I recently purchased myself a gift for finally graduating with a bachelors degree (this was very difficult for me after leaving the Marine Corps lol). I picked up a brand new Dovo special and 3inch red latigo Premier Strop Company Strop. The razor and strop are beautiful, I am so happy with them! The establishment I purchased from said the razor was honed and shave ready, so I gave it the old college try as soon as I got back home. I wanted a nice slick lather so I decided to use some Mike's pine and cedarwood, which upon lathering didn't disappoint. I didn't strop prior to shaving because I assumed the razor was good to go. I started up on my right cheek with a very shallow angle, trying to use as little pressure as possible. I found it was very difficult to cut my whiskers, and there was a lot of tugging. I played around with the angle a bit and found that a steeper angle with more pressure was a little better but was still tugging. I finished up my right cheek and left cheek, then decided to try the goatee and mustache area. This was a no-go. The tugging hurt. A lot. I stopped it there and finished up with the DE. I definitely had some burning post shave, but the irritation was minimal.
I gave my face a full days rest before I attempted a second try. This time I stropped the razor 50x before the shave. There was still a lot of tugging, however I was able to power through with some more confident strokes. I got most of my neck this time, along with my cheeks. I was impressed because this one pass cleaned up my neck really well and even got my DE trouble stops with ease! I didn't attempt the goatee or mustache this time and cleaned up with the DE. Third Shave- after strop- there is still a lot of tugging so I am beginning to think this razor wasn't shave ready. I managed to get the whole face this time and did two passes WTG and XTG with a couple minor wheepers, no big deal. I was actually impressed, I didn't need to clean up with the DE. Post shave had very little irritation, actually less than with the DE, but my face burned for the rest of the day.
I wasn't satisfied with the steep angle and pressure I needed to use to cut my whiskers, so I decided I needed something to compare this razor to. I told my father to pick me up a couple vintage razors next time he goes to a gun show. He managed to score me a nice Genco Army/Navy in pretty good condition! Through some research I managed to find someone to hone my razor other than where I bought my Dovo (since I wanted to compare). I drove the razor over to The Restored Razor in Illinois, where the gentleman -Mike- gladly accepted the Genco. He even gave me a stropping lesson and tons of information on honing and razors that I was super happy to receive. While waiting for the Genco to get honed, I had a couple more shaves with the Dovo. Same results as before, DFS on the whole face after two passes WTG and XTG, however there was still tons of tugging and I needed a steep angle to cut. My face burned like hell after, but there was no irritation.
I received my Genco back from The Restored Razor, and wow! This thing was nice and sharp, Mike even polished it up for me! The thumb pad test felt waaay better than the Dovo's and it was actually popping hairs off my arm no problem, which the Dovo could not. Mike did a great job with this razor, it looked gorgeous and I was super happy. He said not to strop before I shaved so I knew what sharp was, I followed his orders. I lathered up with Mike's just like the first time so I could keep variables to a minimum. Wow, this thing sliced through two days growth like a hot knife through butter! I could actually feel the sharpness and kept it at a really shallow angle, it was beautiful. Got the whole face with two passes, WTG and XTG. I got a couple wheepers, but that was expected, this thing was a lot sharper than I was used to. Zero irritation, however my face still burned like hell after. I just finished my seventh shave with the same results, smooth DFS after 2 passes, no irritation but face burns after.
Is the face burning normal in the beginning? I realize there is still a ton I have to learn, and am probably still using too much pressure (even though im using waaaay less with the Genco than the Dovo). I believe my stropping is ok because I haven't screwed up the Genco. I do about 15 laps on nylon, and 50 on leather but I do loose count so this is not exact lol. My prep is good (Cold water) and my lather is really slick. I give my face at least a full day to recover between shaves with the straight at the moment. Never had this burning though, not even with DE. I decided to take my Dovo back and get it re-honed where I purchased it, since I had a free hone anyways. I guess I will see if the Dovo is any better when I get it back, I will keep everyone updated.
I have been thinking about investing in a naniwa 12k for refreshing when the time comes. I would rather invest in the 12k now and learn to hone rather than getting pastes and refreshing that way. What are your thoughts on that? Thanks for listening, any feedback is appreciated! - Phil
I gave my face a full days rest before I attempted a second try. This time I stropped the razor 50x before the shave. There was still a lot of tugging, however I was able to power through with some more confident strokes. I got most of my neck this time, along with my cheeks. I was impressed because this one pass cleaned up my neck really well and even got my DE trouble stops with ease! I didn't attempt the goatee or mustache this time and cleaned up with the DE. Third Shave- after strop- there is still a lot of tugging so I am beginning to think this razor wasn't shave ready. I managed to get the whole face this time and did two passes WTG and XTG with a couple minor wheepers, no big deal. I was actually impressed, I didn't need to clean up with the DE. Post shave had very little irritation, actually less than with the DE, but my face burned for the rest of the day.
I wasn't satisfied with the steep angle and pressure I needed to use to cut my whiskers, so I decided I needed something to compare this razor to. I told my father to pick me up a couple vintage razors next time he goes to a gun show. He managed to score me a nice Genco Army/Navy in pretty good condition! Through some research I managed to find someone to hone my razor other than where I bought my Dovo (since I wanted to compare). I drove the razor over to The Restored Razor in Illinois, where the gentleman -Mike- gladly accepted the Genco. He even gave me a stropping lesson and tons of information on honing and razors that I was super happy to receive. While waiting for the Genco to get honed, I had a couple more shaves with the Dovo. Same results as before, DFS on the whole face after two passes WTG and XTG, however there was still tons of tugging and I needed a steep angle to cut. My face burned like hell after, but there was no irritation.
I received my Genco back from The Restored Razor, and wow! This thing was nice and sharp, Mike even polished it up for me! The thumb pad test felt waaay better than the Dovo's and it was actually popping hairs off my arm no problem, which the Dovo could not. Mike did a great job with this razor, it looked gorgeous and I was super happy. He said not to strop before I shaved so I knew what sharp was, I followed his orders. I lathered up with Mike's just like the first time so I could keep variables to a minimum. Wow, this thing sliced through two days growth like a hot knife through butter! I could actually feel the sharpness and kept it at a really shallow angle, it was beautiful. Got the whole face with two passes, WTG and XTG. I got a couple wheepers, but that was expected, this thing was a lot sharper than I was used to. Zero irritation, however my face still burned like hell after. I just finished my seventh shave with the same results, smooth DFS after 2 passes, no irritation but face burns after.
Is the face burning normal in the beginning? I realize there is still a ton I have to learn, and am probably still using too much pressure (even though im using waaaay less with the Genco than the Dovo). I believe my stropping is ok because I haven't screwed up the Genco. I do about 15 laps on nylon, and 50 on leather but I do loose count so this is not exact lol. My prep is good (Cold water) and my lather is really slick. I give my face at least a full day to recover between shaves with the straight at the moment. Never had this burning though, not even with DE. I decided to take my Dovo back and get it re-honed where I purchased it, since I had a free hone anyways. I guess I will see if the Dovo is any better when I get it back, I will keep everyone updated.
I have been thinking about investing in a naniwa 12k for refreshing when the time comes. I would rather invest in the 12k now and learn to hone rather than getting pastes and refreshing that way. What are your thoughts on that? Thanks for listening, any feedback is appreciated! - Phil
