Could someone help making a razor choice?

[riooso]

I now have a Dovo 5/8 Dark Star, 7/8 Rudolf Stehlo (German on name) and a recently acquired Boker 5/8 Red-Injun.

I have a heavy beard and my favorite by far is the 7/8 for smoothness but it is just to big. For a no name I really like this razor. The Dovo does very well but not quite the smoothness I would like. The Boker is just plain harsh, it is 1/4 ground I think and very light.

I have been looking at the Dovo Renaissance 6/8 stainless. I want a little heavier blade, a really good razor to shave with, and of course a little variety. This razor got good reviews on B&B. Price is not a huge concern as long as it is in $200 range.


I have a B&B Le Grelot hopefully coming, which I am really excited about, but it will be a couple of months.


Any suggestions would be appreciated ! I personally like a clean blade with no markings but everyone seems to want to put crap on the blade. I also thought stainless would be nice and easy to care for as far as rust and the like.


Thanks,
Richard
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[heavydutysg135]

My suggestion would be to get the razors properly honed by someone who really knows what they are doing if you have not done so already. New razors do not come shave ready regardless of what the manufacturer or seller says. Unless you paid extra to have the razor hand honed then they are not there yet.

 

[riooso]

I have done that and they all shave really very well but the feel is not what I want out of the 5/8 but it is what I want for the 7/8. I really think that a 6/8 would be a better fit for my beard and would be a little smoother than the 5/8 Dovo. I just would like to cut down the total number of razors that I have to buy before I find out what is best for me and was hoping someone that has used a lot of razors could give me a hand with this one.



Thanks,
Richard

 

[kbuzbee]

From my limited experience (I have a few TIs and a couple Dovos) this, like most things shaving, is very much a matter of personal preference. Some of the things that impact it:

Your beard (growth, direction, weight etc)
Your shave technique
Your prep products
Your prep technique
Your hones
Your hone technique
Your strop
Your strop technique
etc etc etc

Some combinations with your skills just give better results than others. Reviews and advise are great but it all comes down to what works for you (and that will change over time as you change gear and your skills develop). I wish there were an easier answer but honestly, I think the best advise is you have to try them and see. That said, you will get more bang for the buck working on skills than buying razors. But RAD is RAD and buying more razors is what (some of us, at least) do....

Bottom line, ENJOY!

Ken

 

[Suzuki]

No need to spend $200.

Get yourself a nice vintage wedge, 1/2 or 1/4 hollow razor.

If you don't want to go vintage, get a TI Gnome (1/2 hollow).

I would go 6/8 - but a heavy 5/8, would also work well.

FWIW, I have a very heavy beard (dense and coarse) and I'm a big fan of the heavier grinds - the nice thing about a heavier grind is that, in addition to being more forgiving generally, they give you the weight/heft/stiffness of a larger full hollow in a more compact size. The only donwside is that they take a little more work to hone because you remove more metal than is the case with a full hollow.

Another option is to try a stainless razor, which is a little stiffer than carbon.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ookla The Mok]

If I hadn't bought a 7 day -monday set this week, I would be more than likely getting this. Cheap, Big, not fancy. I was kicking around this as well. It's the same grind as the Le Grelot and would have very similar heft, I would imagine.

 

[Bruce]

rio,

I agree with Suzuki. I have a TI 6/8 Super Gnome which was this morning's razor and for the price don't believe it has competition for shaving well

 

[Sticky]

I have a coarse beard and also prefer a half-hollow to wedge, 6/8 to 7/8. The TI Super Gnome is on my shopping list. The best shaver I currently have is an 11/16 vintage C-Mon wedge, pre-honed by the barber I bought it from (25 dollars).

 

[riooso]

Thanks for the advice guys. I suspected the reason that I like the 7/8 I have now is because of my beard but it is really good to hear from experienced users. My beard, well it is the beard from hell! It is thick, wire like, and it grows at an unbelievable rate. From morning to 5 o'clock, 12 hours, it is stubble. Those cheap M3's would last me about 3 shaves.
I have been thinking about it for a while so I pulled the trigger on a Dovo Bismark before hearing about the TI Gnome, I hope it works out for me! This is getting expensive but that is what my allowance is for!

Once again, thanks!

Richard

 

[kenrup]

Thanks for the advice guys. I suspected the reason that I like the 7/8 I have now is because of my beard but it is really good to hear from experienced users. My beard, well it is the beard from hell! It is thick, wire like, and it grows at an unbelievable rate. From morning to 5 o'clock, 12 hours, it is stubble. Those cheap M3's would last me about 3 shaves.
I have been thinking about it for a while so I pulled the trigger on a Dovo Bismark before hearing about the TI Gnome, I hope it works out for me! This is getting expensive but that is what my allowance is for!

Once again, thanks!

Richard

How much were you spending on M3s? I figure a huge savings by using my str8. Okay, my str8s, I do have a rotation. But I will have saved enough to break even in, well, lets say a few years.

 

[riooso]

M3's were costing me a lot. The original reason I tried straights is that I wanted a closer shave with hopefully better skin. I am 55 and have had pimples for my whole life. Well straight shaving has made my face pretty clear and it is really pretty amazing to me! I like it! More than I expected. To much information ?????????????? I lay it out there because I think there a lot of people that are using that M3 plastic junk that is preventing them from having good healthy skin. It has only been a month and a half and I have a new face! To be fair I think DE's would probably do the same thing, right? I do not know, I am just not changing anything!


Nothing worse than a convert is there?

Richard

 

[Sticky]

...
To be fair I think DE's would probably do the same thing, right? I do not know, I am just not changing anything!


Nothing worse than a convert is there?

Richard

I went from over 20 years of DE's to straights. A sharp straight gives me less irritation and no razor burn. Oddly, far fewer nicks and weepers (the reverse of what I expected). And a close shave lasts longer than a close DE shave. I'll never use a DE again...for me a straight is superior in every way.

Add another convert...

 

[kenrup]

M3's were costing me a lot. The original reason I tried straights is that I wanted a closer shave with hopefully better skin. I am 55 and have had pimples for my whole life. Well straight shaving has made my face pretty clear and it is really pretty amazing to me! I like it! More than I expected. To much information ?????????????? I lay it out there because I think there a lot of people that are using that M3 plastic junk that is preventing them from having good healthy skin. It has only been a month and a half and I have a new face! To be fair I think DE's would probably do the same thing, right? I do not know, I am just not changing anything!


Nothing worse than a convert is there?

Richard

As your technique for shaving, stropping and honing improve you will notice that there is a difference for the straight. I don't even look back. I am you age and it amazes me when women comment on clear and good my complexion is. To a retired Sergeant of the US Army, that is something I never considered! To me the sharper the razor the better. To me a DE doesn't "cut it".