Thread: Blade Type?

I also have thick, stiff wiskers - and highly recommend the Dovo Best Quality 5/8 or 6/8 for beginners.

Why the best Quality ? It's as shiny as Dovo's fancier razors, but doesn't have any gold wash, so if you get some lather stains or little grey dots you can shine the razor back up with some polish (Maas, Flitz, Simchrome). Also, the plastic handle is balanced really well, so there is no heavy handle for a beginner to control when rounding the chin, etc.

5/8 or 6/8 ? The 5/8 smaller size shave under the nose, and the hollow between the lower lip and chin a little easier. It also gives me a slightly closer shave than the 6/8 since it follows the contours of my face and neck a little better (smaller turning radius like a smaller car ?).

The 6/8 is better if you have bigger hands since the tang is taller & longer. The 6/8 also has a little more weight, which makes it plow through tough stubble with a little less effort. If a razor is "extra" sharp, it doesn't need weight to plow through tough wiskers though.

The things I found made all the difference in the comfort and closeness of my shave were:
1. Use more water in the shaving cream, and a thicker layer on your face so it stays wet on your face for at least 4-5 minutes.
2. Use NO pressure while shaving. Angle the razor toe up or down a little like a guillotine when shaving dense areas. Sweep the toe a little like a sythe to get sideways hairs that grow flat on the neck rather than pushing into the skin.
3. Use a razor that is sharp enough to shaves against the grain on the sides of the chin without getting stuck or taking a lot of force to move forward.

ps: Don't be scared to try honing your own razor. Touching-up the edge isn't much harder than stropping. Get a finishing stone and touch up the edge every couple of weeks when it starts to take a little more effort than usual to mow down the wiskers. (6-10 strokes for a Naniwa stone, 20-35 for a Chinese 12K).

You said you are new to straight shaving. How new? Is that one shave with each razor, three shaves each? If you are that new or close to it my first thought would be to recommend taking one of the razors you have and sticking with it till you get your technique down. I don't know if a wedge would be better with a tough beard, but any razor properly used should give a good shave. Once you get good with one razor then you will have a basis for comparison.

Originally Posted by bharner

I've been shaving with a Shavette for a little over a week now. I hadn't had any problems till this morning. I varied the routine. I think that was my downfall. I've been shaving at night when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet. Today I shaved in the morning because I hadn't been able to shave the last two nights (I've got a thick beard and if I go more than two days my neck is itchy beyond belief). Anyway, I got in a hurry and figured I'd start with against the grain on my neck as I hadn't yet had any problems... Never again. My angle have been a little steep. I definitely thinned the skin a good bit and ended up with quite a few red spots and some major razor burn.

Good luck with finding a "real" straight razor. I've been reading and wanting to buy something and it's sounding like a wedge may be a decent starter razor.
Plus they tend to look pretty cool.

Yep, I got emboldened by a brief run of success with the Feather loaded Shavette and two days ago decided I'd start with an ATG pass. I had had really good results with that with a DE. I won't be trying that again, certainly never with the Feathers.