Newbie sharpness question

I have a Dovo Astrale 5/8 that I bought new from Lynn and he sharpened it. I have 8 shaves on it. I go back and forth between that and a Shavette. I'm getting really nice shaves with the shavette. The Dovo has a hard time cutting the hair on the first pass, once I get pass the first pass it seems to do pretty good. The amount of resistance I get on the first pass makes me nervous, one slip with that amount of pressure and well I don't even want to think about it.

I gave up this morning trying to get that first pass, went to the shavette and everything was good. Is it time to take it to a stone?

Are you good with your stropping ? Improper stropping can dull a razor fast .

Does sound like blade needs some work. How it got that bad in 8 shaves needs to be addressed tho. You may need to reassess your stropping.

probably is my stropping, it hasn't been stropped very much out of fear of screwing it up:D

Technique may be some of this. It should be much easier to cut on the first pass than second. Try to keep a 30 degree or less angle on the first pass after a good stropping. With it cutting OK on the second pass, you should end up doing fine.

Have fun.

I'm in a very similar situation, although I don't know if my razor was honed well originally - haven't had an easy shave with it yet :( Hence the reliance on shavettes.

Is it possible to get a razor stropped by a pro then posted, or will the edge deteriorate before arrival? I just want to know what a sharp razor is meant to feel like..

You can get it honed by a pro and sent back to you without worrying about the mail having any deleterious effect on it.

Take a look at the Anticipation and First Straight Razor Shave Read this first sitcky threads in the Beginner Forum. They can help you a lot.

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Originally Posted by falconer

probably is my stropping, it hasn't been stropped very much out of fear of screwing it up:D

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That may be your problem. You should strop your razor before every shave. Doing so won't sharpen the blade, but it does help align the edge and removes the invisible burrs on its edge that are created by the blade cutting through your whiskers.

Don't be fearful of stropping. Just take it slow and easy until you get a feel for the rhythm and pressure (light) necessary for effective stropping.

I usually do 50 on the linen and 50 on the leather of my strop before I shave; then 15 and 15 afterwards to help dry off my razor and remove any crud on the blade to reduce the possibility of corrosion.

I'll work more on the stropping, I've been doing about 20 on the linen and 20 on the leather and been going real slow. When I gave up on the first pass this morning I was trying a flatter angle and it didn't seem to help at all.

For reference, I've been playing with stropping.

I've had a magic number of 35 linen, 65 leather for quite some time.

With one blade I've been testing the effects of stropping more or less....and now what I enjoy is 50 linen and 80 leather. It is consistently providing me with a much smoother blade to shave with. YMMV.

If I had to do 20/20, I'd rip my face off!

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Originally Posted by falconer

I'll work more on the stropping, I've been doing about 20 on the linen and 20 on the leather and been going real slow. When I gave up on the first pass this morning I was trying a flatter angle and it didn't seem to help at all.

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Have you been stropping with the spine raised off the strop? Doing that will certainly dull the razor. Watch http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ing-video.html and enjoy.

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Originally Posted by falconer

probably is my stropping, it hasn't been stropped very much out of fear of screwing it up:D

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Strop, strop strop. I have a couple razors Lynn honed for me and they're working well a month out.
Someone around here sells a beginner's strop. I bought a $30 Body Toolz strop through eBay to practice, although I own a couple more I'm going to rotate through.
I refinished the surface of the strop w/ a pumice stone and I'm just getting a feel for "the draw."

Go slow, steady; take your time. This isn't a life skill most any of us grew up with like 100 years ago.

Check your stropping technique.
Good luck.