Comments on Against the Grain
First post, but I have been lurking here since my wife surprised me with a DOVO Pearlex 5/8" for Christmas, and I couldn’t shave with it…
Anyway, after reading everything here I wanted (and expected) the closest shave of my life. It didn’t happen… at first.
After reading many of the replies here, most cite the sharpness of the blade for poor results, particularly for the last against the grain pass.
This pass for me, at first, was a murderous, bloody experience - I wrote it off to my Italian stubble and nearly threw in the towel…
But I sharpened and honed and stropped until I couldn’t imagine a sharper blade. No matter how sharp I made the edge, the last against the grain pass was always tough, for me.
But, what I learned is – no matter how sharp the blade is, if you don’t pull your skin tight – and I mean really tight, it will always pull, skip and tug.
This changed everything for me – I bought a heavier 6/8” TI, and learned how to pull my skin tight in very short increments to get my whiskers to “pop” up.
After this, it was a whole new ballgame for me – I could sharpen until the cows come home, but until I learned how to pull my skin tight it simply didn’t matter, particularly for the third and final against the grain pass. I am now shaving about 2” from my pulling fingers on the against the grain pass at all times. No more problems with tugging, skipping or ripping of any kind.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this experience because it seems there are a lot of guys in the same boat as I, early on the learning curve…
Cheers,
Keith