Thread: Hello, i am new here....

and this is my story.,....
first I just want to say how great this site is. I came across this sight watching lynn abrams on google videos.

well to make a long story short, back in March i was vacationing with my family in Honduras and I came across a shop that sold Dovo razors. So I thought it would be a cool idea to buy one for me and my two boys. My boys are 10 and 8 but i will save it for them when the time to shave comes. (dont worry it is in a safe place) i figure i could get enough practice in so i could teach them

I have always hated shaving with me nolreco so I decided to make the switch.

Well I have no clue what I was doing because the first day i tried to use the razor i bought it tore me face up. I mean i was extremely raw and I hardly cut any stubble off of my face. so it looked like a just had some weird rash on my unshaven face.

FYI-i do have the pre-oil, then fancy cream, and the badger brush

so I thought to myself---"what happened"

well I go to my barber and he tells me that most of those razors are not shave ready so I lend it to him to so he can sharpen it for me and tells me not to try anything for a couple of days and lends me one of his razors.

Well this razor, which was Thiers-Issard, was sharp. about 2 days after not shaving i tried this razor and it got alot of stubble off. I shaved in the direction of the hair growth but since this was my first time i cut myself pretty good in two place. (one I think is going to leave a scar about 1/4 of an inch on my face--i really dont know how it happened but it has been about a month now and i am still healing. **if anyone has any tips on how to help with deep cuts on the face please let me know***)

so I go return the "death blade" to my barber and he gives me mine honed and ready for use. Well i tried it yesterday and it cut ok but not as good as the one my barber lent me.

I feel a lil raw still probably because since i could not get a good shave goingwith the flow of the beard i decided to go against the grain----i gave myself lil nicks everywhere but no major bleeding... or future scars lol

i just feel that i am doing something wrong---i bought all the "quality" stuff at the store and i do not know why i am not shaving as easily as all those people on the shaving tutorial videos on the web

please help

thanks

bladessss

Welcome aboard. For starters he probably didn't hone it properly. Even if he did, you'd need to strop the razor before shaving. I'd recommend sending them to one of our honemeisters like Lynn (adjustme69) or Joe (Joe Chandler) for their honing service, so you'd know what a truly sharp blade feels like. You should also get in touch with Tony (Tony Miller, www.thewellshavedgentleman) to get your hands on one of his strops. Read the help files here, especially the one on the pyramid honing method. That should tell you about the honing process. Check out anything you find on sharpness test as those are also valuable resources.

thanks man--i am pretty sure my barber honed it because he gave me one of his razors while he honed mine---i havent seen him but i will talk to him when i do
again thanks

anytips on scaring on the face?

bladessss

Aloe is a great thing for healing skin.

As for the razor, everybody can make a mistake and it could be that the edge just isn't as refined as the TI he gave you, but I'd bet there's some stropping that needs to be done before it shaves pretty.

X

There are several factors that could influence the sharpness..
1) His sharpness standards may not be as high as ours. We're a bunch of enthusiasts here, some of us use grits that are 10x higher than the finest barber hones.
2) The lack of a strop can also be an issue. It makes a HUGE difference
3) Just because he's a barber doesn't mean he knows how to hone a blade properly. I've come across a barber on SMF who needed some honing tips as his customers were getting razor burn.
As for scarring... Just keep the cuts covered with petroleum jelly. It moisturizes the skin, thus minimizing any possible occurrence of scars. I've learned that from the time period when I used a Pakistani razor that could never take a proper edge. Getting my hands on a good piece of Sheffield steel was a triple quantum leap.

They actually sell some preps in drug stores that supposedly makes scars fade away some. I don't know if it works but you might check it out. Worse comes to worse just tell people you got it in the old days when you used to be a pirate.

I would take it slow and easy with the straight. Assuming your blade is shave ready this thing takes time to learn. Don't even expect to get good shaves for weeks, maybe months. Just start on the sides of your face and get comfortable with the razor before even attempting the neck or any fancy moves. Plan on using DE or disposable for awhile to complete your shaves. With experience will come mastery.

thanks for all the advice guys

i will definitely try again on monday and i will strop a good 15-30 times

been reading around here and that is what some people recommend so i will try and hope for the best

i really think that shaving with a straight razor is a very distinguished skill that has been lost

i just hope i can learn correctly so i can teach my children and maybe pass on my first straight razor to one of my grand-kids


bladessss

You chose a good one. I whip out my DE occasionally for variety's sake, but 99% of my shaves are with a straight razor. Nothing else has the appeal. Actually this is the overriding reason for me to want to have children (no joke)

i was wondering is the 15-30 strops on both sides or just the leather or just the cloth???

bladessss

I do 10 linen, 30 leather. That's the optimum number to get a great shaving edge without spending half an hour stropping