Jason Maloney, from the UK, asks:
“I recently bought my first Dovo of Solingen razor, I’ve also bought Canadian 2500 grit travel stone, and a strop. When I first used my blade I thought it would be like a hot knife through butter, but I found the shave very hard in the aspect the hair on my face was pulling. It felt like the blade was not sharp enough? But there supposed to be shave ready? I also steamed my face so the hair was really soft and I lathered up properly as on the tutorials on Youtube, can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?”
AARON SAYS
“Mr Maloney,
Despite their claims, most razors do not come shave ready, sadly. I would definitely suggest getting it honed before trying to shave much more with it. If you are going to hone it yourself, read up on it thoroughly and practice practice practice. It’s a difficult art, but very worthy once you learn. You’ll want to get progressively finer stones as well, especially as high as 8000, 10000, 12000 for that fine, sharp edge.
I am a big proponent of preparing your face to shave. However I will caution that you can over-prep with hot water and steam causing your face to be tender. I doubt this was the case from your description, but wanted to provide you with the caveat. I wish you all the best on your straight razor journey!
Smooth Shaving!
Aaron”
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