Hi all, I'm Kevin from Melbourne

Been thinking about changing to straight razor shaving for a couple of months now and and spent last week studying the 'intro to Straight razor' doc, which is great and some youtube videos, too. So, finally (yesterday) I bought a new Dovo Straight razor and a hanging strop. First shave this morning (cheeks only) using Proraso, Omega brush and quivering hands. The shave felt great (although pulling just a bit, but think my angle is not right). Not sure if I did the stropping right either, just on the bare leather per some youtube vids, but read something about treating first, which I haven't done and don't know if I should be. Looking forward to reading more posts and learning from others, as as I keep practicing on other parts of my face. cheers, Kevin

Kevin, welcome to SRP.
I am not sure where you purchased your DOVO SR from but I do suggest you get it professionally honed if it has not been done yet. A factory honing just does not "cut it"
You will discover many Melbourne friends on this site and may your SR adventure be a great one.
Sunbird (Ex Melbourne)
Sunny Townsville

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunbird

Kevin, welcome to SRP.
I am not sure where you purchased your DOVO SR from but I do suggest you get it professionally honed if it has not been done yet. A factory honing just does not "cut it"
You will discover many Melbourne friends on this site and may your SR adventure be a great one.
Sunbird (Ex Melbourne)
Sunny Townsville

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Thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I did check with the guys I bought it from (not sure if I should mention their name?), and they said, Yes, all ours are 'shave ready', that is, honed and stropped before packing, but it doesn't seem to be as sharp as the 'shavette' I tried last week. They did have a text question on their site from another customer who had a similar issue, and they put him in contact with someone to hone it, so that's a avenue I can try. thanks again and I'll bet you're enjoying the Townsville weather after Melbourne - I used to live in both Rockhampton and Mt Isa, so envy you up there :-)

G'Day and welcome, Kevin.

More Aussies - :beer1:

The only conditioning your strop should need is rubbing it with the palm of your hand regularly to keep it supple.

Incorrect stropping could be the culprit if you have rolled the edge (did you strop it or use it straight out of the box?) or angle (two spine widths from your face is a good place to start) or flimsy lather, too.

You may have the notion that it may take a while to get right by now - if so, you are correct.

Keep at it and it will only get better.

Please share your journey with us

Hi Havachat - thanks for the warm aussie welcome (love it beer emoticon!)

Yes, I did strop it before I used the new razor and tried to follow the vids and doc. I only stropped on the leather side for about 12 passes. Next time, (after re-reading the doc), I'll strop 15 passes with the canvas side and then say 30 with the leather and see how that goes. Also, I'll try a bit steeper angle (think I used closer to 40 rather than 30. I like your tip re the 2 spine widths, that's an easy yardstick to see - thanks!). Think the lathering is ok..

cheers, Kev

Welcome from another Melburnian... They're thick on the ground today.

Welcome to SRP Kev. Glad to have another Aussie on board.

Stu

G'day Kev. Welcome aboard mate.


Mick

Welcome to the "Place". Drop that spine closer to your face or you're scraping rather than shaving. :)

Thanks for that tip, for some reason I thought further away would be safer and easier, but tried your suggestion this morning and MUCH better - yaayy.

MELBOURNIANS UNITE HAHAHAHAHA! ahhhh.....

Welcome Kev, good to have another Aussie on board. I look forward to having your input on the site!

Regards,

FE