Me First Shave

[Peterazor]

I got all my equipment, Dovo Special, 3" Latigo & Rup strop, Tabac soap, E&J Best brush, nick pen, witch hazel, mineral oil (laxative, which was a good suggestion btw)

Razor: I imagined the blade would be more refined. I could see some file marks up by the spine and the gold foil on the blade was roughly painted on. Neither impacts the actual shave. The scales were very nice. SRD did a good job with the hone. The hanging hair test was harder than I thought, maybe its because I have very soft flexible hair, that bent instead of cutting.

Stropping: It seems to be easier to keep even pressure across the blade with the 2" than the 3". Might be just a matter of breaking it in or not apply enough pressure. I can now see its something that takes practice to apply the pressure for the push & pull strokes. Btw, The Latigo is very nice.

Lathering: I tried a coffee mug and a cereal bowl. The mug was too small for my liking and the bowl was too smooth, feels like I'd benefit from ridges. It was difficult generating lather, but even my poor attempts at lather felt significantly better than the can goo. I'm glad I spent extra on the brush but even it was a little prickly.

Shaving: I didn't have a problem keeping my hand steady and getting over the fear of the blade, but I'm having difficulty with the length of the blade. With my Gillete its 1/4 of the length allowing me to maneuver. For example, starting under the side burns, bring it down, the head edge wants to dig into the cheek towards the lip. On the other side when the head is pointed the other way its easy to cut your ear.

With a small angular face it feels hard to find a place where I can make a clean downward stroke. I'm trying to tell myself not to get frustrated because its my first attempt. The youtube videos make it look easier than when you try it for yourself.