Thread: new here, just had my first shave last night and need some advice.

thats kinda what i was afraid of. im a little hesitant to spend that much on a new razor just to give it a try.

so we have one vote for new razor and one for strop it and go for round 2

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that your first experience was not anywhere near satisfactory. You might want to take a read of this First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki if you haven't already. It might have been a blessing in disguise that your razor likely was not shave ready sharp or as you suspect a POS Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki .

Even with a properly shave ready razor it will take time to get good at it as in months in my case. Then again you might not be as slow a learner as myself. I don't know your budget but new shave ready razors can be had for under $100.00 with some searching and good shave ready used ones can be had on this sites buy and sell for much less than that.

I hope your next experience will be a better one.

Bob

i did read both of those before shaving. and i know it has pakistani blades listed but i dont know that i want to spend $100 on something im not good at and not sure ill enjoy doing. if i could get this one up to par long enough to see if ill like and get a decent shave i would feel better about investing in a new razor

Originally Posted by nt4sell

i did read both of those before shaving. and i know it has pakistani blades listed but i dont know that i want to spend $100 on something im not good at and not sure ill enjoy doing. if i could get this one up to par long enough to see if ill like and get a decent shave i would feel better about investing in a new razor

Well, at least now you know what shave ready isn't and why those are on the avoid list. Fair enough about not wanting to spend that kind of dough only to find out you don't like it. If you search the site you might find a number of posts saying it is hard to next to impossible to get one of those blades up to snuff using proper hones in progression. If you don't have the honing stones you could send it out to have it done and see what happens. Somebody in your area might even take up the challenge of trying to hone it for you saving you sending it out.

Bob

Basically, even though you don't want to spend the dough to experiment you bought a worthless razor so you threw that money out and are again faced with spending more to get another razor. Trying to use that razor will just turn you off completely to straight shaving. I know that sounds harsh but it's the plain truth.

You might consider a disposable razor though not a straight it will give you a pretty good idea. Otherwise check our classifieds for a vintage piece that will come shave ready.

As above. A shavette style razor is an inexpensive alternative that will shave.

All beginners have the deck stacked against them due to inexperience. To start up with a known razor like object is like shooting yourself in the foot as well.

I have honed one successfully in the past but it did not last for one shave, more like half a shave before the edge looked like a hacksaw.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Basically, even though you don't want to spend the dough to experiment you bought a worthless razor so you threw that money out and are again faced with spending more to get another razor. Trying to use that razor will just turn you off completely to straight shaving. I know that sounds harsh but it's the plain truth.

You might consider a disposable razor though not a straight it will give you a pretty good idea. Otherwise check our classifieds for a vintage piece that will come shave ready.

actually no i did not waste money on a worthless razor......as stated in the original post it was a gift
im considering a dovo best quality just have rationalize spending 80 on a razor

Tell us a little bit more about what you want out of a shave. for instance, my reasoning for liking straight razors is that I thoroughly believe that the modern world sacrifices quality for convienance, especially in the shaving department, and also that Gilletes have gotten so expensive.

so If Im spending twenty dollars on six razor cartridges each of which last me a week (If Im lucky) then an eighty dollar Dovo pays for itself in about six months. Now the only problem with this analogy is that Straight Razors are ADDICTIVE. Some folks on this forum spend more on shaving soap than I do on Food per year.

So why do YOU want to shave with a straight razor?

Originally Posted by nt4sell

actually no i did not waste money on a worthless razor......as stated in the original post it was a gift
im considering a dovo best quality just have rationalize spending 80 on a razor

There's not a lot to rationalise. Eighty buckeroonies for a good quality razor that'll last you the rest of your life, give you a perfect shave, can become a tool of a cool hobby as valid as any other, a hobby which has many facets; with the accompanying creams, strops, soaps, etc...

It's a done deal as I see it.