Am I doing this correctly?

First off, hello to everyone. I have many questions. I have ordered the DVD and am waiting for it to arrive. In the meantime, I'll let you know my tools.

Dovo All Steel Stainless 5/8 from Amazon
Badger Brush
Proraso Shaving Cream
Leather Strop from Heirloom Razor Strop Co

I'm not sure if I need to hone it because when I use it after I strop about 25 times against the cloth, then 25 against the leather, I still hear a scrapping sound. Also, as soon as the proraso shaving cream is off my face, it's hard to pass over that area again.

I don't know if my razor is shave ready. Like someone else said here, I don't know what a good shave is suppose to feel like. I'm just doing WTG and it's not a pleasant experience at all. I do look like a have a decent shave but it burns after the aftershave.

If I do need to hone, what should I get?

FYI: I got started with straight razors with "The Art of Manliness Guide" and got all my supplies from the guide - The Ultimate Straight Razor Shaving Guide | The Art of Manliness

Welcome! You probably need to send your razor out to be honed. It cannot simply be honed by an inexperienced person.

Unless you paid for the razor to be hand honed, it almost certainly is NOT shave ready. You'll need to get that done. There are plenty of gents here who can provide the service.

Assuming good beard prep, the blade should cut like a hot knife through butter. DON'T EVER FORCE A STRAIGHT RAZOR THROUGH YOUR BEARD! Unless you want to be called Scarface. :D

The hollow ground razor will always sound as it pops the hairs of your beard.

X

Welcome to SRP. Take a gander at the beginner's guide here in the SRP Wiki for some good info. You can find someone to hone your razor here in 'member services' in the classifieds. :gl:

Welcome aboard!! You have already been advised to send your razor out for honing. Ensure that it is someone who knows how to hone a straight razor (check the classifieds under member services). Don't give it to your buddy who knows how to sharpen knives. Your face will teach you a painful lesson... :gl:

Thanks for the greetings and tips. I called some local barbers around MA and none hone razors. Would it be ok to buy a waterstone and just hone myself?

It takes some time and practice to learn how to hone a razor and since you don't know what a keen edge feels like, you'd be better off sending it out to a pro. Then you'll know what to shoot for when you do start learning to hone. This will lead to less frustration.

Jordan

You can either hone it yourself or send it to someone to hone for you; which is best, only you can decide. Some guidlines, however.

Do you have any experience with sharpening edged tools. This can be knives, woodworking tools, axes, what ever. If you do, then you should be able to pick up razor honing quickly. The principles are the same.

If not, then you should probably consider sending the razor out for its first honing, but start researching how to hone.

If you want to be able to learn to str8 shave in the least amount of time possible, and the most comfortable route, get your razor honed by any of the fine honemeisters in the SRP classifieds. If you like a really tough challenge and like to be uncomfortable, then get a hone and figure it out yourself. There are many variables needed to conquer in order to get a close comfortable shave, a shave ready razor being the most important. If you are constantly wondering if it is your razor you will have a hard time narrowing down which variable are giving you troubles. Getting a proper shave ready razor allows you to forget about the razor and concentrate on the other variables such as your stropping, prep, pressure, angle, mapping and stretching. Get it honed by an experienced razor honemeister then have fun learning how to use it, imo.

Some here will give you a different view, but if you are interested in the unvarnished opinion of a relative newcomer to this field -- SEND YOUR RAZOR OUT TO BE HONED BY A PRO. Don't do it yourself, and don't give it to someone who doesn't already hone hundreds of these razors a month.

The simple reason is this. It is difficult enough to learn straight razor shaving, and so while you are trying to master this skill, starting off with a FRESH, SHAVE READY blade is one huge way to simplify the task. You see, there are some things that you should be able to accomplish with practice so long as your blade is in sharp, shave-ready condition. So when you are having difficulty with these tasks AND you were the one who sharpened the blade, there is no way of knowing whether you are shaving incorrectly or your razor is honed in correctly. If you have your razor honed by an expert, on the other hand, then you can diagnose your problems that much quicker, because you will have eliminated the question of honing from the number of variables that you have to work with.

It's kind of like saying that you want to learn how to play electric guitar AND you want to make the guitar that you're going to be playing out of a nice piece of ash that you own. Well, that's great, and there's no doubt that learning both skills will give you more insight into being a better player. But while you're working on learning to play the guitar, stick with one that you know is already capable of making excellent music and any shortcomings, if there are any, are from the playing technique and not other factors.

As a fellow new-comer, I have to agree with the comments left here by the experts. I purchased a shave ready razor from SRD, stropped it, which was a bit tricker then I imagined, and got a very close, comfortable shave.
Although I really like a challenge, and have had experience sharpening tools, I had never experienced a true shave ready straight razor. That being said, I thought it would be difficult to produce a shave ready razor by honing my own.
Now that I have a shave ready razor, I can spend some time, perfecting my shaving and prep techniques, that way I know what a comfortable shave feels like. Then when the time comes, and I decide to have a crack at honing my own blade I will be armed with two very important facts
1.) what does a shave ready razor look/feel like
2.) what does a close, comfortable shave feel like

Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it. And welcome to straight razor shaving.

Dave

Wow guys, I just want to thank you all for the comments and support. I've decided to send out my razor to be honed professionally. I'll continue to shave with my disposable until my razor is 'shave ready'. Thank you all again.

I think you made a good decision. Although the disposable may not seem as nice after having seen and felt a fixed blade straight, it does have one advantage. The blade is removable.

At first I had trouble moving the blade around my face and using my non- dominant hand. Going on the suggestions of another SRP member, I removed the blade and practiced without it. I would sometimes even do it while watching TV. This allowed me to get comfortable with the feel of the razor, as well as the motions I would have to make to get a close comfortable shave.

Being that I'm still learning, I still go back to this process when one particular part is giving me problems, even though I have a shave ready Dovo.

You might want to give it a shot.

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Originally Posted by freshforce

Wow guys, I just want to thank you all for the comments and support. I've decided to send out my razor to be honed professionally. I'll continue to shave with my disposable until my razor is 'shave ready'. Thank you all again.

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