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Hi All,

Not unlike AmsterDan I'm new here and originally looked into the straight razor as a money saving exercise. I started 5 years ago with a very cheap (read blunt) straight razor which obviously got me nowhere. I switched quick to a shavette and now use that always. I got all environmental suddenly and wanted to stop using disposable blades, so am trying a straight razor again- and like AmsterDan, got a faux tortoise shell dovo for Christmas.

I can't get it to work 😂 I figured it'd be at its sharpest straight out of the box, but it just won't cut my stubble. Twice now I've given up and gone back to my shavette. I'll scour the archives to see what's going on. Was told it wouldn't need stripping for a week or so. Bad advice?

Lovely to meet you all.

Jer

Realised I never said where I am-- I live in Coventry, United Kingdom.

Welcome to the forum. I am not too surprised a brand new razor would not cut your whiskers. New production straight razors have gained a hit and miss reputation for being shave ready out of the box. It is likely yours was one that wasn't shave ready. I'd suggest sending it out to a reputable honer to have it made shave ready. I'm not too familiar with who fits that description on your side of the pond. There is a member of this forum Jamie, forum name celticcrusader, who does honing and is in Wales. Perhaps give him a PM in regard to that.

Once you have the razor honed to shave ready, do not strop it before your first shave. That will let you know what a shave ready razor feels like and prevents you from damaging the edge by stropping it. Strop it before you second shave and if the edge feels worse you will know that your stropping needs improving. Stropping should maintain and/or improve the edge. Yes, you should strop before every shave.

Hope that helps a bit.

Bob

Welcome to the forum. Like others, you are a victim of false advertising==Shave Ready

We have members in the UK. Celticcrusader does honing. PM him and he will be glad to help.

Ah!! Perfect. I'll send a PM to Celtic crusader and see if he can help me. Really appreciate your swift response and warm welcome, gents. Will be in touch soon with how I got on. All the best, and happy new year!

I would add Coventry to your avatar. I did not find any other members there but I thought there was one

Welcome to SRP. Looks like Bob got ya pointed in the right direction. I wish places that sold those factory razors wouldnt lie about the edge on them. I recommend reading the newbie section of our library as it will help you to get started. And buy a second razor. Nothing special, but a vintage razor. This way when you send one out for honing you break out the spare that is ready to go.

Welcome! Good advice you've gotten. If you keep an eye out on Buy/Sell/Trade section of the forum, you might come across a razor from a member near you, which is sure to be shave-ready and a bargain.

Hello Jer and welcome to SRP.
Enjoy your time here on the forum.

Pete <:-}

Welcome to the forum. As you have already been using the shavette, the adjustment to a straight should not be as hard, but as you have already figured out, the need to be sharp. Markbignosekelly is also in the UK. Stropping is an important skill to keep your edge going. Like many things with straight razors, it’s not rocket science but it does take a little practise.

I second (3rd? :)) the suggestions to have the razor honed by a pro and also purchase a vintage razor that is shave ready from the B/S/T forum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rolodave

I would add Coventry to your avatar. I did not find any other members there but I thought there was one

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well, I'm from Coventry, but the NY version! useless arse, I know!

Cheers! Welcome to the forum. Jamie can put a nice edge there.
Good way to get going, IMO.

Welcome to the forum.

Hi, Welcome.

Check out my website you might find some of my videos on honing / stropping or shaving useful on your journey .
Nice to have you here.

Joseph

I'm definitely going to need to learn properly about stropping, and hopefully eventually honing, so will definitely go through this fantastic archive of posts and articles and people's own videos and websites. What a lovely bunch of people I've stumble across here. Thanks all for your welcomes!!

Welcome to the forum! Hope you have a good experience with the DOVO once you get the blade back from Jamie in proper working order.

Some operation -- DOVO voids the warranty on their razors the moment you have them honed up for shaving. What a convenient loophole they've established for themselves; I discovered their warranty exclusion when I bought my first razor, also a DOVO. :)

Welcome. I too wanted to save money as well as satisfy my interest in all things sharp. The whole money saving thing hasn’t worked out all that well but shaving has never been better. You can definitely save money if you don’t acquire any acquisition disorders.

Hi and welcome to SRP, Jer. There's some great fellas here that will guide you along the way.

Some great points brought up, have a good read of the library https://shavelibrary.com/ it will set you along the right path.

As mentioned a second vintage razor is a great idea and definitely send out your Dovo to get honed.

Do you have a strop yet?

Welcome, Jer.

Ideally, try to arrange a face-to-face with an experienced straight shaver, like
celticcrusader. He could help you getting a "proper kit" together.

Looking at a map of the UK, it appears that Coventry is quite a distance from
Wales, but it might be worth the trip.

Anyway, enjoy!

Paul

Hi and welcome aboard.