New blade bad shave

Thoughts and input on anything related to wet shaving or men's grooming.
Shettles
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New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

:!: my name is Robert and im pretty new to straight razor shaving my face. I have been shaking with a shavette that I got from Sally's beauty supply and I beat a really nice shade out of it. Recently I got a Dovo full hollow 5/8 straight razor, along with dinne col conk bay rum shave some and a strop for Christmas. I stropped the blade several times but it still hurts to shave with. They said they had it honed at the online store. What am I doing wrong.
brothers
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by brothers »

Hello Robert, thanks for joining SMF! Welcome! I understand you started out using a Shavette, and now you've moved up to a traditional straight razor. Obviously, the shavette uses replaceable blades, while the Dovo blade has to be sharpened periodically. Have you used double or single edge safety razors also? Also, have you read the detailed article - The Art of the Straight Razor Shave - A Basic Guide, located at SMF's Home page? - http://www.shavemyface.com/index.php There is a wealth of straight razor information in that article which might be helpful to you. Good luck with your straight razor journey.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

Ive read tons of articles about the art of shaving with a straight razor. Seems as though I may need to have my dovo honed
brothers
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by brothers »

Yep! Unless you do it yourself. I commend you on the decision to go directly to using a straight razor. That's a bold move.
My previous response was in reply to your question about what you are doing wrong. But it's not apparent that you're doing anything wrong, since you aren't the one who sharpened the razor before you got it.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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drmoss_ca
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by drmoss_ca »

Welcome to SMF!
Most 'shave ready' razors aren't, so much so that it's become a joke when one is described that way. Most of us use the words 'shave ready' to mean 'blunt'. The razor will certainly need honing, and unless you're a real sucker for punishment you probably ought not to try yourself. You can spend a lot of money on hones, spend a long time learning how to use them, and have some dreadful shaves trying to figure it out. Where are you? - if in Canada I'll hone it for you. If you're elsewhere there can be duties and taxes to be paid when things cross borders and that's a pain. Shaving with the real straight will be a very different experience to using the shavette, and even when you have it sharp, you'll have to be prepared to spend a while figuring it out. But it is completely worthwhile and will repay the effort!

Chris
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fallingwickets
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by fallingwickets »

welcome to smf, robert. Hopefully you get your razor issues sorted so that you can enjoy your new purchase

clive
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slackskin
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by slackskin »

Hello Robert

I have never used a straight (old guy, shaky hands some days) but from what I have read, your razor may not indeed be shave ready even though you have been told so. Dr Moss (see above comment) is right on the money. He is a guru on this subject, well worth listening to. May I suggest going to the Straight Razor forum on this web site and posting a question there about getting your Dovo honed in the USA. Best wishes in the journey.
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drmoss_ca
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by drmoss_ca »

Robert - if you are in the USA, it will probably be easiest and quickest for you join up at SRP and ask there for honing help. I've given up trying to argue with the two border agencies about things being sent for repair and then returned. The whole bloody thing was screwed up even before His Orangeness decided to screw it up a little tighter by cancelling NAFTA. But, not wanting to ban myself, I won't go there to any further degree. Maybe you should come for a skiing holiday to Nova Scotia and bring your personal razor to shave with while here. If a friendly local happens to stroke across a hone or two while you're out on the slopes....
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
EL Alamein
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by EL Alamein »

Robert, go to Nova Scotia - it's worth the price of admission.

Chris
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fallingwickets
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by fallingwickets »

EL Alamein wrote: Tue Dec 18, 2018 6:44 pm Robert, go to Nova Scotia - it's worth the price of admission.

Chris
+1 and 27 thumbs up on the great idea!
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brothers
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by brothers »

Shettles wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 8:41 am :!: my name is Robert and im pretty new to straight razor shaving my face. I have been shaking with a shavette that I got from Sally's beauty supply and I beat a really nice shade out of it. Recently I got a Dovo full hollow 5/8 straight razor, along with dinne col conk bay rum shave some and a strop for Christmas. I stropped the blade several times but it still hurts to shave with. They said they had it honed at the online store. What am I doing wrong.
Robert, I've been keeping an eye on the SMF Straight Razor topic hoping to learn how your new razors are working out for you. Have you been able to get the Dovo properly sharpened?
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

I'm actually sending it to a fella today he said I should get it back in a couple days. He was also telling me that I should get a soap better than col conk. Apparently that's not a very good quality shave soap.. so for now i'm still using the shavette... I was actually about to post a question on here for some advice about my strop. So im using a leather strop made in Germany and my kids got ahold of it and spilled something on it and its bent and rough in one spot. Is that going to affect my blade when I get it back or it's it fixable or do I just need to get a new strop?
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

drmoss_ca wrote: Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:33 pm Robert - if you are in the USA, it will probably be easiest and quickest for you join up at SRP and ask there for honing help. I've given up trying to argue with the two border agencies about things being sent for repair and then returned. The whole bloody thing was screwed up even before His Orangeness decided to screw it up a little tighter by cancelling NAFTA. But, not wanting to ban myself, I won't go there to any further degree. Maybe you should come for a skiing holiday to Nova Scotia and bring your personal razor to shave with while here. If a friendly local happens to stroke across a hone or two while you're out on the slopes....
I don't mean to sound dumb but coming from the south I'm not sure what Nova Scotia is..
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drmoss_ca
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by drmoss_ca »

I've heard Americans aren't very good at geography.

https://youtu.be/kRh1zXFKC_o?t=42

Allowing for that, I'll tell you that that Nova Scotia is a semi-autonomous region of The Peoples Republic of Canukistan, and was originally colonised by shipwrecked haggis hunters. It's climate is frigid, but the native girls are not, and since grass skirts aren't very warm they need constant attention. The main industry is mining, originally for gold, salt and coal, but now restricted to dole. I could go on, but you already can see it is a veritable paradise.

Hope that's clear...
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

Haha sounds like a place where I should leave the wife at home when I visit.
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

But being that im all the way on the other side of the continent I won't be just driving the for a weekend hang out just any time... I'm in Washington state.
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drmoss_ca
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by drmoss_ca »

If you want a blade honed within the US, I'd recommend Glen at http://gemstarcustoms.com/

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

Thanks but I already sent it to a Sam Sylver his business is called sylversteel.
Shettles
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by Shettles »

Ok fellas well I got the dovo back and did my first shave with it this morning. I have to say I expected a better shave. With the shavette I get a clean comfortable shave with no pulling and it cuts straight through the stubble leaving my face smooth after 2 or 3 passes... after shaving with the dovo for about an hour and a half I had to finish up with the old Gillett fusion because I don't have any more blades for my shavette and the dovo wasn't doing the trick... I tried stropping and it helped a little but not much. Not ruling out that I could be doing something wrong but seems to me like a freshly honed full hollow blade shouldn't be getting hung up on stubble.. even with col conk soap the shavette does a great job but the full hollow dovo didn't.. any suggestions or tips?
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drmoss_ca
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Re: New blade bad shave

Post by drmoss_ca »

Suggestion? A lifetime's worth!

1. We don't know how good a job your honer did. He may be excellent, he might be average.
2. Dovo razors are common, and sort of OK, but none of us who are really into straights use one as our principal or favourite razor. So even if your honer is very skilled, he might have been simply doing the best that was possible with that particular blade.
3. Stropping can make or ruin a shave. How taut the strop, how much pressure, how many strokes (beyond 20-30 roundtrips you don't improve the edge and increase the opportunity to damage it) and good technique all matter.
4. The strop itself, if damaged as you say, is a menace. You can try to rescue it by dressing it with neat's foot oil well rubbed in until it is soft and supple.
5. Beard prep is more important for straight shaves than for other razors. This is because straight razors can be very sharp, but they don't ever get like a brand new DE blade. Especially if you haven't shaved for a few days, there will be a little tugging, but it should not be painful if the razor is sharp. A properly sharp razor will go against the grain without tugging and leave the skin smooth even when rubbed against the direction of hair growth. If it won't do that, it isn't sharp. (That has probably been the sad fact about the majority of straight shaves in history: razor unsharp, downward pass only, looks not so much shaven as 'unbearded'. Palpable stubble remains.)

This is where you have to decide who wins - will you stick with it until you get a razor to the state where you can have no stubble in any direction and take satisfaction in knowing you did it, or shall you decide it's too much effort and go back to disposable blades? There's lots of guys here for whom the latter course makes sense. But if you want to join the Jasta 11 of the shaving world.....
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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