Thread: Newbie wana be has a problem

First of all I would like to say hi :-) since this is my first post although I have been visiting the forum and reading the posts for some time.
Recently I accuired my straight shaving set consisting of:

1. Dovo ebony silver steel 5/8" round point
2. Dovo prima rindleader strop
3. Belgian yellow coticule hone.

The razor was not shave ready when it arrived but I managed to get it to pass the hanging hair test (read all about honing and stroping here :-) ). The problem is when I tried to shave with it it felt like it was pulling and tugging a lot although I tried changing the angle while shaving :-(.
So my question is wheather this is because of the poor technique or am I doing somethig wrong?
I have been shaving with a DE (with proper prep) for a long time so I know how a quality shave should look and feel like and the straight was nowhere near that even on the cheek areas.

Thanks for your patience and happy holidays :-D.

The HHT can give false positives, it is not a reliable test for first time honers.... for that matter even experienced honers don't rely on it all that much .. Your razor failed the only test that really matters the shave test...
The biggest problem for new people at honing is failing to do the low end grunt work of getting the bevel sharp then progressing to the higher grits and refining the edge...

There is no playing catch up, the higher grit stones will not pull a dull bevel miraculously into line... In your case this is a progression on the same stone using differing amount of slurry progressing to just plain water...
I have heard from some rather experienced people that a yellow with slurry can cut a bevel but I say "experienced" and emphasize it.. as I don't think this is all that easy to do (Maybe a coticule junkie will chime in and explain)

What I will bet money on is that your edge has spots of sharpness and spots that are still dull, and that you need to start at the beginning and get the entire edge sharp...

Since the edge is NOT shave ready, try the TNT and see what the results are... The edge should dig into a wet thumbnail at every point on it....

+1 with Glen. A few thoughts Hephaestus. First, it might be best to send your nive razor out to one of our honemeisters to put the right edge on it. In the mean time, if you want to start with hones you can purchase the Norton 4K/8K. It will help put a good bevel on your razor, then put a finishing polish on the edge with your coticule. And to learn the honing skills purchase an inexpensive razor on on ebay (not a Zeepk) or from an anitque shop/fair. That way you can compare your edge against one that is done correctly.

I also highly ercommend getting a copy of Lynn's CD!! Worth its weight in gold for the new user...

Thanks for the quick reply. I did the TNT and the TPT and the edge seems consistent throught the entire lenght of the blade and digs into the nail. The razor shaves arm hair effortlessly but it is not as sharp as a DE blade (which I have come to understand as normal).
Considering that this is a new razor is it neccessary to reset the bewel? If so could it be done without lower grit hones (by using only sandpaper) since I only have a yellow coticule?

Y ou can do it with a yellow and slurry, how much work and time is dependent on the razors edge.
You may want to buy abelgian blue to go with the yellow.

as nun2sharp said, it's possible to hone it up using your coticule, which btw is a really versatile razor hone, starting off with a slurry and finishing with water only. There are several threads here on honing with a coticule, and hopefully Bart, the resident coticulemeister will steer you in the right direction, if you want to try to hone it yourself.

I know some of you like the Coticules and I have been playing with them for a few years now. I am not a fan of the blue (Very slow cutting compared to either the Norton 4K or Shapton Glass 4K) at all and find the yellow with slurry can be inconsistent. Yes, you can hone with both and use a lot more strokes depending on the razors, but the Norton 4K/8K or the same in the Shapton Glass are probably the most consistent and easiest for new people to learn on. I will still use my Coticule on occasion with water only following the 8K for a polish, but that really is it for me. I used to use it with a light slurry, but found the polish better with just water. I still consider them nice hones and have three of them. Most new razors that I run across which is a ton of them every week, still need a short trip to the 4K to ensure a good bevel and then a good initial honing.

Like everything else in this sport, you will definitely develop personal preferences in razors, strops, stones and just about everything you can develop an aquisition disorder for.

Have fun,

Lynn