Newbie here with some q's

OK been lurking here for awhile, and this will be my first thread that I have started.

My gear is as follows.

IXL Geo.Wostenholm & son Str8 Sheffield
Tweezerman badger brush
generic strop treated with ball glove paste
taylor of old bond street cream, sandalwood
no aftershave or other skin treatments
Norton 4k/8k hone

So I've been shaving with a str8 for about 3 moths now with this equipment, well minus the hone until about 1 week ago. I just quit shaving with the mach 3 cold turkey and went all out str8 from then on. My first experience wasn't a bad one, I had a few cuts, there wasn't a lot of pull and I was relatively happy with the smoothness of the shave. I start my shave with a hot towel treatment for about a minute, i lather, massage, and then hot towel again for another few minutes, lather again, then shave WTG, lather, then shave ATG. After that I get a very nice result with a few places that i have to touch up due to some unruly cowlicks that i have in my beard around my adams apple and jawline.

So since then shaves have steadily been getting better, but in the back of my head I always have this thought that my razor could be sharper. I dont know why I thought this in the first place but the idea was already in my head so I couldn't fight the urger to go sharper. I looked online to find ways to see if my razor was sharp enough, i saw the hanging hair test, the ball of the thumb test,and the thumbnail test.

I give the thumbnail test a try and I could not even tell what was going on there. So i try the ball of my thumb and i guess my razor was sharp because even with the lightest pressure on the blade it would start to fillet my skin off. I then tried the HHT and that absolutely did not work at all. The hair would catch sometimes and at some points on the blade and at others it would just roll off like a butterknife, or so it seemed. This made me decide i needed to give honing a try. I purchase a Norton 4k/8k hone and watch a few videos on youtube about how to hone. I know it's going to be a rough learning curve, but With enough practice and patience I am confident I'll get the hang of it. The hone arrives and I begin my honing adventure. First thing I notice is that my blade is actually warped. The blade does not lay completely flush on the surface of the hone. Well I hone anyway, I dont get the HHT result I wanted but i get a much nicer, smoother and nick free shave.

Since then I have purchased a DOVO special 5/8 faux tortoise str8 so cure my curved blade woes. I am somewhat on a budget so i can't go all out on a really nice razor yet. So the question I ask is what are the opinions on this DOVO razor? Is it a good razor? How does it hone? Did I make a decent choice for a pretty much starter blade? Hopefully my story is similar to some of the experts beginnings out there. Please comment and say hello to Dylan from North Alabama.

-Go Phins!

I think that is a great razor. Be patient with honing. If I could get it, so can you.



P.S. Don't tell anyone but I have days I wonder if my razor could be sharper too.

I think the Wolstenholm will become my practice razor once the DOVO arrives.

Welcome to the straight train and have a great ride!!!!!!
But take that ride slow and steady, it sounds like you are off to a great start.... That Dovo should show a lot to you about blades and edges....


ps: The HHT is just that a TEST the shave is what really counts.....

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Originally Posted by EvilDylan

I think the Wolstenholm will become my practice razor once the DOVO arrives.

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I don't know - you may find you prefer the wolsty to the Dovo shave-wise - I do, but YMMV.

But in any event, the Dovos are good blades. I think you made a good choice.

And contrary to what Alan says, I never have days where I wonder if my blade could be sharper...I *know* it could be sharper.. ;)

James.

The IXL's are great shavers but you should be happy with the Dovo Special as well. Good luck and welcome to SRP!!

The thumbnail test will blunt the razor so should only be done prior to the final honing.
I.XL blades are superb steel but if it's warped then honing needs to be done by an expert.

It's sounds like you're doing really well to be honest, I'd just keep at it and you should see continuous improvements. For a newbie, a pasted paddle strop would be easiest to learn to get a good edge with, but if you're getting good results with the 4K/8K then that's great.

Did you lap the hone before you used it? If not you probably should, as they generally aren't flat enough out of the box. Just lay a sheet of 600 grit wet & dry on a piece of thick glass, throw some water on and move the hone in a figure of eight. It should be even better after this.

I bought a Dovo Special recently and it's a super little razor, you really wouldn't need* any others if you have one of these. For the money they're a bargain, they're easy to hone and take a great edge.

* Notice I said "need", you will probably "want" other razors too. ;)

You getting a good start. I like Dovo, I have the same razor in 6/8 and it's one of my stable. Hones great and keeps it edge for months.

If you noticed, many times it is recommend to have a honemeister hone on of your razors for a bench mark for keen. HHT for a lot of us is a parlor trick. The shave is the test. One of my normal tests is to see if the blade will pop hairs off of my arms. If it does then I sure its good to go for a shave test. Everybody seems to find what works for them.

As Steelforge mentioned. The hone needs to be lapped before you will get good results. The 600 W/D paper is great. I use a Norton flattening stone as I use my Norton stones a lot. I lap about every three or four razors. Once a stone is flat it is easy to keep it flat. It will not stay flat so it must be lapped periodically.

Thanks for the words of advise guys. I did lap the stone first, I bought the flattening stone along with the 4k/8k. I considered not buying it at first but once I started lapping I noticed that the stone was actually not as flat as I thought it would be!

I figured the HHT was probably at the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of sharpness. The razor does pop hairs off my arm quite easily though and as mentioned before, the shave after the hone and stropping was one of my finest shaves yet. Almost BBS with 2 passes. My next few challenges are becoming proficient at honing and learning how to use my left hand a little better.

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Originally Posted by EvilDylan

Thanks for the words of advise guys. I did lap the stone first, I bought the flattening stone along with the 4k/8k. I considered not buying it at first but once I started lapping I noticed that the stone was actually not as flat as I thought it would be!

I figured the HHT was probably at the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of sharpness. The razor does pop hairs off my arm quite easily though and as mentioned before, the shave after the hone and stropping was one of my finest shaves yet. Almost BBS with 2 passes. My next few challenges are becoming proficient at honing and learning how to use my left hand a little better.

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One thing to help train motor memory in your non-dominate hand is to brush your teeth with the off hand. It's not as risky as shaving with it.

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Originally Posted by Kenrup

One thing to help train motor memory in your non-dominate hand is to brush your teeth with the off hand. It's not as risky as shaving with it.

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that is a really good idea, I think I will start doing this to help my left hand shaving as well. It is also supposed to be good for the brain as it stimulates different parts of the brain.

Dylan,

The Dovo's are great razors and you will find that the shaves get better as your skills improve.

The "Thumb Nail Test" is used only during, and to test the progress of, your honing. Once learned, the TNT will reliably tell you when your razor is honed enough, or even when it is over or under honed.

The "Thumb Pad Test" done correctly, is used following stropping to judge the keeness of your razors edge. The keeness of the edge is directly proportional to it's shave quality (read - comfort and closeness).

The "Hanging Hair Test" - This is a tricky one, take it or leave it. It certainly makes sense to me that if a razor can properly pass the HHT the edge is pretty darn sharp and should shave very well. But--- Could a razor still shave and not pass the HHT? Yes. Could a razor "pass" the HHT and yet shave like crap? Yes.

Other than the actual shave itself, the Thumb Pad Test is the most reliable indicator of "shave readiness."

Sounds like you are off to a good start though.

Good luck,

Scott