Thread: yet another newbie!!

Greetings everyone. I've been shaving with a straight razor (bought with kit from the famous Tony Miller) for about two weeks now. I've been getting very good shaves with two passes and I think I'm getting the feel for this method of shaving. Here's two questions for the forum members:

(1) With a shave ready razor, proper prep, and good technique, what should a good shave "feel" and sound like? Should it be smooth with little sound or is some drag with raspiness of sound to be expected?

(2) How important is the consistency of lather for straight razor shaving? I've noticed that thick lather and good technique produce almost a magical experience with closeness of shave and little razor burn as the outcome.

Thank you all and I appreciate any responses.

Welcome aboard. Depending on your stubble coarseness and the grind. It's perfectly natural for a hollow ground razor like the DOVO to make a bit of a sound as it does its work. Lather is extremely important.. Too thin and it doesn't cushion, too thich and it dries out too quickly. Get it just right and as you said, it does wonders for the shave. The beauty of straight shaving is that it requires a whole array of skills but the experience is very rewarding.

Thank you FiReSTarT ---- looks like I'm on the right path --- my shaves are getting better every shave and it is fun to learn a new set of skills. The most amazing aspect of this method of shaving is that you actually look forward to shaving ---look forward to shaving?--- unheard of for me until now. Again, thank you.

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

(1) With a shave ready razor, proper prep, and good technique, what should a good shave "feel" and sound like? Should it be smooth with little sound or is some drag with raspiness of sound to be expected?

That's gonna vary a *lot*, depending on your prep, lather, razor grind, beard type, etc. With a wedge and a thick lather you won't hear a thing. With a stiff beard and a really flexible razor like the Genco Di Roma it'll sound like rain on a tin roof (not quite as loud, but it's still surprising).

Yup, you're definitely on the right track. Enjoy the ride.

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Welcome

Ilija and Michael already answered the qs

Cheers
Ivo

Originally Posted by mparker762

That's gonna vary a *lot*, depending on your prep, lather, razor grind, beard type, etc. With a wedge and a thick lather you won't hear a thing. With a stiff beard and a really flexible razor like the Genco Di Roma it'll sound like rain on a tin roof (not quite as loud, but it's still surprising).

What about if it just makes a scraping sound? Is that normal?

Could be. It's not out of the ballpark anyway. I've never gotten quite a scraping sound, but a lot of my razors sound like slicing the bristles off a toothbrush, kind of a raspy zipping noise. "Scraping " may well be a normal noise for your beard with a hollow-ground razor.

As mentioned elsewhere, less hollow grinds and wedges will make less or no sound at all.

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