Thread: First Shave

New Dovo Inox razor arrived today and I carefully stropped it 20 times, knicking the strop by accidentally stropping in the wrong direction about a half centimeter which took a slice out of the strop ;( Tried the hair test on my forearm finding it very difficult to cut the hairs. Not sure if my sloppy strop work may have dulled Lynn's hone.

Hot shower. Soaped up the silver tip brush that came with the kit with the 'sandalwood' soap also from the kit. This soap is a blue glycerin-like cake moulded into the plastic container it came in. Not what I was expecting and wondering if I should try removing it from the container and milling it into my grandpa's old spice cup. Being very close to the rim of the container wasn't able to really whip it up much. Went on smooth and smelled of wet dog.

Left hand left side sideburns only in short strokes just like the dvd I was sent. Found it hard to see over my hand through the mirror to where I was beginning my stroke (perhaps too high as I normally cut my sides to straight across where the hair growth starts to curve down around the ear), perhaps higher then most.

Was difficult for me to keep a 30 degree angle and I found myself angling more toward 15 degrees most of the time possibly worried about the blade being pointed too much toward my face. There was some effort in the actual cutting probably due to my improper angle but it went alright with no nicks on either side, switching hands in between.

got a bit ****y I guess and re-lathered up for a cross grain pass on the burns and nicked myself at the start of the cut on one side pretty good. Put the pen to it and it stopped which put my mind at rest. Was feeling really good about it and tried the neck on the comfortable left hand right neck side (i'm a lefty) and it was easy, no problem but when switching to try the same on my bad hand side it just didn't feel right and so I stopped and finished with my mach 46 blader which also felt abnormally un-lubricated using this soap.

Not sure if this is normal for this SRD sandalwood soap but it didn't really feel very lubricative, in fact my skin was very dry after. Also as I said the cuts didn't seem smooth or easy. They felt like there was little lubrication in the soap and it was just the blade and my wet skin. I lathered up really well for quite a bit so not sure what to make of it.

So in the end I guess it was mostly a success. Had I not gotten too ballsy I might have finished without incident but it was fun.

Good start! Any first shave that goes without incident was probably a dream.

Sounds pretty good to me!

You may be experiencing the dryness from shaving. A straight razor tends to dry out your skin much more than a multi-blade sort of thing.

I figured as much and have ordered a few fun supplies to give myself some options. I was thinking half of straight shaving was to save on cartridges but it seems the fun in it is going to cost me more in the end with all these soaps and oils and stones and whatnot. Got some MWF and Proraso Pre/Post and Cellos Cream and Sandalwood Skin Food on the way to play with and hopefully help the dryness. I am allergic to wool sweaters so I hope the MWF doesn't have me itching. Looking forward to it's legendary performance.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Sounds pretty good to me!

You may be experiencing the dryness from shaving. A straight razor tends to dry out your skin much more than a multi-blade sort of thing.

When just starting shaving with a straight is it recommended to shave only once or twice a week until the face gets used to it or is every day alright? How many strops is good for a new Dovo Inox before each shave? I read 20 for a normal razor but wasn't sure if Inox was different?

Also I was wondering if some of the irritation could be from the new badger brush? I am normally allergic to wools of many sorts, sheep, camel, llama, ... Could it be the natural oils from the animal of the brush?

Originally Posted by groovyd

New Dovo Inox razor arrived today and I carefully stropped it 20 times, knicking the strop by accidentally stropping in the wrong direction about a half centimeter which took a slice out of the strop ;( Tried the hair test on my forearm finding it very difficult to cut the hairs. Not sure if my sloppy strop work may have dulled Lynn's hone.

Hot shower. Soaped up the silver tip brush that came with the kit with the 'sandalwood' soap also from the kit. This soap is a blue glycerin-like cake moulded into the plastic container it came in. Not what I was expecting and wondering if I should try removing it from the container and milling it into my grandpa's old spice cup. Being very close to the rim of the container wasn't able to really whip it up much.

So you got a container of soap that was filled to the brim. Did you load the new silvertip on the soap and then add water and whip up in a separate lathering bowl?

Originally Posted by groovyd

Went on smooth and smelled of wet dog.

Did you wash the silvertip before using? 'Cuz sandalwood SRD soap isn't supposed to smell like that! I got a Chinese-manufactured Tweezerman badger brush (proud to be a Tweezer.. man...) that was so cheap... it wasn't washed in the process. The first puck I used it on... was imbued with the delightful "aroma" of badger for the rest of its life! Nothing like liqeuor of badger for making new friends (of the canine variety).

Originally Posted by groovyd

Left hand left side sideburns only in short strokes just like the dvd I was sent. Found it hard to see over my hand through the mirror to where I was beginning my stroke (perhaps too high as I normally cut my sides to straight across where the hair growth starts to curve down around the ear), perhaps higher then most.

Was difficult for me to keep a 30 degree angle and I found myself angling more toward 15 degrees most of the time possibly worried about the blade being pointed too much toward my face. There was some effort in the actual cutting probably due to my improper angle but it went alright with no nicks on either side, switching hands in between.

got a bit ****y I guess and re-lathered up for a cross grain pass on the burns and nicked myself at the start of the cut on one side pretty good. Put the pen to it and it stopped which put my mind at rest. Was feeling really good about it and tried the neck on the comfortable left hand right neck side (i'm a lefty) and it was easy, no problem but when switching to try the same on my bad hand side it just didn't feel right and so I stopped and finished with my mach 46 blader which also felt abnormally un-lubricated using this soap.

I doubt you used the brush and the soap correctly. I shaved with SRD's West Indies Bay, and an American straight razor and had a perfectly good shave. Felt lubricated throughout the last pass.

Originally Posted by groovyd

Not sure if this is normal for this SRD sandalwood soap but it didn't really feel very lubricative, in fact my skin was very dry after. Also as I said the cuts didn't seem smooth or easy. They felt like there was little lubrication in the soap and it was just the blade and my wet skin. I lathered up really well for quite a bit so not sure what to make of it.

So in the end I guess it was mostly a success. Had I not gotten too ballsy I might have finished without incident but it was fun.

This lather you produced, if it was like making whipped cream what would you say the peaks were like? Soft peaks? Medium peaks? Hard (stiff) peaks? Did you load the brush for a long time? Was it a pasty, difficult to swish about loading? Or did you use plenty of water? Did you face lather? Bowl lather?

It might be just razor burn try some tends in I just got and love it to help with razor burn just follow the instruction on it.

I am very sure you are right about not using it correctly as it was my first time.

I have some handmade shave soap (from an organic vegan soapmaker) in my old spice cup already that I have been practicing with for months before getting my straight razor. I got that soap and brush (which never smelled but looks like badger too) pretty cheap just to get used to so that when I got my good stuff I would be ready. Unfortunately, the good stuff was a surprise to me how it looked and came not as a cake but moulded into the plastic tub and so I was at a loss knowing the right way to deal with it.

With my trainer shave soap I used to fill the cup with hot water and let it sit while I shower and then soak the brush and empty the cup and whip it up directly in the cup for a minute. So what I did was just try whipping up what I could in the plastic can like I did with my other soap which didn't do as well as my other soap in the real cup but it did get a merengue like foam that wasn't stiff but not watery either, something in between I guess. I painted it on my face like the dvd shows, first side to side them for about 30 seconds in circles.

Before using the new brush I lathered it up with some Mysore Sandalwood hand soap I had at the sink and rinsed it out a few times to try and get the smell out of the brush but it wouldn't leave. Clearly it wasn't the soap that caused the smell but the brush I am sure. It was the best SRD silver badger brush upgrade option in the SRD shaving kit (an extra cost) so I am sure it is a good brush. I do wonder how long it takes to get rid of the smell though.

Originally Posted by AxelH

So you got a container of soap that was filled to the brim. Did you load the new silvertip on the soap and then add water and whip up in a separate lathering bowl?



Did you wash the silvertip before using? 'Cuz sandalwood SRD soap isn't supposed to smell like that! I got a Chinese-manufactured Tweezerman badger brush (proud to be a Tweezer.. man...) that was so cheap... it wasn't washed in the process. The first puck I used it on... was imbued with the delightful "aroma" of badger for the rest of its life! Nothing like liqeuor of badger for making new friends (of the canine variety).



I doubt you used the brush and the soap correctly. I shaved with SRD's West Indies Bay, and an American straight razor and had a perfectly good shave. Felt lubricated throughout the last pass.



This lather you produced, if it was like making whipped cream what would you say the peaks were like? Soft peaks? Medium peaks? Hard (stiff) peaks? Did you load the brush for a long time? Was it a pasty, difficult to swish about loading? Or did you use plenty of water? Did you face lather? Bowl lather?

All the imagery of foam spilling over a shaving mug are B.S. You're best of with a bowl that is wider than it is tall. Some people like textured walls and bottom to develop a lather faster. It may stress out those fine silvertips, though. I used to use a cheap little rice bowl (79 cents) and it worked fine. Now I use a free regular-sized blue plastic bowl. It's about morning cereal sized. It works better than any cup. I prefer almost all of my soaps somewhere between medium and medium-hard peaks, with plenty of wetted badger-tip (just held under a lightly running faucet for a second) brush ups on parts I've scraped a bit. It can be pretty casual when you know what you're doing.

If you could just get a pic of yourself lathering up while skydiving...

That would be some pic huh... definately not a good time to have a straight razor in your hand though