Thread: Hello there!

Hello everyone! I'm new here and from NJ. I started straight shaving about two months ago and I'm still learning and experiencing all the wonders and irratations of trying to master this skill all the while having the limited budget of a college kid xD. I look forward to meeting people on this great site .

Welcome to SRP!
so what are your thoughts 2 months in? also what is your setup and beard prep routine ? we like pictures of shaving gear.
there are a bunch of guys in northern NJ/NYC area that meetup from time to time the last few posts in this thread, http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...nj-area-2.html should help you there.

enjoy,
jim

Honestly, it's been bittersweet. The straight razor I got was a dovo full hollow 5/8 (pic below along with the rest of my set) it was supposedly shave ready, but I highly doubt that it was now that I have a little more experience. Being a college student, I really don't have much money so I bought a $7 stone that was supposedly good at honing razors. I'm either doing something wrong because it's very tedious to shave and I need multiple passes 4-6 to even get close to a good shave. My beard prep is a hot shower, followed by hot towel, and I just got a sample of Trumpers and I used their skin food as pre shave and after (as recommended by someone I know) it was a nice, but with my razor feeling dull and not cutting it's rather irritating. I have a straight with disposable blades that I use to basically get a close shave, last night I just fully shaved with it because my straight wouldn't cut no matter how much I stropped, and it left me with a that nice baby smooth face. So yeah, rather bittersweet because I don't want to rely on my disposeable, but I don't have much of a choice right now.

My brush and bowl is a rather crappy set I bought from Wal-mart, but I plan on getting a good badger brush this week or so. I use Trumpers shave cream at the moment.

Lazarusbroken,
You tend to learn about this activity as you go and research. But a couple of things strike me. New blade. Shave ready. I found that if you get two shaves out of a shave ready blade, you are lucky. Your blade needs to be honed. I've come to see that honing is an art, that are mastered by few. Contact Lynn here at the site; in my opinion, he is the best at getting a razor into shaving condition.
As for your pre shave. The towels are good, as is the shower. Now, take some time to use a pre shave and massage the stuff on your face. Do not rush this step; it is very important in your entire pre shave regimen. Now with your brush, massage the soap/cream into the beard. Towels, showers and all this massaging does wonders to soften the beard for shaving. But understand nothing is going to help a dull razor. For now, I would put the stone away and have it professionally done. It is that important. Finally, I did not read that you have a strop - a leather belt of sorts used to prepare a blade for use. This is another important tool, but again the blade needs to be honed first. Stropping is important and there are a number of good articles on this site that will walk you through it.
Once you get the blade honed, you can experience the real fun of straight razor shaving. With every shave you tend to learn more and more. Take your time, as the process cannot be rushed, and be careful. A honed razor is very sharp and can do some serious damage if you are not careful.
Finally, read some of the new user info on this site - it provides great information. Hope this was helpful.

i would say a honing is in order for you as well.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I do have a strop. Leather and linen and it's quite nice, but now that you all mentioned it. I read through some more stuff and yeah, I need a hone pretty bad lol. I really want to experience a great shave with a real straight so I'll get on that as soon as I can. Thanks for the tips and pointers everyone!

that looks like a vintage dovo... looks like the coffin says w. germany does it say frtz brach on the tang?

Welcome to SRP, nice razor do you have there

Originally Posted by syslight

that looks like a vintage dovo... looks like the coffin says w. germany does it say frtz brach on the tang?

Not that I can tell, says Solingen Germany and made in germany on the other next to the dovo logo.

LazarusUnbroken.

I don't think its a Fritz Bracht. Dovo changed its packaging recently. They now sell their razors in cardboard razor coffins. That looks like one to me.

As for the sharpness or lack thereof of your straight... I agree with the previous post. I strongly recommend that you get your razor honed by somebody more experienced than you might be with honing. Don't try to do it yourself. Select one of the SRP members in the "Classifieds" who can get your Dovo in tip-top shape.