Thread: I must be nuts.

Ok, So my wife thinks I've lost my marbles...Not the first time but its the stragiht razor thats perched on the sink thats giving her less doubt now. First things first, I bought a Dovo 6/8 to start my straight razor shave learning with.
Its a cellulose handle brand new and I've given it a whirl already.

Lets just say I got a shave with it but It looked like I was attacked with a weed whacker. I was a bloody mess and I havent been right for 3 days since.

So now Im sporting a 3 days growth Im ready to give it another whirl. I did learn a few things in the first hack job but I have questions now. Like any learned thing Im going to be learning as I go like everyone does.
Perhaps someone can give me some advice before I carve a flap in my chin or lose another pint to poor preparation.

I started off by washing my face then applying a very very hot towel for about 2-3 minutes. Having my instrument at hand at the ready I applied my Watson shaving soap lather, then paused and aligned my nerve with my hand and gave the down stokes of the first pass. It felt like I was snagging and burned like fire all the way down my face.
I didnt relent, I went on and continued. I tried to hold my hand at that 30 degrees as a U-tube video shows. My first question, Was my razor sharp enough out of the box new or do I need to Strop it? Shouldnt it be ready to shave with out of the box? Next, I re-lathered and proceeded to finish with the upstrokes. I had more success with this as far as cleaning up but by this time I was so raw it was more a means to get it over with than a shave.

My biggest question is the razor itself. I didnt feel like I was fighting to control it or it didnt not conform to my face I was just not used to its use so when I cut in I was trying to get too much too fast on the first pass. My own fault. But the razor I feel should have bit thru more being new is this true? How sharp should a new razor be? What test can I give it to see if it is sharp enough before I set at the task?
Also, I was given some Shave cream in a tube with the razor as a sales extra from the supplier. Is this to be used in lieu of Soap and if so how does it work compared to the soap? Thanks for reading and I appreciate any feedback it will do alot to help out a newbie before he renders himself a new nickname like leather head or flap jack or any of the other numerous nick names a guy who did himeslef ugly with a straight razor might inccur from his unscupullus buddies.
Regards.

If you did not strop, lets start with that and then let us know how it goes. Since it seems that you have already shaved at least twice without stropping you may have to do some catching up. Normally I would advise you to strop a minimum of 50 laps on linen/canvas and then another 50 on leather. Because you did not strop beforehand for the first couple of shaves you may need to step it up and do 100 laps, maybe more, on linen and then leather just to get the edge back. Try this and see if that doesnt help you avoid the harassment of the unscrupulous.

I am kind of new at this as well, but from what I gathered so far from readng posts and some experience of my own, most straight razors are exactly shave ready out of the box and need some gentle honing.

Once the blade is sharp enough, it will give you a clean, very very close shave the first pass especially after you get the basic hang of it.

Also, from experience I can tell you do not apply ANY pressure to the blade on your face. Let it glide across the lather. Take your time;don't rush the shave. You will get faster in time the more you do it. It used to take me about 40-60 minutes to shave, now I can be done in about 10. Perfect every time.

The more you shave the better you will get at it and very soon you won't get a single scratch. I THINK I can speak for just about everyone on this forum, the first time is pretty much a big, bloody mess. Mine certainly was.

This is an ART FORM. practice practice practice and very soon you will have the nicest/closest shave you can get anywhere.

Good luck and happy shaving. I hope I was of some help. There are seasoned shaving vets on here who can probably give even better advise than I.

Where did you purchase the razor from? It is quite possible that the razor is not "shave ready." If that is the case, you are not going to be able to get a comfortable shave with it.

Best advice I can offer is read this..... Straight Razor Place Wiki

Originally Posted by Fbones24

Where did you purchase the razor from? It is quite possible that the razor is not "shave ready." If that is the case, you are not going to be able to get a comfortable shave with it.

Well sorry guys I mispoke right off the bat I didnt buy the Dovo I bought a Giesen and Forsthoff "Timor" I had been looking at the Dovo line and thats what stuck in my head when I read another post about it here. But yes I bought the G & F 6/8 and I got it from amazingshaving.com.

They were good to include a bonus in the purchase as well so kudos to them. I popped for a nice german made badger brush with an acrylic handle and used some teak off my old Scarab to fab up a holder for it.
I figured that old deck board saw alot of fish blood it might as well see some of my own.

OK, firstly, did the place you purchased it from say that it was shave ready? A lot of vendors sell razors, and if you want it shave ready you either send it out for honing or they do it for you at a slightly additional charge ($20 usually).

From your description of when you pulled the blade over your face, I would say that you used WAY too much pressure and didnt stretch the skin. A non-shave ready razor will also cause the pain you describe.


Try just stretching your cheeks and having another go on that "flat surface", using almost no pressure at all, and see if its any better.

Also, dont try and swipe all your whiskers off your face from ear to chin in one swipe. I tend to find many smaller movements are going to be much more comfortable.

Originally Posted by Biggie77

Well sorry guys I mispoke right off the bat I didnt buy the Dovo I bought a Giesen and Forsthoff "Timor" I had been looking at the Dovo line and thats what stuck in my head when I read another post about it here. But yes I bought the G & F 6/8 and I got it from amazingshaving.com.

They were good to include a bonus in the purchase as well so kudos to them. I popped for a nice german made badger brush with an acrylic handle and used some teak off my old Scarab to fab up a holder for it.
I figured that old deck board saw alot of fish blood it might as well see some of my own.

From what I can tell, those razors are not shave ready. You are shaving with the factory edge which might be okay, but not good enough to wipe the whiskers from your face.

Send the razor to someone and have it honed professionally, then try again. I think you will see a big difference.

Originally Posted by wedwards

OK, firstly, did the place you purchased it from say that it was shave ready? A lot of vendors sell razors, and if you want it shave ready you either send it out for honing or they do it for you at a slightly additional charge ($20 usually).

From your description of when you pulled the blade over your face, I would say that you used WAY too much pressure and didnt stretch the skin. A non-shave ready razor will also cause the pain you describe.


Try just stretching your cheeks and having another go on that "flat surface", using almost no pressure at all, and see if its any better.

I've been searching the sight I bought the razor from and cant seem to find anywhere that it states they are sold "Shave ready". Nothing in the razor box to tell me otherwise either. I was reading the Wiki and found the shave ready tests I can do those and just to save face..No pun Ill do that first before I have another go at myself. I did put what I thought was a good pull on my skin and tried to be consistant with my strokes but it was not smooth thats for sure.

Lets face it you either learn or your ugly. Id like to learn.