Thread: Yet one more newbie

Hi folks,

My name is Ed, I live in Los Angeles and I just joined this wonderful forum. I've been looking all over the internet at the various straight razor sites and this one is by far the best.

About 10 years ago, I bought a Dovo Junior 4/8 razor and a strop at a knife store in the mall. The guy at the store told me the razor was ready to shave right out of the box and gave me a quick demo on how to hold it, how to strop, etc. Well, not knowing any better, I bought it and took it home. I lathered my face up with Gillette Foamy shaving cream and proceeded to try to shave. Well, it didn't work (and amazingly I didn't slice my face open either). I tried stropping the razor and that seemed to help some but it still didn't shave very well. So, after trying a few more times I just gave up and threw it in the back of one of the drawers in the bathroom and there it sat for years.

Well, I was cleaning out that drawer yesterday and came across the razor. I opened it up and although it had a few rust spots up along the top and on the tang, the edge looks to be in good shape. All it needs is a good sharpening. So, now that I've found this site, read all the helpful posts, viewed the great videos and soaked up the advice here, I'm gonna try it again (once I have all the correct equipment and know how to use it). I'll keep you all posted. Until then, I'll enjoy this site and reading the posts. I'm really looking forward to getting a decent shave again.

Awesome Ed and Welcome. Keep us posted on your progress. Thanks. Lynn

Ed,

Welcome to the best straight razor place for info, support and just about anything else you can think of!

RT

Welcome Ed. You won't find a more friendly and helpful group of people anywhere.

I am far from experienced and by no means an expert but it sounds like your razor needs to be honed or at least stropped on a pasted strop. If you're not comfortable doing it there are more than a few here that will be happy to do it for you for little or no money other than postage. As far as accessories, I think Tony Miller offers the best strops available. He is the only one I have found that will paste it for you. He is EXTREMEMLY helpful and his prices and service really can't be beat. Classicshaving.com can supply you with just about any other accessory you could possible want. Also, run far away from the cans. They are evil! You can pick up a decent cake of soap like Williams and a Burma Shave brush at most grocery or drug stores. Combined they won't cost much more than about 5 bucks. An spare coffee cup makes a good mug. Of course you can spend much more on accessories if resources allow. The indugences available to us str8 shavers is astounding and should not be avoided.

Congratulations on your find and the decision to put it to use. I doubt you will be disappointed. Keep us posted and Good Luck.

Louis

This is a great place for killing discouragement. All most guys need I think is a place to gain the knowledge they lack to get up to speed. I look forward to hearing about your progress. Let us know if you have ANY questions.

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