No beginners luck

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I received my first straight razor –Dovo Special, about a month ago, and I hate to sound like a negative nancy but I must admit that so far I’m pretty disappointed with the straight razor experience. I was expecting the closest, smoothest shave of my life, and it’s just not happening. So far I’d have to say my Gillette Fusion outperforms it in every respect. I have read up on straight razor use and watched a bunch of videos on YouTube to try to learn how to do this right. The Dovo seemed pretty sharp when I got it but not quite sharp enough, it just catches the hair and doesn’t cut it without repeated scrapes. I’ve seen people on YouTube take one swipe across their face and it was baby smoothe after. Mine will not do this. So I figured it is too dull. I tried honing it with a12000 grit whetstone and still no improvement. I laid the blade flat and honed blade first using an x pattern with little if any pressure to hone. I strop 40 times before and after, edge following, turning it on the blade. What am I doing wrong?

Hi and welcome!

Unfortunately theres a few things that probably wont be helping you. It sounds like your razor didnt come shave ready, which is fairly normal as not all suppliers offer that service.

If the razor isnt shave ready then a 12k stone probably wont do the job at getting it sharp. For a factory edge I'd probably start at 3k/4k and go from there.

If youd like me to I can hone her up for you for the cost of return postage? PM me if you're interested! :)

Honestly though, what you are experiencing is exactly how most people start off at this sport. When you start out everything is against you: You dont know how to shave the right way for your face, you dont know how to strop and you dont know how to do good face prep. But you're in the right place to get all your questions answered! :)

The first thing to do is get your razor honed and then look into stropping and face prep. You dont say what soap or strop you use?

One thing I did notice though is that you say you turn the razor on the blade when you strop? You want to flip the razor over on the spine so you dont dull your razor or nick your strop.

Dont worry too much about doing those one pass shaves, that'll come with time and practice and it'll also depend on your beard and skin type. A thin beard and tough skin will definately make a one pass shave much easier! I have a tough beard and sensitive skin so I cant really do it without causing irritation.

Make yourself at home here and have a look around. Ask any questions you dont see answered and take your time. Before you know it you'll be getting the best shaves you ever had..! :)

Good luck and keep us posted!

I think your experience is fairly normal. Straights promise to give you the best of shaves, but it doesn't happen right away. The razor, no matter how sharp it is, doesn't do the shave all by itself. There are many other issues involved, including preparation, technique, knowledge of your face and how best to shave it, angles used, and more.

I didn't expect to immediately get perfect shaves. I just wanted to be able to shave with a straight razor. I can still get much better shaves much more quickly with a Pro Fusion. I can get a perfect shave with a DE in four minutes. I used a straight this morning and got a pretty decent shave in just four minutes with one pass, WTG.

I think I will eventually get shaves with my straights that are as good as what I can do with my DEs. The shaves with the DE are so good I really can't imagine anything better. I'm getting close to 100 shaves with a straight. It looks like real proficiency with it will take more shaves. But if the shaves are never as good as with a DE, I'll stick with it anyway because it is more enjoyable.

I have been shaving almost every day for about three months with a vintage razor that has been sharpened by a pro. I have never seen a new razor with a factory “shave ready” edge on it, so I have no idea what you are working with, but the edge that was put on my razor is truly impressive. I had no idea that steel could be so sharp. It passed all of the sharpness tests listed on this site. I would defiantly take Stubear up on his offer to hone your razor. A properly honed blade will give you an idea of what true sharpness should feel like.
Also, I agree with what the other members say about the time required to learn to shave properly with a straight razor. At my current skill level, I still get a faster and closer shave with a Gillette Fusion when using a new blade, but my straight razor shaves are rapidly improving. It is still too early for me to tell which will ultimately give me a closer shave, but so far I prefer my straight razor. I really enjoy the experience of lathering up and carefully manipulating the blade. I just don’t get the same experience from a plastic, vibrating Fusion with disposable blades.

give it time it will come... I was having the same problem at first im 4 or 5 months into it and it just gets better every time, I do have my bad shave days but I find those shaves are bad cause im rushing. Remember stretching your skin, blade angle and light pressure I find are key to a BBS. I started with a Dovo Shavette with the long Dovo blades that helped alot to get good shave technique without worrying if my blade is sharp.... dont give up

+1 on give it time and don't give up.

After about four months and 100 SR shaves I can just about match what I can do with a Mach 3 but only of the straraight razor is tip top sharpness. But I continue to improve and that is part of the fun. You expectations of BBS right off the bat were probably a bit premature. But keep at it and it will get better.

This might be a good read for you and Dylan's offer was very nice.......:D

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...icipation.html

Have fun,

Lynn

Been lurking for some time, first post. 6 shaves in. Clearly much much better than any previous shave i have done with the SR so far. Everything is getting better from prep to lather to stroke and yes the shave.

That being said I am with the OP. I really wonder from a 'shave' perspective (not an ambiance or quality of life thing) if it is better than a fusion. I will give it six months and then weigh in. With a fusion I can get BBS every time (can shave every day) with no worries, cuts or burn.

So I really wonder if I do get a BBS with a fusion, where the blade does not touch the face, why would I want to drag a piece of steel across my face... haha. Will the "shave" really be better, time will tell, but I really wonder how. But for now it is fun, and I am enjoying the new experience.

If nothing else it has greatly improved my shaving technique overall.

Thanks for all the replies! Yeah I'm not going to give up on this, I realize I'm going to have to get some experience both in shaving and honing. I'm going to continue reading up on this- might take a little while to get over the learning curve. There is a barber in town who offered to hone it for me. So far he hasn't been at the barber shop the same time I have, but I will definitely look him up. I ordered a 8000 grit whetstone also- from Japan so I might have to wait on that one understandably. I guess I should get a 3000-4000 one too. I do want to learn how to properly hone the blade myself though.

Oh, thanks for the advice on stropping. I forget what brand of strop it is- but relatively cheap with a leather strop and a canvas. I haven't used the canvas, and I don't have any conditioners or anything like that for the leather, I just use it like it is.

OK I did achieve a step in the right direction I think. I received my Naniwa 8000 grit stone in the mail, and I honed the razor for about an hour, since I don't have a coarser grit. Well, I was actually able to shave with it somewhat- and it would not cut beard hair before. My face was getting raw so I abandoned the shave, but at least it worked somewhat. I think if I keep honing it, it will eventually get there. I'm another one of those guys with sensitive skin and a really coarse beard, so it's going to have to be sharp!