Thread: hi..intro, some observations and questions

hi, i have been a long time lurker, and recently decided to dedicate myself to shaving with the straight razor i had purchased a few months ago (a TI 5/8).

a few months ago after ordering my TI, i emailed classicshaving and asked them if it was ready to shave out of the box. their answer: "it depends". in reality they should have said "no", and its clear from reading some other posts around here that many others likewise don't feel that a new TI is ready to shave out of the box. well in any case i tried it out, and given it's state, i managed to shave off my whiskers and most of my face. not cuts mind you, but just abrasion from taking so many swipes with the blade to get it to cut. my face was literally singing in pain, like having a sunburn slapped. needless to say the razor sat in a drawer for some time after that.

after a while i started to realize that other people were having success with straight blades, so either my technique and/or my blade were in need of tweaking. i put the blade on the standard 4k/8k pyramid (not sure if that was a bright idea with a newish blade, oh well), and gave it some aggresive sessions on the paddle strop with paste and the hanging strop. i am sure i have stropping OCD at this point. getting back in the habit i found the blade to be much better, but still not what i had hoped for. i found the TI needed multiple swipes with and against the grain to get me clean shaven.

i decided to order a DOVO 5/8 SS and after i received it, i just stropped it and tried it out. it literally sailed through my heavy three day growth. i could not believe how much better it shaved. this is odd, as TI seems to be a well regarded brand...but i just can't put these two in the same class. i have never had to go against the grain with the DOVO. the next razor i buy will again be a DOVO.

one question - how do others feel about these two competing brands?

also, how many people shave daily? i was shaving every other day but i think it will just be easier to shave daily and not have to whack longer whiskers. the TI simply could not cleanly shave me under my chin (the hardest part for me) with two days growth. it took twenty+ swipes to get the stubble gone. the DOVO gets it off in one swipe.

not sure, it could be my mishandling of the TI...but i have gone through a honing pyramid and have stropped it so much my neighbors probably think i am some sort of stropping "rain man".

otherwise i have been keeping to the cheap end of products. williams mug soap. any old mug. the cheapest badger brush.

You should have saved yourself the cost of the DOVO (not
that they aren't great razors) and spent 20$ on getting
your TI professionally honed. Getting a good shave should
be reasonable given a few weeks practice on a sharp blade.
Honing even a new razor, however, requires months if not
more experience in honing. To learn how to hone, you also
need a benchmark sharpness that you aim to achieve.

- Scott

Send the ti out to be honed and buy a couple of cheapo's on ebay to practice honning

Ebay cheapos to practice honing are a must. When you hone a couple - you *may* be ready to handle the TI.

BTW, the Dovo will also need to be maintained, and touching up / refreshing is easier than outright honing...

Don't worry about saving the price of the Dovo and just getting the TI honed - a couple of razors is not too much (I'd venture most people here have more than that )

Cheers
Ivo

Originally Posted by izlat

Ebay cheapos to practice honing are a must. When you hone a couple - you *may* be ready to handle the TI.

BTW, the Dovo will also need to be maintained, and touching up / refreshing is easier than outright honing...

Don't worry about saving the price of the Dovo and just getting the TI honed - a couple of razors is not too much (I'd venture most people here have more than that )

Cheers
Ivo

A couple more, yes. That's what my wife thinks too.

LOL

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

A couple more, yes. That's what my wife thinks too.

LOL

Wow. What's her email address? I think she needs a link to the B/S/T board!

Welcome! If you've been lurking for a while, hopefully you've seen the admonishments to be patient. It takes a while to get a consistently decent shave even with the best of starting equipment. Hang in there patiently...it's worth the effort and pain!

- Dale

Welcome!

I agree that before you start honing, you need a benchmark. JoshEarl is honing some razors for me and I have asked him to make some short notes on what he has done with each one. I have hones on order and a cheap eBay special. Now, I can compare what he did with my razor and the results I get on el cheapo....

Send the Ti to Lynn or JoshEarl or one of the other fine "hone-meisters" here and start with their results as the benchmark to achieve....

....and patience, grasshopper. (Ooooo...dating myself there...)

Greg

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Now, I can compare what he did with my razor and the results I get on el cheapo...

Apples/lawn mowers. I think there are too many variables there to do any meaningful comparison. Good idea to keep track of stats though...

Ditto what the others are saying. Your Dovo arrived sharper than your TI and that's why you think it's better. They are both equally great razors.

X