Help me to love a Straight Edge...

I have a 3 inch and a 2 inch. Strangely I prefer the 2 inch. - less prone
I fear that I may have to bin my strop. Unless its possible to sand it down. There are a few nicks & cuts in it, that may be damaging my blade
Yep sanding is an option. Any large chunks can be glued back with rubber cement first.

I find a 1000 grit wet n dry increases draw 2000 to 3000 reduces it. Leather is quite resilient. You wouldnt believe what I've done to my strops over the years. Neetsfoot or dovo strop balm are also good.
 
My new pre regime is as follows

1/ plenty hot water on face
2/ hot towel x 2
3/ prorasso pre shave and another hot towel on top
4/more prorasso pre and let it soak in
5/prepare lather and apply

Thats it, my razor has already been stropped before all this.
Oh!....one other thing...if I remember, I will put a couple of drops of glycerene on the preloaded brush and work that in well too...I "Think" it gives a better glide, glyc is cheap so no biggy if you feel it does not dobanything for you...you can add a little to your aftershave or witch hazel...great for the skin.
 
Thanks Bob - useful info. Though I do find the Proraso pre-shave to be a bit sticky, I use it very sparingly with plenty of water.
I am also a hot towel man - but have doubled my usage now.
 
It is worth applying a hot wet flannel between passes as well. This further softens the hairs and cleans your skin.

In terms of your lather consider this method:
Load your brush from the puck.
Lather your face thickly.
Dip just the very tips into some warm water and work this into a section of lather on your face. It is best to work the lather until it has expanded to its previous volume and opacity.
Keep doing this until you have hydrated all sections of your face.

The higher hydration makes a massive difference to the cutting effective of the straight edge.

For me some soaps just don't work well for straight shaving. It might be divisive but I do like Mitchell's because it seems to hold a lot more water and still retain some body. Razorock soaps are also good. I find TOBS creams and similar need a lot more water to make them work well for straight shaving.

All of this may vary based on the hardness of your water.
 
For me some soaps just don't work well for straight shaving. It might be divisive but I do like Mitchell's because it seems to hold a lot more water and still retain some body. Razorock soaps are also good. I find TOBS creams and similar need a lot more water to make them work well for straight shaving.

All of this may vary based on the hardness of your water.

I used Prorasso red white and green, I liked it a lot, I have other soaps, creams triple milled soaps etc but prorasso was my go to...after a wee talk to fergiebilly he gave me a vitos sample and explained some things to me... I used the sample three times then bought a kilo, it without a doubt made for a much better shave, not just marginally better but distinctivly better, now as a convert I would not reccommend prorasso as a straight razor soap, probably fine for DE, but for me vitos is now my go too...I got a kilo so no rush to go back to prorasso.
This is just my opinion, I'm sure others straight shave fine with prorasso, it is all about choice.
 
I used Prorasso red white and green, I liked it a lot, I have other soaps, creams triple milled soaps etc but prorasso was my go to...after a wee talk to fergiebilly he gave me a vitos sample and explained some things to me... I used the sample three times then bought a kilo, it without a doubt made for a much better shave, not just marginally better but distinctivly better, now as a convert I would not reccommend prorasso as a straight razor soap, probably fine for DE, but for me vitos is now my go too...I got a kilo so no rush to go back to prorasso.
This is just my opinion, I'm sure others straight shave fine with prorasso, it is all about choice.
Yes similar products I guess - Mitchell's has tallow in it as well.
 
[IMG]

I Received the Dovo...Its NOT Been Honed Properly....From a UK Vendor I Wont mention...It Needs Honed from the 1 K Bevel Hone through a Full Progression...Its Not Even as Sharp as a Half Decent Pocket Knife...You Wont Recognise it when Ya get it Back Proper Shave Ready... (y)

Billy
 
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Thanks Billy. It was purchased new, and I was informed that the blade would be honed before it was sent to me (as we all know that Dovo shave ready are most definitely not!).
When the blade arrived, I was surprised to see that the security seal had not been broken, so contacted the seller to ask why it had not been honed. I was informed that it had, and the sticker is very carefully put back (do I smell BS?). So I sent the unused blade back.
I was informed that I must have damaged the blade in some way, and he honed it for me.
On receipt, I noticed a chip, so it had to go back again (I still had not properly shaved with it at this point). I was told it may be because I stropped it incorrectly (I did not even have a strop then).
Anyway, I received it back - and had a 3-4 unsatisfactory shaves with it, before going back to my trusty shavette.
I then came to The Shaving Room and asked for help. I have had so much help & advice, it has been fantastic.
Since buying a vintage from a recommendation on eBay, I have now realised that not all blades are like butter knives in comparison to my shavette (which was my original take due to this bad experience).

I am now very much looking forward to getting my Dovo back, and appreciate having my thoughts confirmed - that the hone is not correct.
 
Thanks Billy. It was purchased new, and I was informed that the blade would be honed before it was sent to me (as we all know that Dovo shave ready are most definitely not!).
When the blade arrived, I was surprised to see that the security seal had not been broken, so contacted the seller to ask why it had not been honed. I was informed that it had, and the sticker is very carefully put back (do I smell BS?). So I sent the unused blade back.
I was informed that I must have damaged the blade in some way, and he honed it for me.
On receipt, I noticed a chip, so it had to go back again (I still had not properly shaved with it at this point). I was told it may be because I stropped it incorrectly (I did not even have a strop then).
Anyway, I received it back - and had a 3-4 unsatisfactory shaves with it, before going back to my trusty shavette.
I then came to The Shaving Room and asked for help. I have had so much help & advice, it has been fantastic.
Since buying a vintage from a recommendation on eBay, I have now realised that not all blades are like butter knives in comparison to my shavette (which was my original take due to this bad experience).

I am now very much looking forward to getting my Dovo back, and appreciate having my thoughts confirmed - that the hone is not correct.

This seems to be a fairly common experience with Dovos. I have Ten. Eight of them needed a fair bit of bevel correction. Two were OK but still needed a chunk of work. 1 in 5 is not good enough odds. In any other industry it just would not be tolerated. Those two good razors I bought in a bricks and mortar shop and was able to inspect and choose the ones that were ok before buying. The other razors in stock were not so good.

Compare this with Boker and my personal experience has been quite different. They still aren't shave ready but the bevels have all been pretty good. I reset them all but it didn't take much.

This generally upsets me. Dovo should be doing more to support their customers and especially first time users like yourself, ensuring you get a great shave first time. After all, why are you buying a straight razor if not to have a better shave? I strongly believe that in this day and age if you pay attention to customers and have a good product you can grow your business. It's possible like never before to reach customers around the world. The fact that the Solingen razor market is so stagnant (aside from the Skyfall effect) is a real indictment of what these manufacturers are not doing.

The community of users are picking up the pieces for Dovo's lack of customer focus. People like @Fergiebilly make up for poor customer service from the razor manufacturers.

OK - I'll get off my soap box now.
 
This seems to be a fairly common experience with Dovos. I have Ten. Eight of them needed a fair bit of bevel correction. Two were OK but still needed a chunk of work. 1 in 5 is not good enough odds. In any other industry it just would not be tolerated. Those two good razors I bought in a bricks and mortar shop and was able to inspect and choose the ones that were ok before buying. The other razors in stock were not so good.

Compare this with Boker and my personal experience has been quite different. They still aren't shave ready but the bevels have all been pretty good. I reset them all but it didn't take much.

This generally upsets me. Dovo should be doing more to support their customers and especially first time users like yourself, ensuring you get a great shave first time. After all, why are you buying a straight razor if not to have a better shave? I strongly believe that in this day and age if you pay attention to customers and have a good product you can grow your business. It's possible like never before to reach customers around the world. The fact that the Solingen razor market is so stagnant (aside from the Skyfall effect) is a real indictment of what these manufacturers are not doing.

The community of users are picking up the pieces for Dovo's lack of customer focus. People like @Fergiebilly make up for poor customer service from the razor manufacturers.

OK - I'll get off my soap box now.

I was aware of the possible "issues" of buying a new Dovo blade, which was why I went to an online store that prides itself on making the blade really "shave ready".
"All of our razors are individually prepared and supplied “shave ready”. We do not rely on the factory sharpening alone. This means that our razors are ready to use when you receive them and you will know how the edge should feel when you come to maintain the razor "

Except that it transpired that they didn't!
 
Thanks Billy. It was purchased new, and I was informed that the blade would be honed before it was sent to me (as we all know that Dovo shave ready are most definitely not!).
When the blade arrived, I was surprised to see that the security seal had not been broken, so contacted the seller to ask why it had not been honed. I was informed that it had, and the sticker is very carefully put back (do I smell BS?). So I sent the unused blade back.
I was informed that I must have damaged the blade in some way, and he honed it for me.
On receipt, I noticed a chip, so it had to go back again (I still had not properly shaved with it at this point). I was told it may be because I stropped it incorrectly (I did not even have a strop then).
Anyway, I received it back - and had a 3-4 unsatisfactory shaves with it, before going back to my trusty shavette.
I then came to The Shaving Room and asked for help. I have had so much help & advice, it has been fantastic.
Since buying a vintage from a recommendation on eBay, I have now realised that not all blades are like butter knives in comparison to my shavette (which was my original take due to this bad experience).

I am now very much looking forward to getting my Dovo back, and appreciate having my thoughts confirmed - that the hone is not correct.
Bear in mind that once sharpened the Dovo may feel very different to the Sheffield, because the steel is different. This is nice - you get to experience two different types of razor.
 
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