Orlando area, Anyone who would help a grasshopper

[WhiskerBiscuit]

Hello SRP New grasshopper here
Ok so I just got my new Dovo and the shave was hmmmm........... fairly disappointing. It really pulled to much for my taste. . It felt like shaving dry, so I ended up switching to my Merkur.
So anyway I was wondering if there was someone nearby willing to show me the ropes. I've read the wikis but nothing beats real 1 on 1 instruction IMO.
I'm around NE Orlando if anybody is willing. Thanks

[Glenn24]

Hmm..

I'm pretty far to help, there is still snow on the ground where I am...

Anyways, we need to know a few things before anyone can show you the ropes.

Where did you buy your dovo ?
Was is professionally honed ?
Did you strop it ?
What did you do before you shaved to prepare your beard ?

Once we get rid of a few variables, a few posts on this forum will be very helpful to you. After that, If no one can show you the ropes, my suggestion is to shave, shave & shave some more. Using an open blade to shave is a skill that must be mastered and it doesn't happen over night. Just remember that it's not a competition and that using your merkur when things don't sit quite right is a VERY good idea.

[WhiskerBiscuit]

I got my blade from SRD so it came shave ready. On the site it said stropping for the first time could be skipped because of the shave ready thing.

Shave prep I did a couple hot towels followed by holding one last soaking wet towel for 2 min. Next I applied some preshave oil which I let soak in while I built my lather. My lather is a mix of the pink Van Der Hagen soap and Kiss My Face cream. I did use a boar instead of my badger on this occasion. The shave also feels like my rolls razor. It cuts but it has a pulling sensation.
So I took it to the strop and noticed that the SRD Bridle strop that I purchased is cupped. Only the heel & toe touch. Which caused me to nick at the flip points when moved down to eye level to check it out. No biggie. So I spent an hour palm stropping and it's helped the cupping issue a bit, but it still seems to require more pressure than what's generally suggested for stropping. Its a fairly stiff strop so I probably got to work it in a bit more.
On the fabric strop it's really has a zipping sound but I found that turning the blade a bit made it slide right up smooth(like hitting a speed bump at an angle instead of straight on). Is that ok to do?

[WhiskerBiscuit]

Oh I've also noticed that the spine wear is a little uneven on the art side and that there seems to be more of a bevel on one side of the blade vs the other. Dunno if that makes any difference. Thanks for replying, enjoy the snow

[sbrouwers]

OK check here for users in your area http://straightrazorpalace.com/vbgooglemapme.php
There may be other users in that area that are not listed.

If you got your razor from SRD and it was honed then it will be shave ready. Not all bevels will be perfectly even so that shouldn't be a problem.

Just remember light touch and proper angle when shaving.

[Glenn24]

When you say turn the blade when stropping, do you mean this ?



If it's the case, I beleive that I read something that actually suggests to do it that way, so it's fine. As long as the blade stays flat on the strop, you can pretty much do what you want if it makes you feel comfortable.

You sound like you're well on your way, you have a sharp razor and you're preping fine. The quality of the brush doesn't make a huge difference for the shave itself IMO, you can make some high quality lather with pretty much any brush. I think it's just easier and more pleasant with a better brush.

So just shave, shave & shave some more. Try different angles, longer strokes, shorter strokes, etc... You'll devellop the required skills and it'll become real easy. Just be patient, because we all have different learning curves, and you only find out if your learning curve is fast or slow AFTER you're done learning...

Good luck !

[WhiskerBiscuit]

OK check here for users in your area http://straightrazorpalace.com/vbgooglemapme.php
There may be other users in that area that are not listed.

That's a feature I didn't know about, thanks.

If you got your razor from SRD and it was honed then it will be shave ready. Not all bevels will be perfectly even so that shouldn't be a problem.

I figured so, the edge is probably double the width of the opposite side. I think it has more to do with dovo's quality control more than anything.

[WhiskerBiscuit]

Angle

Yeah that's it. Except I have the toe leading and I have only used this technique on the SRD webbed. Also, I've almost got the bridle worked in enough to stay flat across the razor