Thread: just bought new razor

i've been shaving with a straight razor that uses disposable blades. i just got a dovo 5/8 for christmas and i need to know if i just need to use a stop on it or if i need to purchase a hone.

Well it all depends on where it was purchased. It may be shave ready and maybe not You could send it out and have a pro hone it first because it will last a long time if you strop it right. There is also a learning curve to honing so you might not want to take on a whole lot of new things at once.

Try it first and you may find it okay. It is not going to shave like your shavette. Different technique and this may throw you off some.

I think as a general rule people should learn to shave then learn to hone later if it goes that way. There is a bit of a a learning curve as mentioned above. If you don't know how to shave it might be tough trying to decide if things are going bad because of the technique of the edge. Welcome to the tradition. Although you are starting a little ahead of the curve. There are many approaches to the next step.

Well you are going to want to strop it every shave. No question there.

As for the hone, 10Pups is right. If you got it from a vendor who sells honed straights, you should be ok for a while. But you'll forever question if it's as sharp as it can be at when you start off (if you are anything like me that is). So go ahead and buy a stone or line up someone who'll do it for you and just get that over with lol.

You could even get it honed by a pro and simply start with just a "finishing" stone to keep it in shape when you feel it tugging. By rights, you could keep your edge keen for some time before you ever needed to get to setting the bevel again.

If none of that made sense, seriously consider doing a little more reading on maintaining a blade. Its not hard, its fun really! But there is a curve-one you are ahead on being you past use of a "straight using disposables".

Welcome!!

Congratulations for great christmas present!

If you got entry level Dovo which is not sold as shave ready it will need honing. Let somebody do the honing for you because it is important to understand what shave ready means. Pay attention to learning to strop, it is all muscle memory and you have to tought it by step by step. Don't worry about nick and cuts on your strop, it is easy to repair later

What comes to honing I recommend too that you first learn to shave with it and then how to hone your own straight razor.

Hi and welcome. Start by readong the starter info in the library and you should have a pretty good idea of the care of your razor by the time you finish. As stated the current state of the razor is dependant on where it was purchased. More info will help us answer your questions better. Ed

You already got good and complete advice, I would just add a suggestion, put the place where you live in your profile and maybe you'll find someone living close to you that can help.
Nothing is better than live suggestions and apprenticeship.

so i figured i would give it a try today and see how it worked right out of the box. surprisingly it worked better than a new blade on my old reusable razor. i have a stop on order. thanks for all the advice everyone.

i have read a lot of the post on stopping and there is a lot of difference in opinions as to how many times to on the fabric and how many times on the leather, or if you should do it just before or just after or both. any suggestions?

My suggestions for stropping:
Stay VERY light and practice a lot and look at many stropping videos.
Always strop 30-50 times on leather side before shaving.
Strop 10-20 times before any new pass.
At the beginning avoid stropping on linen/canvas side, it's rough and you could damage rhe edge with the wrong pressure or movement.

Try to listen to the razor noise while stropping and you will learn to hear the change in sound that tells you that it's done.

To the OP:
#1 Don't shave again until your strop arrives
#2 Strop with minimal pressure (just enough to keep the spine and edge on the strop) 40-50 times before a shave.
#3 Many (including me) strop 20-30 times after you've shaved and drying your razor well (including between the scales)
#4 store it, between shaves, in a dry area (not your bathroom).

Welcome and good luck!