Thread: Second shave, no prize winner, but, ...

OK, this morning I did my second shave with my Dovo 5/8 which I got from Tony Miller last week. Stropped it on my paddle strop and to all intents and purposes, the stropping went well. (Like I should know how this works, given that it's the very first time I've ever stropped a blade?????) Anyway, Hanging hair test--flawless! so we're dealing with a sharp blade, all ready to go.
Prep bowl and brush with very hot water. meanwhile, ...
Hot shower, then out, wrap in towel, and lather up. Proraso base, Classic Shaving lavender soap, worked up good lather and ready to go.
Holding blade at shallow angle: First pass, down strokes only, reduced beard slightly, but had to apply more pressure than with my Merkur Classic DE with Feather blade, but that's understandable, given that nothing is as sharp as the Feather.
rinse, re-lather, second pass, again, down strokes only, reduced beard some more. In both passes, my razor went down to the skin (at least all the lather was removed,) but it was apparent that I had a lot of beard left. Repeated strokes (lather/short stroke) just repeated what had gone before with no apparent reduction in beard.
At this point, I came face to face (pun?) with an interesting conundrum. I still had quite a bit of beard on my face--at no point had I reduced any of my beard down to skin level. Despite that, I saw tht I was beginning to develop some skin irritation, meaning it's time to quit for the day. So here's the puzzle: if I'm not getting close enough to cut the beard to skin level, how come my skin is getting scraped raw?
With enough beard remaining that I would have elicited stares as one who hadn't really shaved this morning, I did my third pass with my DE--a breeze,--everything nice & smooth.
Here's the thing: I know it's me, and I know I've got to give it time, and that given sufficient time, it will work. My question is: what will I learn during that time? Open to your suggestions.
Thanks, Eric.

Just throwing out a guess based on your comments and the order of the events as you presented them. I'd suggest that you started with a sharp razor and rolled the edge stropping, then shaved creating irritation and not cutting any hair.

What kind of strop did you use and what did it feel like when you stropped?

I would do some more stropping, keeping the strop taught and seeing if you can achieve some draw while stropping or if the razor feels dramatically different going in one direction over the other.

thanks, Alan, you may be right, but the shave isn't any different from the first shave, when I got the razor from Tony shave ready. I took particular care when stropping, and the hanging hair test worked perfectly. I confess to my own lack of expertise here, but would that be the case with a rolled edge?
In fact, when stropping, I was gentle, no pressure, using only the weight of the razor. the stropping itself was very smooth and easy. As I pointed out in my post, I used a paddle strop, and followed Tony's instructions to the letter. (at least in my opinion.) I'm using the hanging hair test as a benchmark, and it worked astoundingly well.

perhaps your angle is bad. are you at a very shallow angle sometimes this can lead to some left over beard. try increasing your angle to your face slightly... lay the spine to your face and come out 1 spine distance away from your cheek..try that or even slightly more out.


most of the time what you are describing is your razor needing a touch up... however since you just got and its only 2nd shave and you said you are extra carefull when stropping.... it just might be you and your technique and the angle/movements you are using with the razor. this is a learning experience and you become better with it as time progresses.

~J

ps.. use your left hand on your left side of your face

Well to be honest, out of 1,000 shaves I've needed to use more than a feather light touch to strop the razor on about 999. As long as you hold the strop taught you might want to add a touch of pressure to strop the edge a little better. Start on linen and move back and forth to leather, linen, leather, etc. The edge may need to be aligned and you may not be accomplishing anything with stropping that is too timid.

Other than that I'd need a microscope to figure out the problem.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have a question that is somewhat related.

I received my Dovo razor from Tony today, and it failed the hanging hair test miserably. I haven't shaved with it yet - will do so tomorrow - but is this something I should be concerned about?

BTW I did try it out on my forearm and it seemed to cut the hair fine>

Originally Posted by 19george

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have a question that is somewhat related.

I received my Dovo razor from Tony today, and it failed the hanging hair test miserably. I haven't shaved with it yet - will do so tomorrow - but is this something I should be concerned about?

BTW I did try it out on my forearm and it seemed to cut the hair fine>

The only test that counts is the shave. I have rarely been able to get the hanging hair test to work (even with my very best honed razors). The hair on my head is too fine (not to mention, too sparse).

YMMV,
Ed

Originally Posted by jscott

perhaps your angle is bad. are you at a very shallow angle sometimes this can lead to some left over beard. try increasing your angle to your face slightly... lay the spine to your face and come out 1 spine distance away from your cheek..try that or even slightly more out.


most of the time what you are describing is your razor needing a touch up... however since you just got and its only 2nd shave and you said you are extra carefull when stropping.... it just might be you and your technique and the angle/movements you are using with the razor. this is a learning experience and you become better with it as time progresses.

~J

ps.. use your left hand on your left side of your face

Let me start at the end: Left hand is absolutely out of the question. I have no control over it whatsoever, and attempting to shave with it would entail a life-threatening situation. This means some acrobatics with the right, but that's ok.

Following Alan's suggestion, I checked the blade under a microscope and it doesn't appear to be rolled. looked at it from both sides, head on and top down, but I confess my own lack of expertise in this. However, I'm guessing that the hanging hair test wouldn't go as well as it does if I were dealing with a rolled blade.

shaving angle may indeed be too shallow, in fact I'm fairly certain it is, because I'm keeping it at about 20 degrees, but if I increase the angle, the blade threatens to cut the skin. the thought flits through my head that I might have been better off with a Feather STR8, where the sharpness of the blade does most of the work. My sense here is that to cut through my beard, I'd really need to bear down, and I've never thought of myself has having a tough beard.

Eric,

A couple of comments. First, I think "applying pressure" during the shave means something different with a straight than it does with a DE. If you use a DE right, you could literally lean it against your face and let it fall slowly along your cheek, and it would shave.

With a straight, unless you have a razor like that whopper that Bill Ellis is making for Josh (unless someone else outbids his family first; great idea putting that beauty up for a charity auction, Bill), the weight of the razor won't be enough to make it shave. You have to provide the downward motion and a slight, very slight, amount of pressure toward your face. It's just a different feel you have to develop.

Second, you can easily give yourself razor burn without cutting hair. By pressing too hard into your face, you'll cut some hairs and press others flat into your face. When you go over it again in the same direction, it's likely that the same hairs will escape the blade again, while your skin takes a beating. The hairs don't protect your skin at all. With a DE if you keep doing passes in the same direction it doesn't accomplish much other than give you irritation.

I think your razor is plenty sharp, and if you're using a paddle strop it seems unlikely to me that you rolled the edge. Your prep also seems good; that's one thing that helps about starting with a DE.

It seems like the missing ingredient is shave technique.

For tomorrow, try this: Instead of rinsing your blade, wipe it on a dry hand towel. That'll let you see whether hair is coming off with each swipe.

Remember to think in terms of multiple passes that gradually reduce your beard. Just doing one pass and finishing with your DE might be a good thing at first; it'll give you time to develop the different touch required.

Also, consider doing your initial with the grain pass with your DE, then trying an across the grain or against the grain pass with your straight. Each pass requires different grips and hand positions, and those take some practice to develop.

Keep at it, and let us know how things go.

Good luck,
Josh

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

The only test that counts is the shave. I have rarely been able to get the hanging hair test to work (even with my very best honed razors). The hair on my head is too fine (not to mention, too sparse).

YMMV,
Ed

Oh no!

Does that mean I'm going to lose my hair? I'd rather have been sold an unhoned razor.