Thread: Want advice in shopping for first razor

I've been looking at different grinds. What is the difference in the shave between them?

Thanks

I went through this too. Tried a whole bunch of things. In the end, I discovered I always had the easiest time plowing through the "tricky" and dense wiskers, got the closest shave, and got the least irritation - from the SHARPEST razor.

That said: I think the 5/8 size is SLIGHTLY easier for a beginner to use under their nose, and in the grooves along the throat. The 6/8 isn't hard though, and I like it's extra weight if I don't shave for a few days. I also find the round point is a LITTLE less scratchy when doing the grooves alongside my trachea. Everyplace else the tip made no difference to me at all.

I liked horn handles the best, and wood or plastic were tied for next best, but found bone handles to be heavy enough to cause the razor to rotate when I was rounding the jaw from the face to the neck or doing my chin (got a few nicks from too upright of an angle).

I also wouldn't recommend a smiling blade for a beginner. I honed in a SLIGHT smile after I'd been shaving for about 2 months, but had trouble using it and went back to straight. With a smile I'd often get a not-so-close shave on the sideburn-side edge of my face since the toe was up a tiny bit due to the smile. Also, I got several nicks since the middle was about 1 mm "deeper" than the heel and toe and without the heel & toe on my face there wasn't enough surface area for me to feel the edge when I set it down for the next stroke. None of this was hard to deal with after I had 5-6 months of practice, and then I found the slight smiles cuts wiskers better. But I still think it's best for a beginner to get their technique down before adding small complications.

ps: The Dovo Best Quality razors are not as ugly as you think. Many of the sites use pictures of an older model and look rough ground / not even polished. See the SRD sites picture of the 4/8 Dovo Best Quality. That's what they actually look like (in all sizes). The Special or Silver Steel are two other popular 1st razors. They look a little nicer, but shave the same as the Best Quality.

According to the barber textbook I found:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ng_Textbooks_1 961_Barbering_Text_-_Honing.pdf
on page 24 I says the edge should have a slight curve. Can someone comment on this, and
how does a person maintain this when honing?

A smiling edge (wider at the middle, than at the toe and heel) can be honed with "rolling strokes". This is covered in one (or more) of the sharpening/honing Wiki's, and there are probably some videos online.

A frowning edge (narrower at the middle, than at the toe and heel) is an abomination to hone. It's caused (I think!) by improper sharpening technique with a small hone - e.g., a "barber hone". The razor may shave fine, but honing it on a bench hone requires using the edge of the hone. I've been advised (by those with more experience) that it's a real PITA.

The easiest edge to maintain is dead straight:

. . . Constant width spine + flat hone ==> straight edge.

They shave fine, for most people.

Charles

PS -- I don't think the Dovo "Best Quality" is ugly _at all_. Razors are _tools_; "what makes a good razor" hasn't changed in 150 years. A new Dovo looks as good as any run-of-the-mill vintage razor, and probably has better quality control than most of them.

The straight edge seems the easiest for the beginning.

What are the different characteristics of shaving with the various grinds wedge to full hollow?

Thanks for the advice.