Hello all, I got myself a dovo full hollow razor, badger brush, bowl, soap, stop (no stone yet). The razor was sold as "shave ready" Here are the issues I'm having After getting what I believe is a decent soap lather on my face, when I drag the razor against my face, it instantly removes all of the lather, but no hair. Worse, it HURTS badly, like sandpaper against my face. I can definitly feel the razor pulling down/dragging on the hairs, but not cutting them. So I am ending my shaves with a very sore, hairy face. I have stropped on the canvas and leather I think it could either be that the razor is not sharp enough, or an issue with the lather. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Do you know who made the razor "shave ready", was it done by a honemeister? IIRC Dovo states that there new razors are good to go from the factory, but it really needs to be brought up to true shave ready standards by a honemeister.
I'll agree with Bill. I'll recommend Glen gssixgun. He's a member here at the Den and has done work for me and several other TSD members. Great guy who does great work. Follow the link I made to more info about how to contact Glen at the end his post.
Ok...I brought it to a honemeister and had it honed and declared "shave ready". Still having the same problem - the lather comes right off, but the beard is still there, and it hurts alot. Again, I feel the blade pulling down at the skin. So, any thoughts? I feel like I have a fair later going - do I need a full inch thick lather? I hear that I need to use a 20-30 degree angle - I don't think I'm that far off What other pitfalls could I be stepping in? Thanks again
Do the shave test.. Get everything ready, all your prep, lather, shower, stropping, yada yada yada... Now wet your face really well with hot water... Lather only the area on your dominant side from your sideburn to your jawline That's all, no more than that.. Now start at the sideburn and adjust the angle at 2 spine widths of that razor off you face, and shave just that spot... STOP !!! CHECK ... Did the razor shave??? Yes??? do the same thing other side.. STOP and finish with your old razor.. Continue that exercise until you can expand and shave your whole face... No??? STOP,,, contact the guy that sold you the razor and explain exactly what you have done so far... BTW It most likely was not the edge originally,,, just a wee bit of bad stropping can wipe off a good edge.... Once you learn how to strop for effect you could bring that back...
Yalp - Right on the money for me at least. My stopping technique still needs work and I have boogered perfectly fine shave ready edges with my bad stropping.
Been there. It's been a while, though, so I guess I'm getting the hang of it. Hey, Glen... What do you mean by, "strop for effect"?
First: WELCOME TO THE FORUM, come often and stay long. Second: If wet shaving (and by that I mean Straight or DE with brush etc.) is new to you there are several things you need to know before your issue is solved: PREPARATION, preparation, preparation TECHNIQUE, technique, technique Let the razor do the work, "NO PRESSURE". SLOW DOWN, TAKE YOUR TIME Remember: "IT'S NOT A RACE, IT'S YOUR FACE" Of everything I mentioned above, TECHNIQUE is the most important. Many blame the razor for bad shaves when in fact they haven't learned or perfected the correct way to shave, be it with a straight or DE. I haven't used a straight in years so I'm going to have to defer to one of my more learned colleges for the proper technique with it. See it Mantic has a video of shaving with a straight and he may be able to assist you with your problem. Good luck and keep us in the loop. I'd like to know what the outcome is.
There were some tests done quite some time ago by Mparker and AFDavis dealing with serious stropping to recover an edge rather than just maintaining the edge... Basically anything you mess up on the strop can be corrected by the strop (Let's not get way out there with seriously rolled edges).. You can bring an edge back quite a ways with the Linen component then smooth her back out with the Leather... The problem with this whole exercise is that the people that it would help the most are exactly the people the usually damage the edge with the strop in the first place So it is sort of a Catch 22, you need to know how to strop to use the technique, and if you know how to strop you probably don't need the technique
Thanks. Good info. I guess it's going beyond the 25 linen/50 latigo routine I use before every shave. I'm also guessing just how much you're going to strop would depend on how bad the edge has rolled.
Normally, roll an edge from stropping, you have to be putting a fair amount of pressure on the edge and lifting up at the end of your stropping stroke. When you are stropping, hold the strop taught, but not so tight as to cramp the arm holding it. Make sure the blade is flat, edge and spine on the strop as you push and pull and do not use but minimal pressure to keep the blade on the strop. When you change directions, roll the razor on the spine. Try to develop a rhythm wen stropping that is not too fast or slow. This seems like a lot of stuff, but it really is not. Try not to over analyze. 10-30 strokes on the linen and 40-60 strokes are usually enough to get the job done, but this is another one of those personal preference areas. It is natural for all of us to bend our wrist back when holding a straight razor. This causes the shaving angle to be around 45-90 degrees which in turn causes some serious scraping on the face and little hair removal. It is important for the razor to be vertical to cut properly so you want an angle of 30 degrees or less. Not quite flat on the face. Also, start with the dominant hand on that side of the face and do short little strokes from the side burn to the jaw only. You can use a little longer strokes for clean up. Once you get this area comfortably, then move over to the cheek, other side of the face and neck. Clean up with your regular razor until you get proficient. If you don't get any improvement, you can send over the razor and I'll hone it up on me for ya. Have fun, Lynn
