My first st8 shave...and a question

My first shave with my brand new straight razor!

I purchased the "Classic Black" Dovo Straight Razor Set from Vintage Blades and received it the other day. It was so exciting. Unpacking it, laying each piece out...beautiful. (though the mug got cracked in transit, which is fine, it's just a mug).

Then the shave. I've been doing alot of reading on these forums, and was able to make an almost-uberlather with the col. conk almond soap. I've been using a wilkinson sword brush and soap which was put to shame by the wonders of a real badger hair brush and soap. A nice warm lather, and a sharp blade, the perfect start to a good shave.

A few WTG passes and the hair came off nicely. Now I don't have a full beard, (a curse/blessing at 28) but enough of a goatee to have to shave every other day. I got a fairly decent shave (about what i'd get with my mach 3), but afterwards it felt as though my face was on fire. I did go over some places numerous times as I'd miss bits, but always relathered to keep it slick.

Now I know my technique isn't the greatest; how can it be after just one shave, but am I doing something wrong? Or is this expected?

Did you have the razor honed? Dovo's are typically not shave ready out of the box. Shaving with a dull razor won't get the hair off, and can irritate your skin.

Keep an eye on your blade angle, you want to stay just about at 30 degrees. Going at a larger angle will irritate your skin, and less will cause pulling.

Try not to go over the same place too often. The repeated passes will cause increasing irritation. I don't hit any one spot more than twice in one pass (if even twice), and usually two or three passes max.

Are you using any sort of aftershave? I use a soothing balm, and that helped me a bunch. It could also be the soap, have you used it before without problems?

As you can see, there are a number of factors. It could be one, it could be all. Try to eliminate variables, and you should be able to eliminate your problems.

Watch your pressure. Those of us who have used Mach3s often find that we push way too hard when we start straight shaving. The angle and razor will take care of the hair. Don't be too obsessed with getting a perfect shave right off the bat, feel free to clean up with your old razor. If hair isn't coming off well, try following up the first WTG pass with an XTG pass (this is what takes the most hair off for me).

+1 for making sure that your razor has had a honing after the factory.


Also, I use a witch hazel mix for aftershave, but before I do I use a cold water rinse followed by a splash of aloe vera juice (you'll find this with the laxatives at walgreens). I let the aloe dry on the skin before applying aftershave, this is very hydrating for me, and when I was still experiencing razor burn, this helped a lot.

On top of all the other things mentioned: did the razor pull? Did you have to use a lot of pressure to get the razor to cut hairs?

If it pulls it is not sharp enough, try and use as little pressure as possible.

Skin irritation is normal after the first few shaves. Give your skin a few days rest between shaves in the beginning. After 30 days or so this will pass.

Be sure to strop just before each and every shave for 30-60 round trip laps. Your face will thank you for it!:)

The proper blade angle is when the spine of the razor is at 30 degrees or 2 spine widths away from the skin.

Use lite pressure. Think in terms of beard reduction with each pass, not complete elimination with the first pass. There is far less skin irritation .

Make sure the blade has been honed by someone other than the factory.

Hope this helps,:)

Thanks for the tips!

Yes, the Razor was honed. I figured it was worth it to pay the 20 bucks to have Lynn Abrams do the first honing to ensure it was done properly.

I shaved again last night (shave #2) and had far less irritation. I concentrated a little more of my form, trying to keep that 30 degree angle, was far less shaky, and bought a new aftershave (a Aqua Velva Cooling one). I like the Aloe idea though, I'm going to give that a try. I also used less pressure, which I could see making a difference.

All in all it was 100x better than the first time, and I hope to continually improve.

Quick question...why strop immediately after shaving and again prior to shaving. Does the blade lose its edge sitting there quietly on the shelf? Or is it because of those little shaving gnomes that come in and use my shaving gear in the middle of the night? (a distant relative to the sock stealing gnomes that live in my dryer):rolleyes:

Stropping after your shave helps dry the edge. The edge can be very tricky to dry and oil. I had an edge rust once when the entire rest of the blade looked clean, it's the worst shaving experience imaginable.

As has been said, between your developing technique and your skin getting used to an open blade, some burn is to be expected. As long as its cutting well....Give it a week or two of gentle practice and don't go for a really close shave. Go for a comfy shave and you'll be fine.

Jordan

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Originally Posted by Xiolo

Quick question...why strop immediately after shaving and again prior to shaving. Does the blade lose its edge sitting there quietly on the shelf? Or is it because of those little shaving gnomes that come in and use my shaving gear in the middle of the night? (a distant relative to the sock stealing gnomes that live in my dryer):rolleyes:

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If you would prefer not to do an all out stropping, you can just do a few passes. As mentioned, it's mostly just to thoroughly clean the edge. I actually do this part on a soft, white undershirt rather than my strop; I prefer not to get the hair/cream/water on my strop. I just hold the shirt taught or lay it of a flat surface and give a few very light passes. Then the blade is ready for the leather next time it's her turn.

There is a massive learning curve at the start, trying to get pressure right, angle right, worrying about cutting yourself, trying to get a bbs shave etc... The one thing which you forget to do is to relax and enjoy the experience. After a few weeks everything will fall into place, your shave and skin will be fantastic and then you will show the first signs of RAD!

Yes, little razor gnomes creep out during the evening and make the edge less sharp! :)
Actually, The purpose of stropping it to clean the edge but also to remove any oxidation that has occurred, and it has, it starts as soon as water, steel and air mix, burnish the bevel, realign the edge ( it does get unstraight) and a very slight sharpening from the silica in the strop.

The end result is a clean, rust free, straight, very sharp and much more comfortable edge.

I have a few follow on questions for those more experienced than I (that's anyone who's shaved with a straight...ever):
I just purchased my first straight, but thanks to the miracle that is military post, I won't get it for a while.
Since I have to shave every day, have already guessed that I won't be shaving with the straight every day, for a while anyways. I currently use an M3, and go rather haphazardly over my face. I have pretty coarse hair, so a cartridge lasts about 3-4 shaves before I really must get rid of it. I also shave my head, and that takes about a shave and a half off of the blade.
Do guys have any hints that I might use specifically for my daily habit? Is one pass good enough to get through the day (grows decently quick - I get a five o'clock shadow at around 4:30)
Head shaving? I don't even look at it when I do it now, and I know which way the hair grows. Are there any other hints?
Sorry for the long post, but I've read around a lot and these are the questions that remained.

-Chris

Well, I think you have received plenty of advise. Just wanted to say welcome to the world of straight shaving!
You are now an official member of the true brotherhood of the blade. Those DE guys are just pretenders. OK, so I sometimes use a DE but those other DE shavers are still pretenders to the "true" brotherhood of the blade.

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

Yes, little razor gnomes creep out during the evening and make the edge less sharp! :)
Actually, The purpose of stropping it to clean the edge but also to remove any oxidation that has occurred, and it has, it starts as soon as water, steel and air mix, burnish the bevel, realign the edge ( it does get unstraight) and a very slight sharpening from the silica in the strop.

The end result is a clean, rust free, straight, very sharp and much more comfortable edge.

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Thanks Randy! That actually makes alot of sense...though I like the gnome idea better. Mostly because it helps explain the dryer gnomes.

And thanks everyone for the great advice. I'll continue to frequent the forums, and hopefully get to the point where I can help out others with the knowledge I'll get from shaving. :D I'll just keep it fun, and things'll progress.

Happy Shaving!

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Originally Posted by Xiolo

Thanks Randy! That actually makes alot of sense...though I like the gnome idea better. Mostly because it helps explain the dryer gnomes.

And thanks everyone for the great advice. I'll continue to frequent the forums, and hopefully get to the point where I can help out others with the knowledge I'll get from shaving. :D I'll just keep it fun, and things'll progress.

Happy Shaving!

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Don't confuse drier gnomes with razor gnomes. They are entirely different species and would not appreciate your "a gnome is a gnome" attitude.