One year in

May brings about the one year mark of my first sr purchase. Oh what I have learned. My first razor purchase was a black scaled art of shaving TI which has proven to be quite an animal. The workmanship on it is questionable with some real uneven grinding on the spine. Getting the right edge on it has been an even bigger pain though my honing skills are improving. I can shave with it but it pulls a bit. I got an ok edge on it once that lasted almost six months so I think it is worth the effort. The spine has taken a ton of work but is mostly straight now. This razor has been a work in progress for me.

Next up is an American eagle antique spike point. The steel on that one is the softest of the bunch so you can go from great edge to overhoned very quick. At first I really liked this one but have moved away from it more due to the much longer blade. I keep it servicable and it is my road trip razor.

Last isn't a single razor but a pair of Fredricks with bone scales purchased at a local antique shop. Now these razors take an edge like you wouldn't believe. They are my benchmarks. They will pass the hanging hair test for months at a time with the finest of hair and give me the most comfortable shaves of the bunch. Unfortunately the scales really need to be replaced on both and one now has a tarnished blade. You see my wife cut her leg with one fairly bad one day and left it in the shower in a small pool of water and blood as she went about stopping the husher. It was there for about eight hours. Even though it still shaves very well but she no longer uses a razor, opting for cream hair remover instead.

Today I was near the aos reseller that I bought my razor at and stopped in. I looked over the 5 razors that they had and was pretty let down. All of the black scaled ones had poor grinds. There were two with wood scales. One looked ok to the naked eye though the scales weren't exactly straight. The last one looked like TI used a belt sander to set th bevel. One ade of the spine was completely gone. There was one stainless in the bunch that looked perfect. Not a good track record in that groupnof razors.

So here I am a year later much wiser thanks to this site. My next purchases will be a new strop since I have nicked mine in 6 months which was the rule I set for myself. I am also looking at the dovo specials and the boker with the bone handle. Not sure which one to go with for the next purchase.

So this journey began with an article on the art of manliness and will continue for a long time I suspect.

Dustin

thank you for sharing your story. gl and have fun

I am about 4 months in and am finally getting a good shave. I have a Dovo Special as my first razor and I can tell you it works well for me. Good luck on the purchase!

When I first started I was shaving every day. I loved taking the time alone to do it. As my technique has improved I find I only need to shave every 2-3 days for the same effect and only need 2 passes to do it. In some ways I miss the time it used to take but am satisfied that I am improved at getting it done.

I would love to hear the opinions on the new boker blades if anyone is so inclined.