Thread: Discouraged and disappointed

So anyway. $200AUD and a Dovo razor, two-sided strop, and tube of white "polishing" goop for the canvas size of the strop.

I don't know where to begin. The razor has to be closed carefully, because the plastic case thing has a bit of a bend in it - you have to push the razor sideways a little when you close it or the blade will catch on the plastic. Precision engineering from Germany! Taiwan, more like.

But the real issue is the strop. The leather is - what - about 3mm thick? After using it a few times I finally worked out that it was not flat but concave, meaning that when attempting to strop only the edges of the leather were touching the blade. Shit - this almost certainly means that the blade is already ruined.

So I bent it a little to shape it. With a more convex profile, there was more surface touching the blade when stropping, so I started to notice that resistance. But it still didn't make a lot of sense to be working a razor against stiff, dry, not-flat leather. So I put some of that shaving oil stuff on the leather, then some leather conditioner (way to much of the stuff), then wet it a bit, whatever - it's still stiff and not bloody flat. Probably ruined as well. Whose idea was this?

The razor now after all this abuse, well - yes it will remove arm hair. But certainly not this "popping" business everyone goes on about. Definitely less sharp that when I started - cuts all over my face. So I need to hone it? Crap - I will screw that up too. Spend - what - another $200 on a hone, which I won't be able to use? What about wet & dry paper? Well, that goes up to 1200 grit, but people here and elsewhere talk about stones that are 9000 grit etc, so that's not an option. And even then, it's anyone's guess whether it will work or not.

This is shit.

Hi Paul, welcome to the forums.

Sorry, what's your question?

Where did you buy the razor? If the vendor didn't specifically state that it was honed, then it came with the factory edge. There is no need to spend additional money on hones if you don't want to, I'm sure that there are those in Oz that will hone that razor up for you for $20...or about $20aus. Onimaru55 is in Sydney and offers honing...you can find him in the classifieds under the heading 'member services'

As for cutting yourself up, well, that's going to likely be your technique. Shaving with a straight razor isn't something you can just pick up and master after the first try...heck, not even after the first month or shaving every day. It's a gradual learning curve and don't expect to become a master until you reach at least the six month mark. As recommended by others, do what you can do now and just do the cleanup with the shaving apparatus your most comfortable with.

One 'out' for you could be to get your money back on the razor since it doesn't center well and then use the money to buy a honed razor from a reputable dealer (if you didn't already). Alternatively, use the money on something from the classifieds. You can get a perfectly wonderfully shave-ready razor from the classifieds for a fraction of that new Dovo.

Sorry to hear about your experience! I can see where you'd have definite reason to be frustrated shelling out that kind of money. If you can get past that, all's not lost.

First and foremost, you need a shave ready razor. Most here would recommend buying a fixed up vintage that's been made shave ready at a fraction of the cost rather than shelling out for a new one that may (or may not) be ready. Since you've got that, I'd send it off to a professional around here for honing.

Second, you will need a good strop (not necessarily the "best" because you will cut the first one up some--part of the learning curve). I'm sure people around here can recommend numerous good ones that won't break the bank. Then read up and watch the videos on how to do it correctly

Third, basic prep materials. I'd recommend spending your money in this area. Fancy razors are cool, and you spend $$$ on all kinds of sharpening products, but you and your face will appreciate every penny spent on quality prep products! Again, you don't have to break the bank, but you don't want to use goop out of a can. Do it right. Get a brush, some quality soap, and some post-shave products to sooth the skin.

Finally, patience. Patience is always a virture, especially when it comes to straight shaving. You will cut yourself, you will have razor burn, but you can't really be a daredevil without breaking a few bones, so to speak. The bottomline is that with some patience (and lot's of practice) it just keeps getting better! Lynn's tip is one that I used and it helped. Start off and practice just with shaving the easy areas (for example the large cheek area). Practice with both hands for each side, build up the dexterity, get used to angles, holding the blade in different ways, and then start moving to other parts of face until you can do an entire shave.

The Filly from ruprazor.com is a great starter strop. Its $20 bucks which includes shipping.

+1 to all the great advise here.

And if you want to try to salvage the Dovo, a vouch for Onimaru - just got the razor I wrecked back from him and it's got a mean edge on it!

I believe he also does restores and fixes, so you could see if he can do anything about those scales. The blade on the Dovo is likely a very good one. It may just need a little TLC.

As others have said, high-quality affordable strops are around. The Filly is one option. Tony Miller and SRD also make/sell beginner strops which are well-priced.

I wouldn't recommend trying to hone yourself yet. Sending it out to a professional will, for now, save you money and a lot of frustration.

Having a good edge on the razor and a good strop means you can take out all variables besides your technique. And then you can develop your skill and hopefully the knicks will begin to become less frequent.

And finally, keep your chin up. I can understand why you sound so frustrated in your post, but this is something which takes time and patience, and it will be hard for you to learn when you are irritated with the process.

All of these problems can be remedied, and we've got a whole forum full of hundreds of highly experienced and friendly people here to help you. No need to be upset.

Damn, that really does seem to be a bad start....but worse things happen at sea, mate.

If you're at all interested in continuing (and I really think you should, just to prove it to yourself that you CAN do it right) then there is definitely hope. Get the razor honed, there are plenty of guys around who do that and even a couple in Australia. There are plenty of affordable strops around (or you can always enter the drawing here, they give them away sometimes) and remember: don't let the bastards grind you down.

Originally Posted by PaulM

So I bent it a little to shape it. With a more convex profile, there was more surface touching the blade when stropping, so I started to notice that resistance. But it still didn't make a lot of sense to be working a razor against stiff, dry, not-flat leather. So I put some of that shaving oil stuff on the leather, then some leather conditioner (way to much of the stuff), then wet it a bit, whatever - it's still stiff and not bloody flat. Probably ruined as well. Whose idea was this?

The razor now after all this abuse, well - yes it will remove arm hair. But certainly not this "popping" business everyone goes on about. Definitely less sharp that when I started - cuts all over my face. So I need to hone it? Crap - I will screw that up too. Spend - what - another $200 on a hone, which I won't be able to use? What about wet & dry paper? Well, that goes up to 1200 grit, but people here and elsewhere talk about stones that are 9000 grit etc, so that's not an option. And even then, it's anyone's guess whether it will work or not.

Sorry to hear about misfortunes.

You could resign to that scale problem for now, and try to fix/rescale when you'll get your shaves running properly.

New, thick strop leather (which make btw?) can be quite stiff, but should break into more flexible with use (still won't be a seatbelt though). As you did before, you could try to shape it a tad with your hands and rub it daily to break it in - once the leather comes more supple, it should stay in shape and conform better. Just don't do very tight turns, lest you ruin the strop.

You probably are right that it has become less sharp with use, however, a good strop-session might on a flattened strop(or might not) bring it back (maybe 100, 200 laps?). You might try that before sending it out.

There was also a thread about stropping on newspaper (which is a tad abrasive). You could of course try that too, if you're sending it out anyway.
newspaper stopping A++ - Straight Razor Place Forums

Testing on armhair and HHT is a useful tool when you build experience with it. However, the shaving is what matters for now. Continue gathering data and relating to how the shave was. Pretty soon you have a guesstimate how the edge is going to perform. Just don't get stuck on passing the HHT for now. Keep your prep and technique as good as you can. Veeery light touch and try to tune the angle to your liking.

Forget honing it yourself for now, sending it out for honing is way cheaper & easier, since you've had your share of disappointments.

Better luck in your future shaves.

If it were easy, there'd be nothing to talk about, so no forum, and probably a lot fewer enthusiasts.

You'll find the folks here are very helpful when you have questions about particulars. Good luck, and stick with it!

Paul,

I feel great sympathy for your problems; please don't give up, as straight shaving is a wonderful thing, and it would be a loss if you were put off by this bad experience.

Best of luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ