New Dovo on 8k?

My new Dovo Ebony finally came!! (stainless steel spike point). Its like Christmas has come early for me :p Unfortunately I have already shaved so won't be able to test it until tomorrow or the day after (passes thumb test).

I've attached a pic and the blade seems straight apart from a slight rise before the point.

Since I know that 'shave ready' from Dovo does not mean shave ready I am wondering whether I should give it a few strokes on the Norton 8K? I know I need to tape the spine since its gold but won't this screw up the bevel?

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/4919/dovo1.th.jpg

Where did you get the razor? If you purchased it through Classic Shaving with the sharpening service then it should be very much shave ready.

If not then it will probably have to be honed. Now you should tape the spine when you hone it so how it effects the bevel doesn't matter so much because you have to tape the spine regardless.

Taping the spine won't "screw up the bevel" so much as it will alter it, it will still be a fine razor.

If you have confidence if your honing abilities then go for it. Tape the spine and use the marker test to see how the blade is making contact. Assuming the blade contacts the hone fine then do some light pyramids to bring it up to speed.

While there are finer hones out there you should be able to get a fine shave off the Norton 8K.

Goodluck!

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately not from classicshaving and not honed.
Hmm well I haven't failed in honing anything yet. More accurately, I haven't honed anything yet so my confidence rests on this ;)
Luckily I know how a sharp blade should feel so I'll try shaving with it first and based on this go for the taping and magic marker test :medvl:

Two thoughts:

1) The shoulder isn't gold, why would you need
to tape the spine?

2) If you do tape the spine, it's possible that you
would need to go down to the 4k to get the edge
even and sharp.

- Scott

You will likely need to put the bevel on it. If you are using an 8K you will be honing until the next ice age. Unless you've already got the hones, send it out for honing.

Taping the spine WILL effect the bevel. It will put a double bevel on the edge (not a bad thing, more comfy shave that way). Do not tape it while using the norton 4k/8k. Only if you go to a barber hone and then chrome-ox or paste. Then remove the tape before stropping on the leather. I'm not sure if you should do 4k without tape, then maybe 8k with the tape if that's the only hone you have. I would ask Jockeys or the other experienced hone dudes out there. I'm still fairly new to honing so...

My Ebony Spike Point is at my house... but i'm still not :(
4 more days till i'm home. Goodluck with the honing!!!!

My factory-fresh Dovo needed a fair bit of work on the Norton 4K then 8K. If you tape the spine this will probably mean you need to do much less honing - instead of having to grind away at the whole bevel, you will be creating a new, thin second bevel just at the blade edge.

Also you are right, tape will avoid scratching the gold on the back of the spine as you turn the blade over for each stroke. This can be avoided without tape if you are careful, but when you are new to honing that's easier said than done.

Try shaving with it before you do anything. That way you'll know if you have improved it or made it worse! :gl:

Wow, lots of new replies! I didn't check this thread for a while. Great info guys. I still haven't shaved with it yet but only a few hours to go until I do; so will update you :D

From what's been said I'll definitely be taping the spine and almost definitely going down to 4k to do a few pyramids if its not sharp enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cessnabird

Taping the spine WILL effect the bevel. It will put a double bevel on the edge (not a bad thing, more comfy shave that way). Do not tape it while using the norton 4k/8k. Only if you go to a barber hone and then chrome-ox or paste. Then remove the tape before stropping on the leather. I'm not sure if you should do 4k without tape, then maybe 8k with the tape if that's the only hone you have. I would ask Jockeys or the other experienced hone dudes out there. I'm still fairly new to honing so...

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If you use one layer of tape it will not put a double bevel on it. You need multiple layers of tape to do that. I also wouldn't be redoing the bevel unless it is seriously messed up. Lastly, if it is typical of most new razors the 8K will be fine. Just do about 40 strokes and test. Unless you got a real stinkeroo I would bet maybe 100 strokes max is all you will need on the 8K.

I have never had to set the bevel on a razor beyond what a 4/8K Norton will do, and I have never taped the spine either. Since the blade on this razor is stainless steel (probably a 440 or one of its modifications) I would recommend that you start with the 8K. Stainless tends to gall when sharpened and this can cause the loss of relatively large chunks off of the edge if passed across a course stone. You can probably get away with 4K if you really need it, but I would start with th 8K first just to be safe.

FYI, if it is a martensitic stainless like 440 it will be magnetic, if it is not magnetic it is probably austenitic steel and this will not stay sharp for very long.

Well the first shave was kinda strange. I stropped it well, it passed the HHT, popped some hairs off my arm, and felt very sharp on the thumb.
I did the first pass but found that it kept getting stuck and the shave was not very close.
I'll try the 8k in a short while but not too sure how I'll test it since it already passed all the tests before! One of the few times I wish beard growth would be faster :p

edit: it is magnetic.

My first good shaves happened when I stopped returning to the hones after each test shave, and instead did 60 laps of stropping before each shave. Over the course of several days things just got better and better. Just something to consider. No point wearing the blade out excessively while you are still developing the new shaving technique.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MisterZadir

Hmm well I haven't failed in honing anything yet. More accurately, I haven't honed anything yet

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I love that. My wife says often when asked if she can perform an unfamiliar skill, such as playing a saxophone: "I don't know"
Following up the inquisitor's puzzled look with: "I've never tried"

Just thought I'd update this. I used the 8k but my honing technique wasn't that great at the start so it failed the HHT. I then practised and did some pyramids (4k/8k) and finally had it pass the HHT.

It now shaves but not as well as my wapi. I guess, as has been mentioned, practise makes perfect.

I also don't have anything higher than 8k and I always read guys on here going from 8k to 12k and some even to 16k! I have ordered some 0.5 chromium oxide paste to help give me a better finish.

Overall I'm pretty happy since at least I'm going the right way on the learning curve :p

It sounds like you are getting there. I too am fairly new to honing and feel great that I have brought some butter knife dull razors I got at an antique shop to one of them shaving scary well after about an hour of playing with the norton pyramids. Have fun!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MisterZadir

Just thought I'd update this. I used the 8k but my honing technique wasn't that great at the start so it failed the HHT. I then practised and did some pyramids (4k/8k) and finally had it pass the HHT.

It now shaves but not as well as my wapi. I guess, as has been mentioned, practise makes perfect.

I also don't have anything higher than 8k and I always read guys on here going from 8k to 12k and some even to 16k! I have ordered some 0.5 chromium oxide paste to help give me a better finish.

Overall I'm pretty happy since at least I'm going the right way on the learning curve :p

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You don't really need anything finer than 8K, a good stropping will smooth out the edge. Finer stones are nice to have, but not really necessary. The difference in shave quality between your stainless Dovo and the Wapi (carbon steel) is pretty much typical of the different steels. Spend some more time on the strop with the stainless blade and it will smooth out.