New to this community and have a question
I have used disposable razors for years and thought that they gave an acceptable quality shave. Have tried electrics but they were horrible in the closeness of shave delivered. Several months ago I thought about buying my first straight razor, being interested in the "romance" of using the straight razor, the tradition, the time honored closeness of all shaves. I have read many articles on the net about the art of straight razor shaving. Finally, I bought my first set: a Dovo Red Bismark 6/8 full hollow ground carbon steel razor, Col. Conk Amber glycerin soap, Red Latigo strop, Norton 4000/8000 stone, and a Rooney badger hair brush.
I have used this for approximately a month or so, shaving 8 or 10 times (my beard doesn't grow that fast). Thus far I have achieved a reasonable shave, but a couple of questions remain. My beard tends to be quite sensitive on the throat and that is where my main problem lies. It grows from left to right on the throat and I am having a devil of a time figuring out how to hold the blade for a proper ATG shave there. Also, while there is no problem shaving down the face from sideburn to jawline WTG and down the neck. I am having quite a bit of difficulty shaving up the face in the opposite direction.
I am looking for the ultimate baby butt shave and know that a straight razor can achieve this, but thus far I have been unable to atain this. I realize that there can be quite the learning curve with the straight razor, but there must be some tips out there that some of you more experienced users can provide.
Also, I ordered my set from Vintage Blades LLC. They stated my razor was "shave ready", but I'm dubious of this. How many shaves can you reasonably get out of a carbon steel blade before you have to re-hone it?