Thread: Newbie here, first straight razor shaving!

Hi guys,
New member here from Greece! My name is Apostolos 36 years old.
After 2 ½ years in traditional wet shaving with DE razors, and a lot of brushes soaps, creams, etc, I’m going now in to Straight Razor world. I just bought a Dovo 6/8 (Best Quality) and I have some issues. The shop that I bought it, told me that is professionally honed, and I have to believe it, since is a shop that for many years honing razors for professionals barbers.

The issue in that in my first and second shave, I did not have any nick, cut or irritation. The problem was that the razor wasn’t glide easily especially on difficult areas as moustache and chin. On cheek areas for example was better.
So what do you think guys? Could be a matter of honing or a technique issue because I’m a newbie?

Thanks in advance,

Hi, i would probably said some of both, my DOVO was sold as shave ready, i had the same problem as you but i sent it for honing as advised on here and it clearly hadnt been. And my technique was wrong as i needed to reduce the angle which came with practise and the tutorial advice on here and that also made a big difference.

you my brother are not the first person to have this problem......your Dovo simply needs a good honning :P you are not the first person that bought a Dovo saying shave ready when it wasntAlthough ,,please remember that the Dovos are some of the best razors outhere ....hope this comforts you,,your razor is fine :P

WELCOME TO SRP. REMEMBER THERE IS FACTORY SHAVE READY AND SHAVE READY BY A HONEMEISTER. THE FACTORY GIVES YOU A SET BEVEL AND A SHARP EDGE A HONEMIESTER WILL REFINE THAT EDGE TO SHAVING PERFECTION.

Simply stated, the razor will never glide as easily over the mustache and chin area as it does on your cheeks and neck, they have tougher whiskers. Realistic expectations.

But...it may also be that your razor needs a professional honing by someone from this website. Look in the Classifieds( at the top of this page) under Services and see who is performing razor honing.

Greetings from a fellow straight razor noob. Chin whiskers are notoriously hard to shave, no matter what method you choose. The hair in that area is tough and grows in odd directions.

Technique counts for a good result when the fine fin isn't as fine anymore. My chin area does get more attention because it needs it, but again technique counts for a lot.

To cover yourself, yes, have it sharpened by a honemeister. Then you will not question its sharpness and then you can concentrate on your technique.

Good Luck and welcome to straight shaving

Pabster

While everybody here says your razor needs a good honing, it may not be true. When you got it, did they send it to you direct from the factory, or did they take it out of the box, hone it and then send it to you? Not every shop sharpens razors before sending them out, and the factory edge is often not good enough.

That said, the chin and mustache areas are the hardest to shave even with a fresh razor. Start with the cheeks and other flat spots on your face, and don't forget to prep and stretch your skin. There are a lot of good guides here and on YouTube for straight razor shaving, but go slow and don't move on to the difficult areas of your face until you have mastered the easy ones.

My trick for the mustache and chin is to start with the blade flat against the underside of your nose. As you shave down rotate the blade so it follows down to your upper lip. Go easy and slow, only shaving down WTG.

Shave the chin starting from the jaw and shaving towards the center of your chin across your face. If you can change hands for each side do that, but still go easy and slow. Cuts usually occur when you pause with the blade on your face, so keep it moving, and when not in motion lift it off your face.

If you are getting any tugging and pulling it could be the razor does need sharpening or a good stropping. Check your stropping technique as poor stropping can dull your razor. Practice with an old razor or a butter knife.

Hang in there. It does get better with time.

Hi Guys, thanks for your help! The shop told me that the razor was honed by them. I΄ll check again my technique (ziggy thanks for the tips) and if I have problems again I will hone the razor. I’m thinking to buy a honing stone , so to do the honing by my self any time I want. I found in the site a lot of information’s about honing.

Even with my scary sharpest blades I have some pull in those areas, good prep and angle and practice will take care of that.

My only new razor was a Dovo, I got it with the factory edge. It was shave-able, but not pleasant. It probably will need a little bit of work to get it perfect