Thread: Hello from Toronto

Hi all. I'm really a total noob when it comes to straight razor shaving. I just got my first straight yesterday - a pre-sharpened 5/8" Dovo 'Best Quality' I ordered from Fendrihan. Cartridge razors often result in painful sort of tugging on my hair as I shave, don't give me the closeness of shave I'd like after just one or two shaves, and of course I'm tired of having to pay for a new blade every few shaves to keep the shave comfortable, so I decided to make the switch.

My first shave yesterday was actually pretty decent though, I think, for a first. I just went with the grain, and only ended up with a couple of very minor nicks (though nothing worse than I've gotten from a cartridge at one point or another), and a little bit of razor burn. Overall, in terms of smoothness, the shave was about the same as I get from a with the grain pass with a cartridge, so I'm certain I'll be getting much better shaves as I improve my skills.

One question I have is whether or not there should be any tugging at all when shaving, or should it be a totally, completely smooth feel as the razor cuts? I had about 4 days of growth when I shaved yesterday, and the pulling wasn't the painful sort of tugging that I've experienced from a cartridge, but there was definitely a noticeable pull on my face as the razor cut my whiskers.

I read on the forums today that Dan Gauthier does Fendrihan's sharpening, and that he's a reputabler honemeister, so I'm sure my razor really is shave ready. I guess basically my question is what I might be doing wrong to cause this, or if there's some small amount of pull that's just an unavoidable part of the shave. If I'm doing something wrong, I want to fix it, and at the same time, I don't want to spend time trying to fix something that's not broken.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice - I'm glad I found this forum, as it seems to be full of knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly fellow shavers.

Hey James welcome to SRP from a fellow Torontonian. The pulling that you are experiencing is most likely from incorrect angles or even a little too much pressure. There is a lot of knowledge on this forum and a lot of guys in Toronto and area willing to give you a hand if you ask. I suggest that you add your name to the member map here http://straightrazorpalace.com/vbgooglemapme.php and you can see what other guys are in your area. Good luck with you journey.

Welcome to SRP!
You've bought some fine gear, now it is time to practice the skills.

As to your question.
Ideally there should be no tugging. With that I mean that there should be no tugging when you have developed a confident stroke using the correct angles on a well prepared and lathered face when shaving.

When starting out, a more cautious stroke, an angle slightly off, too much pressure and lacking beard prep can all give you the sensation of tugging.

Keep working on your routine of the stuff mentioned above, and I'm sure you will get close and comfortable shaves soon enough.

If I may also suggest, the links in my sig-line is pretty useful for further information on this and other subjects.

Good luck

Welcome to SRP for a guy just east of T.O. Check out the Wiki at the top of the page it's full of info.
Str8 shaving is a skill, just keep with it.

I'm not sure if this is appropriate, but I'll say it.

I remember Dan was honing for Fendrihan last year. It was advertised on their website, and on Dan's honing page, and he is a reputable honer. I do know that he advertised to his clients some time ago that he was taking a break from honing for a bit. I just visited their website, and clicked on a dozen or so different razors. Each of them was described at the bottom as "this razor is not pre honed", or "this razor has been factory sharpened by (insert company name here)". This does not mean that the razor has been taken to a shave ready state.

Just remember to read all the fine print first.

This may be why your razor was tugging....just my two cents.

Thanks for the welcomes and advice everyone - I'll keep it all in mind as I continue to learn.

Maxi, thanks for the note - but whether he is honing for them, or someone else, the razor definitely is supposed to be shave ready (and not just 'factory shave ready'), as I made sure to get their "Pre-Sharpened DOVO Straight Razor with Black Handle 5/8", which states in the description "Pre-sharpened, ready to use (shave ready)" instead of the usual disclaimer that is in the rest of the descriptions as you described.

Howdy and welcome to our forum.

Maxi is actually one of the best honers I know in the Toronto area.

He is just a modest fellow who doesn't like to toot his own horn.

But seriously send maxi a pm and he'd be more than willing to help out he's a great guy!

Hi and welcome I'm new myself if you razor is shave ready.
I think you need to work on your technique.
I use short strokes with the skin stretched, on wet and well lathered face.
I have the razor angled so the blade is about 2x the thickness of the spine away from the skin.
I don't really apply pressure, just guide the razor around the hair just washes away as the blade passes over.

I hope the info helps
Good luck