Thread: newb, first few str8 shaves

Originally Posted by man0427

I did have the razor professionally honed by JoshEarl, I have watched alot of videos on stropping and I am using a Tony Miller starter strop. I have expereince in knife sharpening so I'm almost positive I haven't rolled the edge. I'll just have to keep practicing. As far as the angle goes, the razor won't cut through the hair on my chin unless I have a steep angle, should I just press really hard? It seems like that would irritate or scrape the skin just as bad. I'll try it and let you know how it works. What do you consider a presentable shave? I am only allowed to have 24hrs of facial hair on my face for my job.
Thanks again,
Evan

Evan,

It sounds that you are doing things correctly. So long as you are not lifting the spine off the strop and are rolling it on the spine before changing directions, your stropping should be working. Perhaps you should try more strokes on the leather. There are those here who have said that they have used 100 strokes to help improve the polish on their razors' edges. Another cheap "fix" may be wrapping something flat and solid with newspaper and using that as a stropping medium. The ink on the newsprint is very mildly abrasive and can also enhance the polish on your razor's edge.

You shouldn't have to use a steep angle on your chin, nor should you have to use a lot of pressure. Have you tried sticking your tongue against the inside of your lower lip to increase the "stretch"? That's what I have discovered helps me get a decent shave on my chin - just don't move your tongue while in the middle of a stroke, it's almost as ill-advised as sliding the razor sideways.

Your DOVO Special should work just fine. As a matter of fact, I have that razor in 6/8 and it is among my favorites - although, I'm a razor whore and have many, many favorites. Regardless of my multiple razor affection disorder, the DOVO Special is in the regular rotation. I prefer a stiffer grind and don't believe that the "singing" full hollow blades offer any advantage for sharpness. Sharp is sharp. And if the razor shaves stubble from other areas easily and well, the chin issue may be just technique which needs some "honing" for that area.

When I started with the curse or blessing of the straight blade, my issue was the corners of my mouth where I have about 82 hairs that grow just where my lips stop and my mouth begins. I finally figured out how to shave away that pesky stubble. So I'm thinking that you will get the chin figured out with a bit of experimentation.

If you think that the razor's edge needs some attention, PM Joel to see if he would be willing to give it a touch up.

Regarding the 24 hours of stubble rule: just tell the face rangers that there is no hair on your face taller than 15 hours worth of growth. That ought to give you time after leaving work to go home and assault the chin one more time.

good luck, good shaving,