Is this really shave ready?

Gents,

I had my fifth shave today and only had two nicks and slice on the usual trouble spot . Shooting for the BBS but I missed - though got close. My 4th shave was BBS but at a huge price; bloody mess followed by three days of sore face, raw bumps, burning rash.:cry:

I am not sure this razor is as sharp as it is supposed to be - DOVO Best Q in a kit from Vintage - Lynn honed.

I prep fine; shower, heavy soap on the beard, hot water, hot water on beard prep, lather - let sit, I strop; 20 on linen, 30 on leather, re-lather.

First pass, WTG, all fine until chin and upper lip. re-lather 1st pass area, 10 strops on leather, WTG on chin and upper lip. Razor snags and pulls the hair on chin and upper lip. No crunchy toast sound, no smooth slices of the beard hair. I have to restrop multiple times after every other pass.

Second Pass - XTG, a repeat; great on the cheeks, neck, under chin, jowels. But chin area stops the blade. I am lowering the angle almost flat.

I do not dobt Lynn's ability at all, but perhaps I need to hone it again? I have a surgical black wet stone inexcellent shape that I use for my high carbon broad heads - water only.

Should I double tape the spine and spend some time putting blade to hone?:hmmm:

Getting a little bummed out so any advice would be great.:shrug:

Many thanks,

Alpsman

I recommend more stropping preshave - strop until your arm gets tired or at least 60 times. Even if you dont need to it cannot hurt and is good practice anyway.

Then keep practicing your shaving. Take it slow - it takes many shaves for most people before they start getting the results you are expecting so soon. Just enjoy practicing with the razor and finding the right cutting angles, direction with beard growth, pressure, speed, stroke length, etc. And you can get a decent shave in one pass. Lynn has good advice to just shave your cheeks at first and finish with your previous shave method (assuming you had one?). Move on to your chin, neck, etc as your technique improves.

I think you should just keep practicing!

Please don't hone it . At first let Lynn know about it and see what he will tell you .Contact with email etc.

if you start to hone you will do more damage then fix problem. As i can see you want to use arkansas stone on blade.
hope this helps.

Two words of advice: SLOW DOWN!! Even with your fifth shave I doubt you have developed your technique (pressure and angles) sufficiently to be getting your BBS without some major issues. This is not a race. Technique is far more important than achieving your BSS. Develop your skills first, shaving and stropping. 20 laps on the fabric and 50 laps on the leather (I do 60 laps on leather). Again, don't try to strop fast like you see in the movies. Technique is far important than speed. It won't take long before you achieve your BBS with little effort. :gl:

P.S. Lynn honed all 5 razors I use. And they remain shave ready today (4 months to 9 months).

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Originally Posted by Alpsman

Gents,

I had my fifth shave today and only had two nicks and slice on the usual trouble spot . Shooting for the BBS but I missed - though got close. My 4th shave was BBS but at a huge price; bloody mess followed by three days of sore face, raw bumps, burning rash.:cry:

I am not sure this razor is as sharp as it is supposed to be - DOVO Best Q in a kit from Vintage - Lynn honed.

I prep fine; shower, heavy soap on the beard, hot water, hot water on beard prep, lather - let sit, I strop; 20 on linen, 30 on leather, re-lather.

First pass, WTG, all fine until chin and upper lip.

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Yes , and what makes you think the razor is not shave-ready :shrug:. The upper lip and chin are the hardest areas to learn to shave , you shouldn't even be shaving them yet :nono: . You should not be trying for BBS :nono: . You're trying to run before you learn to walk ;) . I think your razor is fine . BTW I strop 30 (each side) on the linen , and 60 or more on the leather .

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Originally Posted by Alpsman

Gents,

I had my fifth shave today and only had two nicks and slice on the usual trouble spot . Shooting for the BBS but I missed - though got close. My 4th shave was BBS but at a huge price; bloody mess followed by three days of sore face, raw bumps, burning rash.:cry:

It's no good messing up your face like that. As others have said, you need to temper your enthusiasm a bit.:)
Just do your intended passes, and aim for a comfortable, irritation-free shave. Don't shave over and over again on the same spot. Accept that it won't be completely close in the beginning. Closeness improves with experience, not with removing the top layer of your skin.

I am not sure this razor is as sharp as it is supposed to be - DOVO Best Q in a kit from Vintage - Lynn honed.

Lynn's edges really are beyond doubt. He's a honemeister. There's as much chance of him sending out a not shaveready blade than you have the chance of buying an unbaked bread at the bakery.

I prep fine; shower, heavy soap on the beard, hot water, hot water on beard prep, lather - let sit, I strop; 20 on linen, 30 on leather, re-lather.

Sounds good.

First pass, WTG, all fine until chin and upper lip. re-lather 1st pass area, 10 strops on leather, WTG on chin and upper lip. Razor snags and pulls the hair on chin and upper lip. No crunchy toast sound, no smooth slices of the beard hair. I have to restrop multiple times after every other pass.

Second Pass - XTG, a repeat; great on the cheeks, neck, under chin, jowels. But chin area stops the blade. I am lowering the angle almost flat.

If the razor shaves well on the easy areas, your problems are technique related. It just takes more practice and exploration what angles and directions work best for you.

I do not dobt Lynn's ability at all, but perhaps I need to hone it again? I have a surgical black wet stone inexcellent shape that I use for my high carbon broad heads - water only.

Honing sounds easy, but most honing rookies stumble in the beginning. It's advisable to not take the honing route before you can shave with some confidence. If it does not work out well, no one will be able to tell if the flaw is in your edge or in your shaving technique.

Should I double tape the spine and spend some time putting blade to hone?:hmmm:

Getting a little bummed out so any advice would be great.:shrug:

Many thanks,

Alpsman

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I think the best advice for you is to be patient. As long as you can shave your cheeks close without problems, the razor is ok. If not, you might want to have the blade checked by a regular straight shaver that lives in your area. Your frequent stropping suggests that you are very focused on the keenness of the razor. That might distract you from shaving technique. Stropping mid-shave, could possibly add some comfort to an ATG pass (most guys generally don't bother), but it sure is not required and it won't solve any major shaving problems either.

Actually it sounds as if you are doing well, except for not knowing when to call it good enough, for the time being.

Best regards and welcome to SRP,

Bart.

Thanks Gents,

It has been 15 years since I have shaved with a straight razor, so some of these things are not really new. I know for instance that my chin was the biggest problem (I had a mustache then- but now I don't), now I have the upper lip to deal with.

That said, reading this tremendous forum and being a SRP member has shown me that even 15 years ago I was doing things wrong.

So, I will slow down (thanks dward . . .again!), and use more passes on the strop. I will not touch the hone. I will focus more on technique. I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, I will not be obsessive in achieving a BBS, Sorry, couldn't resist. I will not shave over and over again on the same spot.

More patient . . . and pay more attention to the stropping technique . . . and shaving technique, . . . and get it in my head that it is NOT A RACE!
Easy to remember . . . .
Thanks so much again all!;)

Gratefully,

The Alpsman

Hey Alpsman, it sounds like you're on the right
track. Enjoy those shaves!

- Scott

I think most of us tore our faces up at least once , trying to get BBS before we really had the skill to do it right . Keep at it , and soon enough you learn :tu. BTW I don't worry about BBS . A close , and comfortable shave is what I prefer .

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Originally Posted by dave5225

BTW I don't worry about BBS . A close , and comfortable shave is what I prefer .

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Amen. Initally I was overly concerned with the closest shave possible, and as a result often had a raw face. I now settle for still a close shave, but comfortable. I actually find a single WTG pass is sufficient for everyday shaving. It's all about comfort. :tu

Hey Alps, I agree with these other guys. You're trying too hard too soon. Lighten up and take it easy. Read my sig below to help avoid nicks and don't forget to stretch the skin. You don't have to pull it as tight as you possibly can. Just tighten it up a little. :gl:

In response to all the folks who have been telling you to curb your enthusiasm, I have two things to say:

1. I can't really blame you. I did the exact same thing and turned my face into painful hamburger my first couple of shaves.

2. They're all completely right, and in retrospect, I wish I had done what they are telling you to do.

After just over two weeks, I'm doing all three passes on my cheeks getting them BBS every day with only the occasional nick. I still can't go ATG on my neck, and may not ever be able to because the direction of hair growth (center to side, almost level) makes it nearly impossible. However, with just two passes, I'm getting my neck smother than I ever could with my mach 3.

Some excellent advice. I think everyone is obsessed with BBS at first. I found that once I ignored BBS and shaved for comfort, I progressed much quicker and the BBS just magically appeared. And I was no longer frightening small children with my bloody visage.

Comfort first and everything will fall in place. :gl:

This is right on, have fun and all will fall into place.
:gl:
Rick

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Originally Posted by Tonsor

Some excellent advice. I think everyone is obsessed with BBS at first. I found that once I ignored BBS and shaved for comfort, I progressed much quicker and the BBS just magically appeared. And I was no longer frightening small children with my bloody visage.

Comfort first and everything will fall in place. :gl:

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On my second shave I sliced my chin. Exactly what these guys are saying. I shouldn't even be touching my chin. Now that I'm a few more shaves in I can get the chin WTG but I don't bother going XTG or ATG. I do WTG only also on the upper lip. This really helps keep tabs on my frustration until I'm feeling a little more skilled/daring to go a few different ways in those areas. I'm having fun though.

Shaved again today. Went slow, focus on keeping my face/beard slick, went WTG and XTG. Some spots I went again. Stropped linen 30x & leather 70x halfway through. left some areas (upper lip and part of neck & chin), a little rough and forced myself NOT go go back for 4 or 5 passes (which for this Germanic blooded, anal retentive, type "A" dude is saying something!).

Two nicks, no cuts, aftershave with the Clubman (orig.) at the bottom of the ninth.

Thanks again all for the encouragement, you all are great!
:tu

Peace,

The Alpsman

Taking it nice and slow helps indeed. After very first few times I rerererererereredid some areas and it looked like I was serving lobster from my neck. That was a good lesson, and I purchased the Nivea balm too, which calmed it down a bit.

Depending on the area, I 'patch' problematic spots, but in general it's enough for me after two passes.

I'm also a complete imbecile when it comes to using a mirror and coordinating my actions. :) Hooray for using cartridges blindly in the shower for 15 years or so. :D One thing I've actually done is pick up one of my practice razors (some el-cheaperinos to start honing with) and do a few dry moves in front of the mirror spine-first. Except for under the nose, that works quite well in figuring out good moves and hand positions for me. If you try it, keep in mind that the back is now, well at least close to, razor sharp!

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Originally Posted by Tonsor

Some excellent advice. I think everyone is obsessed with BBS at first. I found that once I ignored BBS and shaved for comfort, I progressed much quicker and the BBS just magically appeared. And I was no longer frightening small children with my bloody visage.

Comfort first and everything will fall in place. :gl:

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Exactly my experience too (right down to frightening small children, of course when my Mother saw the results of my first attempt, she just laughed on and off for a day or two).