First Post, First Thread

[Supermoto]

Hi all!! My name is Joe, I'm originally from New York I'm currently stationed in South Carolina. even though this is my first post and i finally made an account i have been reading lots of posts that have come through on my google searches. I've been shaving with a disposable since i was 13, i joined the Marine Corps at 20 (which requires lots of shaving) so i bought a high end electric razor that i was using mid week and still using a fusion 3 times a week to cut down on razor burn, at 24 i decided to try a straight razor, did alot of research got some good advice and bought a decent disposable straight body and good blades, after a failed attempt with a beauty store razor that deflected really bad. after my 3 shave i was hooked and my shaves got better and better, so i was really wanting a good none disposable and strop and to dive head first into it, But money was tight so i waited. On my move from California to South Carolina, we stopped for lunch and there was a small knife and cutlery dealer kiosk type thing and i saw he had some straight razors, so i inquired and since my wife knew that i had been dying for one she said if i thought it was worth it to get it, so i ended up with a Pride wedge ground razor, and since i had done some research i asked the salesman if it was shave ready or needed a hone he said a hone wouldn't hurt but its razor sharp and shaved some arm hair with the display, i bought it for $60 i think, i also bought a illinois razor strop co. 361 Strop. so i went home stropped it and tryed shaving, i didn't make it an inch before i realized that it needed severe honing. then i bought the norton wet stone honing kit that includes the flattening stone, 220/1000 and 4000/8000 stones, puts my total investment somewhere in the $250 range. So i get the stones and i prep them and flatten them and start honing then i find out that this blade was never meant to be stone honed like this because it has an edge similar to a pocket knife and the blade is a wedge that starts out at almost 1/4 inch thick and it weighs a ton, so extremely frustrated I go online and since i know that what i've always wanted and most people say can't be beat is a Dovo, the wife says do some research get the right one so you can use it i don't care what it costs just get one that is good an works, i look around get good reviews from thesuperiorshave.com, so i go and order the dovo en vouge #105 it comes i'm ecstatic and it's every thing i could ask for, i strop it (probably not well) and shave, i complete a full shave a little different them im used to but i figure some differences, but mainly my face still had a lot of scruff, so i do the hair test and it would not cut a single hair rubbed across the blade, so i do some very fine honing to get it right and still no luck i find that there is a finger nail test for the blade across the finger nail and its smooth and has little resistance untill right before the tip and boom it's almost like it has teeth,so i hone a little more no better no worse. Now at this point im just shy of $500 into this one shave so i decide 1 I'm a first time honer putting a $225 razor to the fairly cheap set of stones and 2 all my advice i've gotten as come from this site, what could it hurt to join. So here i am. 1st thing i think i want to find a "honemiester" to maybe fix what i have done and 2 I'm am very aware that 1 shave should have never put me in such a rush to put a brand new dovo to a honing stone.

Sorry for the long read and run on sentences, But thats my story

[luteplayers]

I'm sure someone with much more experience will be along shortly. First, Welcome. Second, the thumb nail test should never be done except when checking the edge during bevel setting, and will require you to reset the edge your thumbnail just ruined. You might want to get a lighted loupe, mine is a 30x and is great for seeing what is going on during honing. I will shave arm hair but never do any other test except a shave test..

[Phrank]

Hi Joe - welcome to the forum, there's lots of great info (as you know) and lots of experience here in regards to member services. There's a section on the site called member services, and you could probably find a great honing expert near you.

I started with a, "Shave ready" DOVO, and after a few shaves, *started* to get on the learning curve...

Give your post some time, there are lots of senior members and mentors here who can help you out. I'm not quite a year in, so I'm still a newbie, but I will say, love a good SR and a good shave!

Congrats!

[Supermoto]

Thanks for the responds and the welcome, yeah i have come to learn so i will be here fairly often. i'll check out the member services because i don't want to be further behind the curve if i ruined the edge already

[cosperryan]

Well, welcome to the group. What branch you in. I was in the navy, I was a master at arms. One thing you'll hear often is that the HHT is not all that useful. All it tells me is that it will or won't cut a hanging hair. I can have a razor that will pass the hht perfectly yet the shave sucks. I suggest the conclusion you came to and get it honed. After that, hide the nortons till you get some more experience and learn to strop right. I know there will be times when you will be sitting around with nothing to do and you will want to whip out the hone. When that happens grab a pocket knife or a kitchen knife. I am just now getting into my honing journey and my 3 sets of kitchen knives are really sharp now haha. The finger nail test will harm the edge but will let you know where your edge is. You want it to bite into and stick into your wet finger nail but be smooth when dragged across. I prefer the thumb pad test because you can really feel the edge (pun kinda intended). Your face still had a lot of scruff probably because of one the prep and two your not used to a straight razor as opposed to a shavette. Also, your stropping technique could have done some damage. Best bet get it honed and take it slow. I started with a shavette too and when I got my Dovo, I thought I knew a thing or two but after that first shaved realized I needed some more practice.

[Datsots]

Welcome and condolences

Jumping into the deep end without research can give you a real bath. The good news is that either of your razors should be able to be honed to perfection. Take a look thorough the Classifieds - Member Services to find a pro honer near you. While they are out you can read up on honing so when you need to touch up your razors you have a good knowledge base.

Another bit of good news is that your investment is not wasted just ill timed. And you do have a good bit of kit.

Jonathan

[Tack]

Hi Super, welcome to the forum. You gave yourself good advice at the end of that impressive first paragraph: send the Dovo to a reputable honing service - Lynn or Gssixgun, for instance, or a member listed in the classified - so you will have a reference standard for what a properly honed razor feels like. By the way, when the razor returns, you should shave without stropping the first time just in case your stropping technique is hurting the edge. When you do strop before the next shave, remember to use very little pressure and keep the strokes short (many beginners will raise the spine at the end of the away stroke when using a long stroke - it's just the mechanics of the human wrist).

A large selection of videos is available on youtube which canl help with shaving and stropping technique. You might also consider buying an ugly duckling from whippeddog - it won't be pretty but it'll give you a shave ready razor to use immediately and can become a test bed for honing after the Dovo returns. A shave ready razor used with proper stropping and beard prep, good shaving technique, and reasonable care to avoid corrosion can easily last six months or more between honings so you'll have plenty of time to develop some skills. You already have the basic tools for maintenance so don't be tempted to rush out and start buying other finishing stones (although you will later). If you cannot get a comfortable shave off the 8K then a "better" finisher will not help. Later on you can spend thousands of dollars so you can save that few hundred dollars per year that you used to spend on disposables.

rs,
Tack

[ReardenSteel]

Later on you can spend thousands of dollars so you can save that few hundred dollars per year on that you used to spend on disposables.

rs,
Tack

Too true! Welcome to SRP, sounds like some sound advice given so far. Enjoy the learning curve and experimentation to find out what works for you and if you have any questions, just ask.


P.S. If you have not done so already, be sure to sign up for the Monthly Give-away in the Beginners' Forum for a chance for some new to you gear.

[Attila]

Hi there Joe! Welcome to SRP. Some very good advice given above. I myself also purchased the Dovo En Vogue recently and have had some issues with the edge being shave ready. I will tell you that the En Vogue is not the easiest razor for a beginner to honing to try to take on. It would definitely be a good idea to send it to a recognized honemeister as others have suggested above. Keep the spine of the blade no more than 1 or 2 spine widths away from your face as too steep of an angle can also dull the blade. I myself managed to dull my edges the first couple of weeks with bad stropping technique. But the more you practice stropping and shaving the better both will get. Just keep at it and your shaves will get better. Make sure you read as much as you can and watch as many videos as you can both on this site and others.

Trying to learn honing as well as how to shave and strop properly all at the same time is a real uphill battle... Not one that is recommended and based on my own experiences I can see why. However, living in Canada and with postage expenses and shipping times being what they are I elected to learn how to hone my own razors. It has been a tough slog and eventually things improve but it makes it way harder when you are trying to learn all those things at once. If you can avoid it, I would highly recommend it.

[Phrank]

Hi there Joe! Welcome to SRP. Some very good advice given above. I myself also purchased the Dovo En Vogue recently and have had some issues with the edge being shave ready. I will tell you that the En Vogue is not the easiest razor for a beginner to honing to try to take on. It would definitely be a good idea to send it to a recognized honemeister as others have suggested above. Keep the spine of the blade no more than 1 or 2 spine widths away from your face as too steep of an angle can also dull the blade. I myself managed to dull my edges the first couple of weeks with bad stropping technique. But the more you practice stropping and shaving the better both will get. Just keep at it and your shaves will get better. Make sure you read as much as you can and watch as many videos as you can both on this site and others.

Trying to learn honing as well as how to shave and strop properly all at the same time is a real uphill battle... Not one that is recommended and based on my own experiences I can see why. However, living in Canada and with postage expenses and shipping times being what they are I elected to learn how to hone my own razors. It has been a tough slog and eventually things improve but it makes it way harder when you are trying to learn all those things at once. If you can avoid it, I would highly recommend it.

I would agree, I'm nearly a year in, still enjoying buying more razors, learning about the differences etc...figure when I've got about a 100 shaves under my belt, I *might* then start to look into honing. It is a goal to tune up razors on my own, right now, for the price, I send them off to Phil at the Classic Edge and I know I'm getting a properly honed razor. I figure, at some point, I will pick up an inexpensive razor, and use that to learn honing. I will have had 100 plus shaves by then with professionally honed razors, will know what that feels like, a can begin to experiment with honing on the inexpensive one and compare it to my other razors.

Having almost ruined one DOVO razor through chemical warfare, the last thing I want to do is ruin a nice razor through inexperienced honing!

Cheers!