Dovo Bismark, First shave ever!

WOW!! I just received my very first straight razor, a Dovo Bismark. I was could hardly wait to open it and have a look. What a phenomenal feeling razor! I was extremely impressed already!

Of course, I couldn't just look at it, so off I went to try my hand at stropping. I'm not sure if what I did helped, or hindered my shave. I guess it'll come with time.

I've been waiting for 3 weeks for this razor to arrive, obsessively combing through the 1000s of articles and "how to's" on this site. (Excellent resource by the way, I can not thank everyone enough for the tremendous amount of work and dedication displayed here. )

So, of course I couldn't wait to try it out! I had a hot shower and began my new favorite ritual. Nice wet face, I used Poraso shaving cream and got a great lather. Everything went on smooth and felt great so far. Now the moment of truth!

Just like all the instructions said here, I just shaved my right sideburn and cheek....it felt great! No pulling, no blood, and the sound of the blade cutting the hair was intoxicating!

Well, that went too well to stop there, so I figured I would switch hands :D and try my left sideburn. I was pretty nervous here, I'm not very coordinated and I was anticipating some blood for sure, but nothing!

Now the dilemma, should I just leave 'well enough' alone? Of course not!, so I dove right into shaving my chin, neck and upper lip (All wtg). Not even a scratch!

Well, that was a great shave I thought to myself.........I wonder if I can shave XTG....so I did. Hesitant at first, but quickly gained some confidence and had no problem. I pondered for a few mins, should I really try an ATG shave??? Nah, not today. But soon.

Now, after finally having my first full straight shave under my belt, I can really start to learn the art of shaving. This was already the most enjoyable shave I've ever had, and I cant wait until tomorrow when I get to do it all over again.

Thanks again to everybody on this site that has passed on their knowledge, experience and encouragement to us noobs. It made the experience a whole lot more pleasant and dispelled a great deal of the anxiety that I certainly would have been feeling today.

I already know that I'll be doing this for the rest of my life, or until I cut my arms off in a freak shaving accident.

Cheers

Matt.

Very well done!

R

Congratulations on your first shave. You are on the right path to success. Keep doing what you are doing and do not try to rush things. The art of straight razor shaving is a lifelong learning experience that will continue provide you much shaving pleasure. Do not be concerned about the BBS, focus on your technique and enjoy your shave.
I am a proud owner of a Dovo Bismark myself and it is truly an awesome razor.
Wishing you much success and great shaves,
Patrick

Wonderful. Glad your first step has been a pleasureable one.
Keep on with what you're doing. Slow & steady WTG & XTG should be more than satisfactory for your shave - I'd avoid ATG for a while (there are many here that never use it, or only for a special occasion) You don't want too close a shave or you'll have to wait longer before the next one ;)

Welcome and congrats on a succesfull shave :D
I'm waiting for my first shave (I hope really) ready straight to arrive, can´t wait.
Where did you get yours from? SRD maybe :)

Sounds like you had a great first experience, congrats on that:)

Keep at it, but don't rush the ATG.
Enjoy what you have achieved and keep practicing:)

Do let us know how you get along!

Congrats on your first go!

The dovo Bismarck is a really nice razor too!

I wouldn't try ATG for a while, until you have had a quite a few shaves

Hey man,

I am currently posted to Sicily with no fixed address (military), so my options were sort of slim. I bought my razor from these guys:
Italianshavingshop.com - Pennelli, rasoi e prodotti da barba

They said it required no honing when it arrived, so I just stropped it and shaved. I don't have any experience to compare this razor to, but it shaved comfortably for me so I guess it was alright.

Hope you get yours soon, it's a great feeling!

Congratulations on a first great shave and welcome to SRP.

I love reading success stories like yours. Too many prospective shavers are scared off by tales of blood and gore, when in fact, most people do quite well, especially when they have educated themselves like you did.

Happy Shaving!
:)

EDIT: By the way, the Dovo Bismark is an excellent choice!

Now that's one great first shave! Congrats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DLB

Congratulations on a first great shave and welcome to SRP.

I love reading success stories like yours. Too many prospective shavers are scared off by tales of blood and gore, when in fact, most people do quite well, especially when they have educated themselves like you did.

Happy Shaving!
:)

EDIT: By the way, the Dovo Bismark is an excellent choice!

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I agree, what you wrote was a factor that almost changed my mind about straight razor shaving, "tales of blood and gore."

Dovo Bismarck was also my first straight. Very nice razor, I still love it. However, I wouldn’t call it a “smooth razor”.