeper angle. I find this more on the customs than some of the others. Stropping is very important before every shave. Technique is also very important as you are learning. Have fun and remember, you can't mess up, because I can always rehone the razor for you.

Lynn

Well, I have a Maestro Razor and its so sharp the whiskers literally run away in fright as I shave.

I don't know if I was starting out whether I would be using the maestro to begin with. I'd be too afraid of messing up an investment like that however I would check my angles and you might find you need to use a tad of pressure as opposed to the feather. You just need to experiment.

Thanks Lynn, that's a great idea- the reason I didn't strop was because I was worried about messing up your honing- it never occured to me that I could just send it in for a touch up. It's terrific having a such a great support network. Bigspen, I'm not suggesting a newbie buy a Maestro (although they're beautiful) right away, just that a "regular" straight seems easier to learn with. At least this one hasn't bit me yet!

I ordered a kit from the well shaved gentlemen and at first had your same problem. But after stropping, and re-watching Lynn's video I found the problem was me and the angle I was using. Stropping made a world of difference for me. When the razor sticks or skips on my face it's usually the wrong angle. Hope this helps you.

It went much better today. I started off with the strop (another noob tip, Tony's 3" strops don't require you to do an X, the whole blade fits!), and did 30 strokes. The blade sang a little on the first five, then it was a very quiet "zip" as I went back and forth. Light pressure, just basically let the weight of the razor do the work while hold the strop taunt.

I lathered up and kept the angle exactly the same as yesterday- thinking if I change one thing at a time we'll know what was broken. It caught again (not bleeding, just not whisker Armageddon). So I experiment with the angle- and just when I get it where I'm thinking there's no way this is right, the razor starts to slide smoothly. I'd say I have no more than one width of the spine lifted off my face- maybe 15 degrees! So I give it a couple of passes, I'm not totally hair free, but it's MUCH better than yesterday. I can also do things with the Maestro I can't with the Shavette- like go sideways on my chin. Finally I picked up one more thing, and I'm still very cautious on this one. I need a LITTLE more pressure. So more angle, a good stropping, and some LIGHT pressure made a big difference. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.