Disastrous First Shave.

I posted previously how i made the mistake of bringing my new Dovo razor to a knife guy who said he could do it, and everyone here said he did it wrong on some electric mill thing. I then sent it off to a straightrazorplace member to fix it and I got the razor back two days later.

I showered, lathered, etc., but when I ran the razor across my face it wasn't even close. The blade scraped across my face, and left a lot of hair.

Is this normal on the first shave? There was a bit of oil on the blade i wiped off, was that the cause?

His instructions on his site were to not strop before i used the blade and I didn't.

Honestly, the blade felt dull.

Opinions?

Edit:
I was just wondering if there was other factors than the honing before I emailed the guy that honed it; such as the oil on the blade (that I did wash off under hot water). Or maybe there's previous damage from the knife guy, or maybe i should have stroped.

check out the wiki article on sharpness test and try some of them. no matter what it should pass the hanging hair test and the TPT (which might be a little scary or now). don't do the thumb nail test though. check it out and see what you can find out. after that i would talk to floppyshoes and see what he says.

sorry to hear about the misfortune but i'm sure with the help of the guys on here you can get things figured out.

that member has an excellent record as far as i know it was more than likely your technique as for the sharpness test there are many people whose razor will not pass the hht but gives a great shave the only real test is the shave test. pm him so you can discuss it in private :gl:

i very much doubt that dan sent out a dull razor, as i believe he tests them before mailing them like most of us.
the wiping off the oil seems like a possible unknown, how did you wipe it off?
the best way is to rinse it under hot water so that there is no risk of damaging the edge.

does it shave arm hair?

if i were you i'd check with floppyshoes.

Jo3,

before giving out any names I would have contacted the person involved and asked some questions first. I doubt that the honer in charge send you a dull razor. He's been honing razors for a very long time and is a renowned person to deal with.
The problem will probably be your technique or whatever you are doing wrong but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly the problem at this point.

I removed the name. I didn't mean to call anyone out. I was amazed at the two day service, and was happy i found someone i could use frequently. I was just wondering if there was other factors than the honing before I emailed him; such as the oil on the blade (that I did wash off under hot water). Or maybe there's previous damage from the knife guy, or maybe i should have stroped.

But it doesn't pass the hanging hair test. i have to literally chop at the hair to cut it.

The hanging hair test doesn't mean anything. Many of us shave with razors or hairs that don't past that test.

Technique, angle, having a feel for the blade, etc, etc. all impact your first few shaves. It is not at all unusual for the first shaves to less than great. It takes some persistence and patience. Try just shaving your sideburn area. Then expand as you get more comfortable and confident. If you can get the blade to shave there, it's sharp.

Jordan

Looks like you've had a run of bad luck with your entry to the straight razor world. Sorry to hear that, but hang in there, you are in the right place to get help.

Re the sharpening service, you would have to speak to the person you dealth with, discuss how you are prepping for the shave etc. maybe he can work out how to improve things.

At the risk of confusing matters, I'll advise you not to put too much faith in the hanging hair test. I honed my own Dovo razor. At times it passed the HHT but gave a bad shave. Later it failed the HHT yet gave a good shave. Later still I cut my hair short so had no hairs to test with, but by doing plenty of stropping before shaving I get great shaves now.

My first few straight razor shaves were very bad. While that may have been due to my poor first attempts at honing, there were other reasons too. The more I take notice of the advice I read here, the better my shaves get. Little things really do make a difference:

Showering before the shave=better results.
Washing beard before starting=better results (for some)
Hot towel before shaving=better results
Quality shaving soap/cream=better results
Making lather to correct consistency=better results
Spending time brushing lather into beard=better results
Stropping enough before shaving=better results
Holding blade at correct angle=better results
...and so on.

All those individual "better results" add up to give one huge improvement.

Also, it takes a few shaves to gain confidence. It takes practice to make smooth confident strokes that maintain contact with the skin without applying pressure. It is possible that your bad shave was partly due to being overcautious. If you start a stroke too slowly, expecting it to cut you, you will find the blade keeps stopping. You might then overcompensate by applying force, which is risky. You shouldn't consciously try to make fast cutting movements, but as you learn what is safe you will instinctively make faster, smoother movements that glide over your face. The skills do kick in. Practice shaving just the cheeks to begin, only use the straight razor elsewhere once you're happy with how that goes.

Don't give up.:gl:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maximilian

Jo3,

before giving out any names I would have contacted the person involved and asked some questions first. I doubt that Floppyshoes send you a dull razor. He's been honing razors for a very long time and is a renowned person to deal with.
The problem will probably be your technique or whatever you are doing wrong but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly the problem at this point.

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it really pulled and scraped across my face. There's a lot of hair still on my face. It was like a shave with a really dull regular razor.

I won't jump to any conclusions though. I'll wait until i go home tomorrow and strop this time before I shave.

But I followed all instructions to a t. I got out of a long hot shower, wrapped a hot towel around my face, lathered up, and then shaved. I noticed a bit of oil on the blade I rinsed off.

About a week ago I took my blade to a knife guy who sharpened it up on some electric wheel, and everyone here said that was incorrect and would damage my blade.

I don't know if it had anything to to with that. Otherwise I don't think i did anything that would cause that.

My face is an irritated red mess since.

At this point this has been the most frustrating thing, as evidenced by my previous posts in the archive.

Were you stretching your skin? Also how thick was/is the beard?

Based on the thread, I think I just recently had a razor honed by the same person and he did a fantastic job. I am still quite new at this as well, and I definitely still have some scraping when I shave due to improper angles on the blade. Basically, I need to get to know my face, where to pull the skin, what direction to hold the blade etc. I think this stuff is going to take a few months to learn. However, that being said I noticed a HUGE difference between the factory sharpened DOVO and the honed edge. I think now that it is honed I can actually get down to learning how to do this properly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xanderhal

Based on the thread, I think I just recently had a razor honed by the same person and he did a fantastic job. I am still quite new at this as well, and I definitely still have some scraping when I shave due to improper angles on the blade. Basically, I need to get to know my face, where to pull the skin, what direction to hold the blade etc. I think this stuff is going to take a few months to learn. However, that being said I noticed a HUGE difference between the factory sharpened DOVO and the honed edge. I think now that it is honed I can actually get down to learning how to do this properly.

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Yeah, it just takes time and practice. Learning to use a straight correctly is alot like learning to play a musical instrument. It takes time, and you've got to hit a few sour notes along the way. Just hope they're not so sour as to require medical intervention.

You'll know you're getting there when your straight shave is as close and as comfortable as any shaving method you've used before. You'll know you're *really* getting it when you get the *closest*, *most comfortable* shave you've ever gotten.

My $0.02 (which is about $0.012 USD) ....

I purchased my first straight from an antique shop and had a member (Chris Moss) offer to hone it for me. When I received it back I attempted to shave with it .... results were horrible. The 'sound' of the razor was odd, the hairs were not popping off, etc. I knew the blade was sharp (very sharp) but was not getting the results that I expected.

I had posted a first shave synopsis on the forum, mentioned that the shave sounded wierd .... IIRC one of the members told me (something along the lines of) "you don't have enough experience to know what it should or should not sound like" .... and he was absolutely correct.

There are quite a few variables in play when using a straight (blade angle, facial contours, pressure, speed, length of stroke, stretching the skin, etc) - all of which take time to figure out what works best for you.

My advise, start with a few easy areas (i.e. cheeks) to get a feel for things. Blame your technique, not the tool. Take it slow .... it will all come together for you.

Cheers,

Rick


ps. any damage done to the edge by the grind wheel sharpening was more than likely undone on the proper hone, otherwise I suspect you would have heard from the member prior to it touching the hone.

For some advice:

First moisten your fore arm, lay the razor flat on your arm, lift the spine about two times its own thickness, and try shaving a patch of arm hair. This should be very easy. If not, the razor got dulled at some point, in which case you can best contact the person that honed it. He 'll help you out. Anyone that hones razors knows that newbies on occasion manage to dull their edge during the first shave. Because of that, most honemeisters are prepared to be lenient upon rehoning.

But I think it's more likely that it will shave arm hair. Somehow, I think you are using a far too high cutting angle. (you spoke about "scraping", which always rings that bell with me :hmmm:) If the razor passes the arm hair test, you can do exactly the same on a well lathered cheek. (from the sideburn down). If that works too, the rest comes down to shaving technique.

Good luck,
Bart.

I have posted about this blade although I have not sharpened this person blade. This is what happened I have got blade from member of srp and when I check the blade I couldn't believe my eyes .that edge was horrible and my first question was to owner were you using this blade and shaved?
We were very helpful to each other and his response was yes.
After what I saw I said ok I will start all other and put up new bevel and blade is done. it took me less than 5 strokes bevel was ready hmmmmmmmmmmm I got confused said something doesn't look right did turn my question to srp and asked doesn't anyone had similar experience that dovo edge will be similar or worse then zeepk s ---any response I got no one had ever seen this problem hmmmmmmmm-in my 1 hand I was happy and said then I have to work a little more and make razor ready and everything will be fine. in the other hand I still was confused I didn't use anything except natural stones to set bevel on this razor it is kind unusual -Belgian coticle and Escher ???Any ways I start to test shave my arm wow I couldn't believe what I saw edge was breaking down again himmmmmmmmmmwhy??I did same process 3 times and while doing all this I was constantly contact with owner of the blade.

this is end result I find out owner when bought the blade asked seller some side please sharpen blade before shipping and they did how God knows most likely they used some machines as a result edge has been damaged structurally .Then I thought how I can get this blade ready which owner can use it. This is what I did I added 2 layers of electric tape and put a new edge after that tried test shave now blade was acting a lot better hope you know why it will act different then before = because of the v shape of the edge. I did let the owner to know all this and explained my best to him –he is the owner and needs to know everything about his razor. I did ask him let me know shaving result how blade will act. I still was worry blade will break down fast but I did get response from owner blade was ok. It will take time that blade will act how it should be I think the edge which has been damaged needs to be honed out or use until it will gone. Then that blade should be ok
Now let me tell why your blade had problem.srp member did put edge and see it is passes all test said ok let me send back. After you got razor as soon as you touched your face all edge was messed up. That is why you got horrible feeling. Mistake has been done buy first hone master used machine not srp member. When they use machine it generate a lot heat and that damages the edge.

All job has been done in this blade was free help and I am sure owner of the blade come to this thread and prove it.
i hope this information will help:y:)

That's good thinking, Hi_bud_gl.
If the first sharpening in the knife shop was done on a belt grinder, or on something similar, there's a high probability the temper of the edge got ruined. However if they used a water cooled grinding wheel (such as a Tormek machine) then this would not be the case.
But is sure is a serious possibility.

jO3, I believe I'm on the other side of the world, but I also think you deserve a proper start.
If this thing doesn't work out, I am willing to lend you a shaveready razor out of my personal collection, for as long as you can manage to shave with it. I'll even send it to you for free. All you need to do is pay for your postage when you send it back.
Maybe someone that lives closer to you is prepared to match my offer, if not just drop me a PM with your address.

Bart.

j03 - how were the very first few strokes when you tried to shave? My limited understanding is that bad steel or a heat-damaged blade can be honed sharp but will only shave a few strokes before the cutting edge crumbles.

Does anyone know if heat damage ruins the whole blade? Or could sufficient honing/proper regrinding remove the problem area? Maybe retempering?

I understand if you don't have a strop a leather belt will work in a pinch.

hmm that is an interesting theory, so the steel was retempered by the regrinding...
i guess if this is the case it still can behave well on the shave test and then crumble.

Being a knife guy for many years that is possible if the temps go high enough using an electric grinding wheel.

There was some damage from the knife guy, but that was fixed. This thread was just me wondering if i was doing anything wrong before i messaged the persona i sent it out to. I finally emailed the guy and am more than satisfied at the reply i got, so if a mod reads this this thread I kindly request that it be closed. :) Thanks