Progress and a question

Some of you may remember my post before about my first attempt shaving with my new Dovo razor. The edge was actually slightly dull and poorly honed. The tip was actually at a rather aggressive angle as well. I went through and reset the bevel on my 6k stone I purchased when things weren't working for me. I had also bought a chinese Guangxi 12k stone at the same time but unfortunately mine fell under the category of being overly aggressive to my blade. It actually killed the polished edge. I went back to the 6K and re-honed it. The blade didn't pass the HHT but it was pretty sharp. I set it about 60 laps across my strop and tried a few passes with it on my face. MUCH better than when I first bought it, if you can believe that, but still not sharp enough for a full shave.

Now here is where my question is. I can't afford the 12K+ stones. They are way too much for my current budget. But I did some research and saw that pasted strops can come close if not equivalent, (and sometimes surpass stone for some experienced users) so I bought a new strop with premium cloth and a green crayon from SRD. OK well here is my question. Is it better to paste leather or cloth, and how exactly do I use the green paste crayon? I figure these are things I should know before they arrive so I have a decent idea of what needs to be done. I still have my leather and I will have a new one that I plan on using as my final strop. (black Latigo i believe... can't remember right now)

Also, storing your blade: does baby oil work well for protecting the blade? Or should I use the WD-40 or something else? Baby oil seems to be working thus far.

(note: I did read the sticky in stropping section about pasting your strop so I do know less is more.)

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Originally Posted by EngineerJim

Some of you may remember my post before about my first attempt shaving with my new Dovo razor. The edge was actually slightly dull and poorly honed. The tip was actually at a rather aggressive angle as well. I went through and reset the bevel on my 6k stone I purchased when things weren't working for me. I had also bought a chinese Guangxi 12k stone at the same time but unfortunately mine fell under the category of being overly aggressive to my blade. It actually killed the polished edge. I went back to the 6K and re-honed it. The blade didn't pass the HHT but it was pretty sharp. I set it about 60 laps across my strop and tried a few passes with it on my face. MUCH better than when I first bought it, if you can believe that, but still not sharp enough for a full shave.

Now here is where my question is. I can't afford the 12K+ stones. They are way too much for my current budget. But I did some research and saw that pasted strops can come close if not equivalent, (and sometimes surpass stone for some experienced users) so I bought a new strop with premium cloth and a green crayon from SRD. OK well here is my question. Is it better to paste leather or cloth, and how exactly do I use the green paste crayon? I figure these are things I should know before they arrive so I have a decent idea of what needs to be done. I still have my leather and I will have a new one that I plan on using as my final strop. (black Latigo i believe... can't remember right now)

Also, storing your blade: does baby oil work well for protecting the blade? Or should I use the WD-40 or something else? Baby oil seems to be working thus far.

(note: I did read the sticky in stropping section about pasting your strop so I do know less is more.)

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Silly question but did you lap the Chinese 12k?

I use a similar progression. King 1k/6k followed by the c12k and strop on Crox. I get hht passable edges.

I had to lap the ever loving bejeebus outta the c12k to get it to polish right.

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Originally Posted by ncraigtrn

Silly question but did you lap the Chinese 12k?

I use a similar progression. King 1k/6k followed by the c12k and strop on Crox. I get hht passable edges.

I had to lap the ever loving bejeebus outta the c12k to get it to polish right.

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I did lap it to get it flat. Then took a coarse stone to bring it down a little and relapped it. It has a very coarse and glittery appearance to it. Almost like a 1K diamond stone, actually. I wonder if I should treat it like an arkansas stone and sharpen all of my kitchen knives on it to smooth the surface out or if its just a lost cause. It certainly is very hard and i can see the natural variations in the stone. Now that the stone is dry i can see there are a few scratches in it that I missed lapping it the second time. I can't feel them at all with finger or nail though.Attachment 170907

Rather than looking at finer stones, consider one that is coarser!

6k wil bring back a slightly rolled bevel from poor stropping but if the bevel wasn't set to begin with (This seems to be the case from what you described) then it's just not going to cut it. *Unless you use seriously heavy slurry but even then you'd be better off buying a courser stone*

1k, 2k or 4k would all be vastly better choices for bevel setting and they have the huge advantage of being cheaper.

The razor should be damn sharp at the lower grit stage before you move on - we're talking shearing through arm hairs and effectively shaving without requiring too much pressure. We're not looking for smooth, since that's what the finer stones are good at, but we want it seriously sharp before the finer stones are touched. Without sounding harsh, you might consider reading the Wiki under the 'library' section of this site - the questions you have raised suggest that it would be well worth your time.

As for the pasted strop - either the leather or the fabric will work - I'd be inclined to paste the fabric and leave the smooth leather natural. Seriously though, leave the fine stones and pastes for the moment and get a great bevel set before you move on.

yep wd 40 works fine too, but if you use your razor regularly it really doesn't need anything but dry it thoroughly when done with tissue paper, as far as getting your razor sharp why not spend 20 dollars and let one of the pros close to you or send it out , lots cheaper than a stone and with your CRoX you can keep it sharp a long time that is unless you plan on honing alot of razors stropping and paste can keep it going along time I get 6-7 months , and pro honed by one of the good ones out here will tell you what sharp is , so you can find out if its technique that is the culprit tc

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Originally Posted by EngineerJim

I did lap it to get it flat. Then took a coarse stone to bring it down a little and relapped it. It has a very coarse and glittery appearance to it. Almost like a 1K diamond stone, actually. I wonder if I should treat it like an arkansas stone and sharpen all of my kitchen knives on it to smooth the surface out or if its just a lost cause. It certainly is very hard and i can see the natural variations in the stone. Now that the stone is dry i can see there are a few scratches in it that I missed lapping it the second time. I can't feel them at all with finger or nail though.Attachment 170907

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I hear you. When I lapped mine I went to 1500 grit wet paper to make it have a damn near glossy surface. Another thing to look at as well is to try lapping the other side. My stone definitely had a good side and a bad side. Just food for thought. But if you've done all that already I apologize for shipping a dead horse.

I do use baby oil on all my razors in my rotation. The ones that I have stored I use gun oil on.

Baby oil is merely scented mineral oil. Mineral oil is what I choose to use. The scent compounds in the baby oil are unlikely to cause any kind of build up with routine removal/shave/re-application, so you're golden :)

Actually, once you get the hang of proper honing, it's really easy. You just need to take your time. The only problem I had was the lack of edge perfection from a king 6K. A glass 6K may shave but this won't. Either way, it is close which is why I got the CrOx. I just need to finish the edge.

Speaking of CrOx. I have the SRD crayon on the way. What are some recommendations for use? Flat leather, hanging, linen? Also, do I need to shave it and mix with oil or will it rub on?

Glad the baby oil works!

I'll try flattening the other side of the stone to see if that makes a difference.