Think I buggered my new razor. :(

Hi all, My wife got me a Dovo straight razor for christmas from "the classic edge shaving store" in Hamilton. The first thing the instructions showed was how to strop

properly on the strop board it came with, so like an idiot I tried stropping right away. When I got to the bottom of the instructions it says only to strop after several

shaves as it comes "shave ready" from the shop. DOE! So I watched some you tube videos and decided to give it a whirl. I managed to shave my cheek with

discomfort and pulling of wiskers, but once I got to chin and mustache area it was pretty much impossible. Im fairly certain I dulled blade while stropping like a

moron. Can I bring it back with proper stropping? Or does it need honed again?

Greetings and welcome, debrusk519!

It is often possible to bring back an edge with proper stropping, if it is just a little misaligned. You could try by going nice and slow, keeping the strop as straight and flat as possible and the razor perfectly flat on the strop. With very little or even no pressure between razor and strop move the razor with the spine (back) of the blade leading and the edge trailing. Don't attempt any fancy "flips"; on each pass slow carefully to a stop and turn the razor with the spine in contact with the strop and the edge rotating away from and gently coming to rest on the strop pointing the other way.

Good luck and have a Merry Christmas!

Jeff

Don't know about the perfect edge but not many "shave ready" razors truly are. If it is the factory edge then almost certainly not shave ready. Send it out to a member for honing. Then it will be truly Shave Ready.

Welcome to SRP!

If it came from Classic Edge, then it should have been good to go. While I have never used his services personally, Phil (the owner and honer) is quite well thought of. So I'd guess that possibility #1 is that you might have rolled the edge while stropping. But don't disregard possibility #2: any of the other many variables that go into a good shave. :) Chief amongst these are your preparation (getting your face/beard ready for the shave - did you use a brush & soap or canned goop? It makes a big difference), the amount of pressure used (less is good), and the angle at which you held the razor (keep the spine elevated approximately 2 spine widths and you should be in the ballpark).

Is this your first straight razor experience? If so, spend some time reading here on SRP. As you'll see there is plenty to learn, but it is all worth it in the end. Good luck!

If it's from, The Classic Edge in Ontario, Phil would have put a killer edge on the razor for sure.

Sounds like the edge was "rolled" with the stropping, which means it will need to be fixed, and would explain a bad shaving experience, my advice would be to use your "free" honing certificate (if he still gives them with a new razor) and get it fixed.

Next time, shave with it without stropping, then be watch some video's and practice, and remember, when you're starting out - speed kills.

Watch this

There are many tips and tricks hidden in there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93zQP7CToWQ

Normally anything you do bad with a strop can be corrected with a good stropping, not always but mostly :p

Yup, I have had Phil from the Classic Edge hone a couple of razors for me and they were scary sharp. I hone my own now and shave with the edge I put on but they are not as sharp as Phil's were. My guess is that the edge was good to go.

You may or may not have bunged the edge by stropping it.

As a beginner you can have tugging and pulling with a shave ready SR because you lack good shaving technique. Well, at least that is what happened to me at the start.

You need a good lather from a brush and shaving soap/cream not canned goo for a start. You need to have a gap between face and the spine of the blade that is 1 to 2 spine widths wide. If you have too big a gap you are scraping not shaving. As little pressure on the blade as you can manage while stretching your skin. Just let the blade do the work.

You can try shaving just a cheek to see if it id technique. If the shave is better you know you need to work on your technique. If it is not better you can slowly and carefully strop the blade, retry the other cheek and see if that improves anything. If none of that works, I think Phil offers a free second honing when you buy the razor from him. Then you can start from square one but this time without stropping the fresh new edge.

Bob

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am using shaving soap and a brush that cam with the razor. Though I am new and my technique is not perfect, I am fairly sure I rolled the blade or something. I Just tried shaving the other cheek and found that the back of the blade closer to the heel cuts way better than the front. Does that make any sense? Oh well, I guess I will be using my free honing cupon I got a little early. :p

Thanks for the video gssixgun. My razor definitely doesnst pass the shave test.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by debrusk519

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am using shaving soap and a brush that cam with the razor. Though I am new and my technique is not perfect, I am fairly sure I rolled the blade or something. I Just tried shaving the other cheek and found that the back of the blade closer to the heel cuts way better than the front. Does that make any sense? Oh well, I guess I will be using my free honing cupon I got a little early. :p

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Not to worry, I am sure lots of members had a similar start to SR shaving. I know I did. You could still try slowly, methodically and patiently stropping the razor and trying it again before sending it out. It takes a lot of time and patience to get decent using a SR, more than most think. A lot of members have said 100 shaves/3 months to get to that point and I think that is a pretty fair comment.

Bob

Watch a bunch of stropping videos and pay particular attention to the flip, that's where the damage will happen. Practice with a butter knife until you have the motion and flip down then try it with the razor, do a test shaving and see how it is. Do at least 40 laps on the strop. If it's still bad send it off for a re-hone.

It really could be your technique as well, try a lower angle on your face (spine almost touching)

Lots of good advice already, but, one thing was forgotten.

Take a DEEP BREATH and RELAX. You did not "bugger" your new Dovo, you may have dulled it with improper stropping, but it's easy to fix by someone who can do a quick touch up such as the person who originally sold it to you, as by all accounts he is a capable honer.

Yes, it is inconvenient to have to send it back for the touch up, but that is why I always say that "Two is one, and one is none" when it comes to razors. If you only have one razor, there will ALWAYS be times when you must go without it... even if you do your own honing, as honing requires that you have the time to do it. Even when you have time, you might have a chip or other such damage from accidentally touching the sink faucet or "insert desired disaster here" which delays your shaves until it has been "fixed". Two shave ready razors instantly solves that problem, when one is dull, damaged or broken, the other takes up the slack until the situation can be remedied.

Small "whoops" issues happen to every new straight shaver... and even to seasoned shavers once in a while, and that is part of the reason why I have so many razors... just chuck the dull one in the pile and grab a freshly honed razor.

Regards

Kaptain "You can't have too many razors.... really" Zero

well that didn't take long...Merry Christmas! You will most likely need to get it re-honed to get it going again. When you get it back try shaving with it first! That way when you get to your second shave you will know if it was your stropping that is at fault.

A couple things not mentioned so far. If you are using a hanging strop. Take it down and lay it flat on a table.
Strop there until you are successfully maintaining your edge. It takes one whole variable out of the equation. Make sure your razor is flat on the hone resting on spine and edge.

Captain_Zero absolutely right. It's was his first advice as experience member to green guy as me.
If you decided to stick with SR shave, get inexpensive shave ready razor from classified for example. It's always good to have plan "B" until your pretty baby sent out.

thanks everyone. Im going to try stropping once more, if that doesnt work than back to the shop it goes.

I just remembered a thread from a while ago, you might find it of interest:

It is found here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...nvas-side.html


Regards

Christian