Thread: low end vs high end razors

Originally Posted by OldFashioned

i have a classic black 5/8 DOVO 1/2 hollow. when i browsed through all the razors, i thought i was getting a good deal since i dont care too much (at least for now) about handles. i just wanted a real good razor. but i guess now i understand that i really just scammed myself out of $70, actually $90 because i added the pre-honing option, and should of went with something along the $250 range to get a good shave

i dont feel like i get good shaves at all. it hangs on ATG. i even tried shaving WTG with my mach3 which is closer than what i would get with the straight now because of my angle/technique issues. even then, it hanged just the same. at this point, the razor might not be sharp so its being sent back to lynn to see if it needs to be re-honed. i do strop before each shave and it feels sharp. if it comes back sharp and it hangs, or it hangs after 2 WTG passes (1 being my m3), then ill toss this razor. i dont make shelf space for nonsense. life's too short for that. on the other hand, if a new razor like i guess maybe a bismarck 5/8 spike point or one of the higher ends does this as well, i guess ill be selling all my stuff because i have no problems with my mach3 shaves. ill chalk it up to the fact that its not meant for my face and thats it. i know it takes time to get real good with it but there should be improvement.

Going ATG with any straight there is going to be more resistance than you are used to. Yes,you must make sure the razor is as sharp as possible. But as has been mentioned, the ATG is pretty tricky with a straight.

I believe that you have just started with a straight?

A straight is a tool that must be learned how to be used for it to really shine. It is not a tool that makes it easier to get a good shave (a M3 is designed to do that) it is a tool that will repay patience and attention to details with a satisfying shave par excelllance, but not at the beginning. It takes time and practice.

You can go out and by a top of the line Gibson guitar, but if you don't study and practice and lern how to use it, you will never make beautiful music, and thus will toss that nice guitar out the window along with your Dovo.

Keep at it if you are interesyed in shaving as a hobby/pastime. If you are just interested in a quick, close shave, a DE or M3 will do the job quite effectively.

It may be useful at this point to relate a little of my experience.
I found my grandfather's straight and had an overwhelming surge of nostalgia. So, it began... the journey.
I started searching and reading on the Internet and found this group. I tried to shave with my grandfather's razor and gave up after a couple of passes on the cheeks. I just did not have the honing technique at the time. I ordered a prehoned razor from Classic and a strop from Tony. I started out just doing the cheeks to get used to the razor but found myself using too much pressure and giving myself some real irritation. I was only doing a WTG and XTG pass. Every day the shaves on the cheeks got worse despite stropping. I had some bad thoughts about the honing job that Classic had provided. It was only 6 weeks or so later that I was to finally discover that I was not using a light enough touch on the strop and was in fact rolling the edge on my blade. Boy, was I frustrated during the 6 weeks before I discovered that my own technique was the problem.
I ordered a second razor that was a quarter hollow and had it honed too. At the same time, I sent out my first razor to get it rehoned. New discovery! My beard responded much better or my technique was much better suited to shaving with a quarter hollow vice a full hollow razor. I have since learned that my technique was the issue. Ah well, I was making progress. I was now able to navigate the razor over my whole face and I was not rolling the edge with my stropping. Shave was still not great and I still needed to clean up with a DE. But, I was determined! People did this for ages... it simply could not be that hard (ha, ha, ha).
Well, I have to tell you that after five months I finally got an almost acceptable shave but still needed to clean up areas on the neck with a DE. I think that most folks are hesitant to tell the stories about taking a while to get the hang of it and especially after reading some of the posts where some folks pick it up on the first shave. I have now been shaving for about 18 months and can get a BBS shave over the whole face but I still don't shave ATG except for on the cheeks from time to time.
It has been a long journey but it has been extremely worthwhile for me. There is a real satisfaction in being able to accomplish this art. I am still learning something new each time I shave about my technique and ways to improve it. I now shave with a variety of widths and grinds of razors. My favorites tend to be 6/8 or 7/8 with 1/4 or 1/2 hollow grind.
Hope this is useful in understanding that straight shaving is a learning experience that can vary for different people and not just something you decide to do one day.

If you are looking for a vintage razor that is in beautiful condition and will have some stunning scales on it you might want to check out Traveler. He sells blades with a full refund if not satisfied policy. In addition, he provides rehoning of the blades at any time you wish at no charge beyond the postage both ways. I purchased a razor from him that I absolutely love.

OldFashioned, please dont give up yet. It doesnt matter wether youve got a 1$ fleamarket special or a break the bank custom, theres only so much difference in razors. The problems gotta be somewhere and if we can find it, we can fix it. The places I would look at the hardest are stropping,beard prep, angle and technique. The only place I can see where the razor itself making a difference would be if you had the wrong size razor. Heavy razor vs. lite beard or vice versa. Give the guys some time to chime in here and help out. I have enjoyed reading your posts and believe that you are a great addition to the SRP community and I would hate to see you go. God bless and good luck.

Wow thanks alot for the replies. You guys are truly family. Well, I'm going to try it again today (didnt shave at all yesterday) and going to strop it 50 times as mentioned above. Honestly, I never stropped more than about 10-15 times before each time and maybe I needed to do alot more. Also havent used the linen side either. Its definitely my angle and technique. It could also be the razor itself as some just dont work for others. The only option is just to stick with this one and if it doesnt work out, try another one, maybe another grind, an SS type, etc. Thanks again for all the posts. VERY informative.

I just want to add that maybe you would benifit from using a bigger blade, 6/8 or even 7/8. It made a big difference to me on the quality of the shave I got. Be it that my technique flaws where masked by the bigger blade or whatever. Also , I too started with a new Dovo, big dissapointment. I now have several razors and find that ALL of them are better shavers then the Dovo. I have talked to many on here about this and find that (surprisingly) most agree that The new lower end Dovos leave much to be desired in quality. Maybe it's best to pick up a nice balde on the BST and give that a whirl to compare your shave,,,I'd bet you'd be happy. Just don't give up and go back to the Mach 3,,,,you'll be missing out!!!!!

+1 for the bigger blades. There was a poll done here a while back and the favorite razor is the 6/8. The 6/8 is my everyday razor. I have 5/8's razors but they are blades that I use to just get a "different" shave.

There are couple of problems with a 5/8 when you are starting out.

1. The "feedback" is a lot more and a bit unnerving for a new guy. The 6/8 will be smoother, grinds being equal.
2. The smaller the blade the easier it is to roll the edge when stropping.

Good luck,
Richard

Wow i did not know that. I guess now its all coming out about the new lower end Dovo's. Heres what Im going to do. I did kind of always want to try those 7/8 henckels razors as I know they are good but I felt 7/8 might be too big. Do they make a 6/8? If not, what is a razor that is one of the best in this regard? Anyway, should I get a SS or HCS? Spike point, round? FULL hollow ground, 1/2, 1/4? I really dont know and have nothing to gauge except you guys. I think im going to give that a shot and stick with THAT as it would be easier for me to stick to something that works better as opposed to one that doesnt.

Just to add my little bit of experience:
I've only been at this a few months myself, and despite my newfound love of shaving, I'm lazy and don't shave nearly every day. Although I haven't encountered a Dovo, in my short time straight shaving I have already tried maybe 10 different blades, and while I may not have the experience yet to say which make/style works the best for me, all of them provided close comfortable shaves with some adjustment of angle and/or technique.

I am still hesitant to go ATG. I've tried it a few times, but the way I have to hold the razor is awkward, I can't seem to stretch the skin as well, and yeah, it pulls more. As a matter of fact, most times I just do a single pass. I may not get BBS, but it's darn close. If I do a second pass, it's usually a second WTG and maybe some XTG touchup. Maybe I'm just lucky, but this works for my neck too, where ATG seems nigh impossible.

As far as stropping.... I'm convinced my stropping technique is awful. This has caused me to shave with several blades freshly honed from Lynn with NO stropping at all. I didn't want to chance my newbie stropping technique ruining a professionally honed edge. And I got fantastic shaves, several of my best. Stropping is indeed very important, it just needs to be done correctly.

My first shave was on a blade that WASN'T sharp enough. It pulled on the WTG pass. I didn't try another pass, I certainly didn't try an ATG pass, and I didn't get BBS. It pulled A LOT. But ya know what? I didn't get ANY of the irritation that I would've gotten from a Mock 3. And that in itself was magical to me.

And here's another vote for not giving up. I was determined from the start, so I wasn't really worried about any potential hangups in the learning curve. Straight shaving is just plain classy, and I was gonna do it no matter what. But on top of that it's a gift to yourself. For the first time in my life shaving is not a chore, I enjoy it. I think many of the fine members here will tell you that shaving is now less about grooming, and more about giving yourself a treat. The luxury of a nice brush (my first badger brush still hasn't come, but even a boar can be nice), a pleasant smelling soap or cream, and just taking the time for yourself. And finding the right blade for you is an essential part of it. So by all means try another blade (or three) be th it expensive or vintage or custom, just don't give up just yet. They managed just fine in the old days, and back then they didn't have the wonderful support or knowledge base provided by this forum.

All you guys with those nasty little dovos should send them to me and I will dispose of them for you. I will put them next to the others on my shelf so you wont have to be inconvenienced with such low end garbage. I want to thank all you guys for stepping up to the plate and helping this brother out, what a community! GO SRP!!

Dovo makes excellent razors. Even their entry level models are of indisputable quality. Differentiating between different brands, grinds, sizes, alloys is for many seasoned straight shavers sort of a hobby, and the preferences on that front are generally more dictated by esthetical, historical and emotional values than by bare shaving performance.
An entry level Dovo will give you outstanding and very comfortable shaving results, if you allow it the time it takes for you to tackle the typical straight razor learning curve. If not, no other straight razor will. Period.

Newbie frustration is mostly initiated by one, or both of the following causes:

1. Dull blade, caused by stropping issues.
2. Poor technique, usually angle/pressure related.

Solutions - workarounds:

1. Perform the Hanging Hair Test after stropping. While a razor does not need to pass the HHT for a good shave, one that does pass is sure to be fully capable to give you that good shave. This advice only counts for a razor that was properly honed by someone who knows what he does. It's a good method for taking at least the sharpness question out of the equasion. A razor that's "HHT-ready" won't pull with proper shaving technique.

2. Start learning to shave with the lowest possible angle. Put the razor flat on your face, start a shaving motion, and slowly lift the spine till the razor starts shaving whiskers. Stick with that angle for a few shaves. Use minimal pressure. Think about shaving as of skimming hairs of your face.

Finally, for your particular situation: I think that performing your WTG pass with a Mach3 and then trying to do an ATG pass with a straight, will only make things harder instead of easier. It's more challenging shaving short and hard stubble than it is shaving the somewhat longer stubble that a typical WTG-pass with a straight leaves. For that same reason, I would not do more than one WTG-pass, if you're having problems with your ATG-pass.

Best regards,

Bart.