A honed razor is like seeing boobies
So I have been shaving with a straight razor for about 2 or 3 months now. And honestly, it was kind of disappointing. I always heard about how smooth it was and what a close shave, and blah blah blah…but every time I shaved I always thought “my MACH 3 does a better job than this”. I tried different techniques, pressures, the result was the same. It was never as good as the MACH 3. Maybe more fun, certainly more time consuming, but not better.
Anyway, some of you may remember the thread I started discussing how I got two old straights that belonged to my grandfather. He had used them during WWII and up until he died, when they went into a box in the attic. When my granny found out I was shaving with a straight razor, she, through her failing mind and dementia, pointed out exactly where in the attic Paw Jack’s razors were and had been stored for 20 plus years. I took possession of them and they were in pretty good shape, but definitely needed some tender loving care.
So I boxed them up and sent them off to Straight Razor Designs for a professional cleaning/honing. I kept the one I was using that had been given to me as a gift. It was a Dovo Solingen from The Art of Shaving that was “shave ready”.
Yesterday, I received my antique razors back from SRD after a professional honing and used one this morning.
It was the difference between getting a hug from your hot cousin and seeing the prettiest girl in your school naked as she says “I want you to play with my boobs.” The whiskers, about 4 day’s worth, just fell off. I cut myself once, not bad, because I was used to applying so much pressure with the AOS Dovo. When I was finished, I couldn’t believe how much better a shave it was. How smooth my skin was. No missed spots or whiskers despite repeated re-lathering and passing over the spot again.
So my advice or recommendation to everybody out there is first, despite what they may say, an Art of Shaving “shave ready razor” is not. Ship it off to SRD or someone else who does equally good work and get that thing sharpened and honed professionally. Second, this honing will make a world of difference to your shave. I promptly packed up my AOS Dovo and shipped it off to SRD for a professional honing this morning with no hesitation. So if you are shaving with a cutthroat and it doesn’t seem to be all you heard it was AND your razor hasn’t been professionally honed, waste no time in doing it. It’s like seeing boobies for the first time.
