Thread: Disappointing first shave.

Hi guys,

Well my Dovo and all my set up arrived today so I was looking forward to finishing work and having a nice shave, been watching vids and asking questions for a week so, so I thought I was as ready as a newbie could be.

Had plenty of time prepped face and thought i actually handled the the razor very well. Unfortunately it didn't seem to cut very well, even tho i enjoyed the experience i didn't get a very good shave. I'm not sure if im doing something wrong or the blade isn't sharp. I've tried the hair test and it doesn't cut one that rests on top. The Uk company that i bought it off does say its shave ready, but having seen the threads on here about 'shave ready' im not sure now. I also have a little burn, nothing bad, does this mean anything about sharpness or bad technique.

Im a bit confused and not sure where to go from here.

Any advice gents?

Cheers MW.

You are not alone, almost every newbie has same experience.
Watching videos unfortunately does not make up for the lack of technique, and practice.
You need to figure out quite a few things on your own before you will start to get good results.
You need to learn proper stropping, shaving angles, strokes, stretching.
All this will come with time, just keep at it and take your time do not rush things.

get it honed by someone here on the forums through the classifieds. The factory edge isn't usually good enough, eliminate the edge as a factor of a bad shave and then you can concentrate on the rest of the shave

regards alex

First you have to realize the first few shaves you do are about getting your feet wet and learning to use the razor. Shave quality is a distant issue. If you got some minor burn and that's the worst that happened your experience was probably in the top 99th percentile.

This is a skill that must be learned. At this point it's hard to advise because your problem could be the razor or your technique or your prep or evil spirits. The only way to rule out the razor is send it to someone to hone or depending on who you bought it from that may itself solve the issue of course unless you dulled it stropping.

So as a fellow newish straight user there will be MANY MANY guys that will have better more concise answers but here is my 2cents having been there not that long ago! The first would be PRESSURE you want minimal to ZERO pressure the weight of the blade and keeping contact of the blade with properly STRETCHED skin are major players in this game we call shaving! I know because both these were tough habits to break when I started out. The second is SHAVE READINESS there are many threads on here about Shave Ready and Razor Sharp (I was just reading one in the honing sub-forum) this as well is something I learned the hard way! Got a razor that said it was shave ready an I now know it was Razor Sharp (although everyones definition of Shave Ready can be different) I would suggest sending the Razor to be honed by one of the great guys here, I had mine done by Lynn and plan on sending some to Glen and others to see what if any difference I feel! But anyone in the classifieds with set you up right and you can be 100% sure it's Shave Ready and Tested!

Trust me it takes time to get the feel the technique but once it's there OH MY is it awesome!! But both the above can lead to irritation at least they did IME!

JD

Would just like to thank everyone for there replys on this thread and the pm's ive got to.

Im going to try again tomorrow, god knows i need to as it hardly taken any off. Ive not given up yet!

Just thought i would update this thread.

Im on my 4th shave now and i really feel im starting to get somewhere, im really feeling the learning curve or stairs, and ive took another step up tonight.

Heres some of my experiences so far..
Im finding my top lip the hardest to do, followed by under my chin.
I have always FTG on my neck which was upwards now it much more comfortable to ATG downwards, i am amazed at this.
I never seem to initially make enough lather.
Styptic pencils really work well.
My skin feels nicer.
Im liking the experience as much as i thought i would.


Cheers everyone for all the help , so far...

For the first few months you will learn something new every shave. Some good, some bad. Learn from each shave and you will get closer to the perfect shave. That 's what keeps us going is the perfect shave. Be patient and enjoy the journey.

Originally Posted by MoreWhisky

Im on my 4th shave now and i really feel im starting to get somewhere, im really feeling the learning curve or stairs, and ive took another step up tonight.
Im finding my top lip the hardest to do, followed by under my chin.

Nearly all of us will have had a similar experience. It does get easier.

Exactly my experience for the first several shaves. Go slowly and it will improve. Soon you'll get your prep and technique down and the results will blow you away. Until then, just try to get one cheek right and use your safety razor to complete the shave. Then the other cheek. Then a full 'with the grain' pass, etc. I didn't stop using my modern safety razor until I had a good 30-40 shaves under my belt...and I'm still improving. It will come I promise!