Vintage blade crappy shave :(

[zamanakhan]

i purchased a vintage razor to hold me over till my dovo comes back honed. This razor is pre sharpened but it refuses to give me a decent shave. I end up looking like i have a 5oclock shadow after my 3rd pass and last agt pass. I dun know what iam doing wrong i just cant get a decent shave. I've changed my lather around, my angle i have gone from Almost horizantal to almost touching the spine to my skin, its all the same i end up getting the same shave. i've changed my stropping technique but nothing, the with the grain shave is awesome but against it just wont give me anywhere near close.

[professorchaos]

Was it advertised as "shave ready?"

[rockviper]

Sounds to me like it might not really be shave ready.

[Wid]

Sounds to me like it might not really be shave ready.

:thumbup1:

[zamanakhan]

naw its from whipped dog, it was advertised as and many of the forum members agree he hones well. I thought my dovo wasnt shave ready (from jared) but after 2 shaves it was starting to shave like a dream. i thought i'd have the same thing with this but i've had quite a few shaves with it and the only improvement is in the wtg pass.

[Wid]

Larry and Jarrod both put a fine edge on a razor, I've had the pleasure of using both. It could be the Dovo has a more natural feel to you and in turn you shave better with it.

[johnmrson]

Are they different sizes and/or grinds? If your Dovo is a 5/8 hollow but your vintage is a 13/16 wedge, then they will shave very differently and you'll need to adjust your technique accordingly.

[Luc]

Try to keep the spine almost flat on your cheek. I wouldn't worry too much. I didn't shave much on my first 10 shaves...

[zamanakhan]

the dovo was 5/8 the new one is much much much smaller in size, iam not sure exactly and it doesnt feel like an extra or full hollow either. I just feel like iam not getting much of a shave, the dovo atleast left my cheeks feeling very similar to a mach3. I am going to try again, the shaves have been getting better but nothing to write home about, It sounds like its cutting but i go over it again with my hand it feels like i've had a full day's growth.

[narativesoul]

i am new to straight shaving but, i am having the same problem with a razor from the same place. i am just going to have it honed again by some one.

[zamanakhan]

i dont think its the honing, tbh i thought the blade i first recieved from jarrod was dull but after a few shaves i realized it was infact very sharp or atleast sharp enough. The new razor has a mirror edge and "looks" very good and also will easily pick hairs when hovering over my arm. So i know its sharp, its just not giving me decent shaves at all. I am thinking perhaps the angle is too great since this is a smaller size blade i might be giving it too much of an angle.

[Brownbear]

My guess is 95.65% of newby straight shavers have suspicions that the razor is not sharp enough. Lord knows I did, and by the time I had stropped it a week or so it certainly wasn't :lol:

But it is almost certain that it is your technique at this point, so I'd keep on keeping on and see if it doesn't get sharper over time.

Different widths and grinds need slightly, sometimes more than slightly, techniques so that is likely the issue. But you can email Larry, he is very helpful and can give you some feedback on that razor.

[Harvitz81]

It took me 2-3 months of everyday shaving before I could get consistent results. Technique is everything and it just takes time to figure it out. Just keep at it and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it with this razor.

[gull]

Are you confident in your stropping? Improper stropping will dull a blade quickly. Don't worry, I've ruined four blades already that way :lol:

Assuming your stropping is spot on, I would experiment with the razor for about a week and see if there is any improvement. If not, just send it back to Larry and I'm sure he'll be able to tell you if it was sharp or not.

[zamanakhan]

Are you confident in your stropping? Improper stropping will dull a blade quickly. Don't worry, I've ruined four blades already that way :lol:

Assuming your stropping is spot on, I would experiment with the razor for about a week and see if there is any improvement. If not, just send it back to Larry and I'm sure he'll be able to tell you if it was sharp or not.


I really dont think its my stropping, iam using very minimal pressure although it certainly is there plus this wouldn't explain why i had decent shaves with the dovo. Also the very FIRST shave was the worse, when it came with specific instructions to not strop for the first shave. So i am thinking its still my technique... iam getting better shaves with it but still same end result, its moving over better. I've started to extend my index finger along the line of the spine, i find it gives it a more even pressure along the whole blade vs just where the handle is, it glides alot more smoothly now. I've also added a sort of diagonal stroke, i read somewhere u should add somewhat of a slicing motion to help but its not making too much of a difference (actually none that i can tell.) again the dovo would leave my cheeks very close to bbs (almost mach3 close)right now if i glide my hands against the grain on my cheeks it feels like i shaved with a crappy electric razor.
I dont think it could be the sharpness because i specifically asked for an extra sharp blade. If all else fails however i will contact Larry and see if he would be willing to re-hone it for me and see if it makes a difference. Right now iam gonna give it a few more goes :( I WANT to like this razor but so far its not doing it for me.

[JohnnyKent]

I am having the same exact problem. The razor I have is sharp and will shave my arm hair just like yours. I too feel that, my stropping is okay. It must be our technique. I am just going to keep practicing, not give up, and touch up with my slant.

[zamanakhan]

shaved again today and i noticed the Heel of the blade was giving me a better shave, which kinda leads me to believe that it may infact be dull. I shaved with just the heel and have had the best shave this razor has given me so far. Also i dont think my stropping would be dulling it much ( i had over 1 weeks worth of shaves with the dovo and it was still running strong, i used the same techique.)

[MileMarker60]

While there is some chance it's the razor, I would bet it's your technique.
I find different razors call for different techniques. I shave with alot of different razor and most require something a little different.
If you are sure it's the razor, I'm sure you could contact whipped dog and he would take a look at it for you.
I've never used one of his razor but he seem to be a honest guy. I would check with him before I sent it to someone else to hone.

[zamanakhan]

While there is some chance it's the razor, I would bet it's your technique.
I find different razors call for different techniques. I shave with alot of different razor and most require something a little different.
If you are sure it's the razor, I'm sure you could contact whipped dog and he would take a look at it for you.
I've never used one of his razor but he seem to be a honest guy. I would check with him before I sent it to someone else to hone.

no he seems like an honest guy and provided great feed back on the selection process but i dont think iam gonna send it back. I probably did strop wrong or somehow deystroyed the edge ( i really really dont think i did) and either way its time for me to learn how to hone, just ordered a bout from jarrod and hopefully it will be in soon and i'll use this razor to learn to hone :)

[Wid]

Good for you and congrats on the coti.

[dakotaev]

no he seems like an honest guy and provided great feed back on the selection process but i dont think iam gonna send it back. I probably did strop wrong or somehow deystroyed the edge ( i really really dont think i did) and either way its time for me to learn how to hone, just ordered a bout from jarrod and hopefully it will be in soon and i'll use this razor to learn to hone :)

It will take time. I also questioned my razors sharpness when I was first starting out, it is very common and will improve over time.

Honing... well thats another beast all together. Just be prepared to spend a lot of hours over the hones before you get good results. I found learning to hone well took longer than learning to shave well.

Either way, stick with it, it will come in time, and I tell you, when it does theres hardly a more satisfying accomplishment. Good luck! :thumbup:

[life2short1971]

You may als be using too much pressure in your shave which will lesson the effective cut. Try backing off the blade slightly.