Thread: My first DE shave.

I just got my Derby razors today and I finally shaved with my Gillette SS for my first DE shave ever. Overall the shave was really smooth and clean up is a breeze. Its just a little weird because I'm used to having a whole blade on my face and shaving with the tiny thin blade of the DE. The Derby blade is really small and i have to angle the razor alot just to get shave. Is it the blade or the razor? The DE is cool and it is perfect for when I'm in a hurry but for most of the time I will use my straight.

Originally Posted by kooray83

I just got my Derby razors today and I finally shaved with my Gillette SS for my first DE shave ever. Overall the shave was really smooth and clean up is a breeze. Its just a little weird because I'm used to having a whole blade on my face and shaving with the tiny thin blade of the DE. The Derby blade is really small and i have to angle the razor alot just to get shave. Is it the blade or the razor? The DE is cool and it is perfect for when I'm in a hurry but for most of the time I will use my straight.

kooray83,

The technique for shaving with a DE is similar to that of str8 razor shaving. You do need to hold the razor at a 15-30 degree angle against your face to get a close shave. It also helps to use WTG, XTG and ATG passes on your face to achieve a close shave, just as with a str8. The differences are: 1) the "safety bar" on your DE razor; and 2) the factory sharpness of the blade you are using in your DE.

DE blades can be sharpened to machine tolerances that make them a lot sharper than str8 razors directly from the factory at an affordable price. However, that also means that they lose their factory sharp edge as soon as you begin to use them.

Of course, you can't hand strop a DE blade back to its original sharpness either. That's why you have to dispose of and replace it after a number of shaves.