Thread: Not a total newbie but need some advice on a new razor recently acquired.

Got a shavette and safety razor for Christmas. Now that I've become pretty proficient in both, decided to step up to a 6/8 DOVO Bismarck. It arrived yesterday and now I have a few questions. Looking to get it honed but want to keep it local. 1-Anyone know of a honemeister in Georgia or South Carolina that I could take it to when it's ready?
2-Any tips on my first shave with it?
3-Any tips on exactly what I'll need to home my own razor? I'd prefer to use stone but open to other ideas.


Thank you.

Originally Posted by Jcarm03

Got a shavette and safety razor for Christmas. Now that I've become pretty proficient in both, decided to step up to a 6/8 DOVO Bismarck. It arrived yesterday and now I have a few questions. Looking to get it honed but want to keep it local. 1-Anyone know of a honemeister in Georgia or South Carolina that I could take it to when it's ready?
2-Any tips on my first shave with it?
3-Any tips on exactly what I'll need to home my own razor? I'd prefer to use stone but open to other ideas.


Thank you.

I got a Dovo Bismarch for christmas. I just passed it over a 12K hone then straight on to a leather strop. It was fine, had a good bevel already set just needed a light touch up.

I just use a 12K hone to continually refresh every week or so. just 5-6 passes then a good strop. Should last a very long time as long as you don't damage the edge….

This is the hone I use: Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

Hope that helps

I purchased a black ebony Dovo Bismarck from SRD about 6 months ago and it is honestly the best razor I've ever used... the only thing is....anything you purchase from SRD comes pre honed by Lynn Abrams himself.... in other words you know that the bevel is set perfectly, and he takes it right through a finishing hone and strop...

when it was time to re hone, I just picked up a Norton 4000 / 8000 grit combo stone... as well as a Naniwa 12k and that pretty much did the trick, it also doesn't hurt to pick up a $10 Balsa Wood CrOx/FeOx strop from Larry @ Whipped Dog....

just the 12k and Balsa strop will keep your Bismarck shaving great for a long time

If you haven't honed before I would suggest sending it out so that you know the bevel is set properly and what a shave ready razor feels like and then do maintenance from there. A naniwa 12k is pretty unbeatable for that. Good luck

Originally Posted by eddy79

If you haven't honed before I would suggest sending it out so that you know the bevel is set properly and what a shave ready razor feels like and then do maintenance from there. A naniwa 12k is pretty unbeatable for that. Good luck

^ - yes, that's the way to go....

If you can get a good shave from the shavette, you'll likely have little trouble with the straight razor *if* it's honed well. Less than stellar honing and stropping= more pressure needed= more irritation= bleurgh!

Honing wise, its probably worth getting it done properly at least the first time - you'll he able to see what a correctly set bevel looks like. Honestly, if you get the bevel set well then its not rocket science to refine the edge with finer stones.

3k stone to set the bevel and 8k to refine it shouldn't break the bank and will give a shave ready razor. Obviously, finer stones will finish it even further but an 8k should give a good edge to shave with.