Thread: problem getting close shave

I aim to be as gentle as I can while stropping - others disagree and use more pressure but being gentle has really worked well for me. I picture the strop as being my partner's arm/leg and treat it as such; since then, my stropping has been so much smoother and the shaves have been far better too. Who knows, it may work for you as well.

I have a Dovo Best 5/8 and could not get a good shave. Bought a Ralf Aust and I get great shaves, the Dovo Best 5/8 never would cut hair. The only way was go to a 45 degree angle and still not good. Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by brucem

I have a Dovo Best 5/8 and could not get a good shave. Bought a Ralf Aust and I get great shaves, the Dovo Best 5/8 never would cut hair. The only way was go to a 45 degree angle and still not good. Just my 2 cents.

That's interesting that you mention that. With my skill set so far I don't want to start putting any blame on my equipment, but I am interested to eventually find out if the different brands shave differently. Did you stay with a 5/8 on the Ralf Aust, or did you go with a wider blade? I often wonder if I would notice a difference with a wider/heavier blade....

The Ralf is 5/8 and I have a Dovo Bismarck 6/8 also. I do like the Bismarck the best. Lynn contacted me about the Dovo Best 5/8, wants me to send it back to him to get it corrected, you may want to contact him.
Bruce

Yeah, I'm going to send mine back to SRD for a re-hone. I'm going to go with the fact of my stropping must've dulled the life out of the blade. It's a little disappointing to accept, but that's what learning is all about. Hopefully, third time is a charm and I can figure out what I'm doing wrong so I can maybe wait a couple of months between honings. I definitely want to get the stropping down before I attempt to try honing on my own, otherwise I'm afraid of ending up with a straight razor shaped paper weight!

Originally Posted by mbg1081

Yeah, I'm going to send mine back to SRD for a re-hone. I'm going to go with the fact of my stropping must've dulled the life out of the blade. It's a little disappointing to accept, but that's what learning is all about. Hopefully, third time is a charm and I can figure out what I'm doing wrong so I can maybe wait a couple of months between honings. I definitely want to get the stropping down before I attempt to try honing on my own, otherwise I'm afraid of ending up with a straight razor shaped paper weight!

You'll get it. Its one of those things that just clicks.

Please edit your profile to include your location. This seems to be the BIGGEST newbie mistake on this forum. Help is out there and usually close by IF we know where you are!

Originally Posted by Splashone

Please edit your profile to include your location. This seems to be the BIGGEST newbie mistake on this forum. Help is out there and usually close by IF we know where you are!

AH HA! Good call, sir!