Thread: Grretings from a straight newbie

Greetings all,

After growing tired of spending lots of money on disposable cartridges that only last a short time, or throwing away disposable razors that only feeds our wasteful disposable lifestyle, I thought it was time to learn the art and skill of old that is straight shaving. I have yet to put straight steel to my face but thought I'd put up a quick post and get some advice.

I now have a new Dovo Special on the way (my wife tells me I have to wait for my birthday, which is only a few days away), with a Dovo canvas/leather strop. I have been practising my new lather technique for a few weeks now with a pure badger brush (silvertip will have to wait) and Proraso soap. I have also purchased a Kasumi Japanese 3000/8000 whetstone (Norton are very hard to find in Australia, and I've these stones are good anyway).

So, I figure I will soon have all the tools I need to get me admitted to the facial injuries ward in the local hospital.

Am I right in thinking the Dovo will not really be 'shave ready' and will require a light honing on the 8000 followed by a strop? I purchased it new from an online e-tailer. I'm not averse to giving the honing a go - I've been using hones since a kid and have done chef's knife sharpening courses over the years (I know there's a difference with razors), and there's also plenty of advice on here and on the Net - so I figure I would at least give it a go. The worst that can happen is that I will be seeking out the help of a honemeister...

Or would I be better off doing a full hone using the 3000 and 8000 in a pyramid pattern, followed by a strop? Or is it a case of take it out of the box, strop and give it a go?

Appreciate any advice.

welcome,

it's impossible to tell what condition the edge of your razor would be in. chances are it will need honing - the retailers who provide such post-factory service usually make it clear, since it costs money and they have to be competitive.

i have no idea about your hone, pyramids are a quite consistent way to get a razor sharp. but if you don't know how fast is your hone and how dull is your edge, it's pretty much shots in the dark.
According to Lynn most factory honed dovos need less than 20 strokes on a norton. Of course thee are Lynn's strokes and it's not very likely that a person honing a razor for a first time will have the same result.

Hope this helps.

I am not sure about using a pyramid on the 3k/8k stone (I am sure some one will be along to help with that) The bevel will need to be set so you will probably have to use the 3k to do that you could use the 8k but it will take longer than the 8k. I am sure you looked through the wiki on honing so you have an idea of what your up against. It is nice to have your first razor honed by a pro, it gives you a good bench mark as to what sharp is and what a properly honed razor should feel like.
You will have enough to worry about with prep, angle and pressure and such that you don't need to worry weather your razor is sharp enough to do the job right. You might see if there are any experienced members close to your location that can hone your razor for the first go.
But good luck with your journey and let us know how it turns out.
Welcome to SRP!!!

Welcome to the forum

Originally Posted by Bagman

After growing tired of spending lots of money on ... it was time to learn the art and skill of old that is straight shaving.

And welcome to better having.

Originally Posted by Bagman

I have been practising my new lather technique for a few weeks now with a pure badger brush

I just ordered a pure badger brush. I've got it. SBAD

Originally Posted by Bagman

So, I figure I will soon have all the tools I need to get me admitted to the facial injuries ward in the local hospital.

Actually, watch out for your hands. A large number of mishaps seem to connect below the wrist, not below the jawline.

Originally Posted by Bagman

Am I right in thinking the Dovo will not really be 'shave ready' and will require a light honing on the 8000 followed by a strop?

It will likely require something. The few Dovo's I have honed have all done well with a full Norton pyramid.

Originally Posted by Bagman

I'm not averse to giving the honing a go - I've been using hones since a kid and have done chef's knife sharpening courses over the years (I know there's a difference with razors), and there's also plenty of advice on here and on the Net - so I figure I would at least give it a go. The worst that can happen is that I will be seeking out the help of a honemeister...

Or would I be better off doing a full hone using the 3000 and 8000 in a pyramid pattern, followed by a strop? Or is it a case of take it out of the box, strop and give it a go?

Appreciate any advice.

You can do it! I did it. I got a nearly shave ready Dubl Duck off eBay and made it shave for my first shave with a straight razor. Just remember to be gentle and be careful. Lap your hone. And read up on honing in the Wiki. Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Wiki

X

I was in the same situation as you, a few months ago. In short, I spent about 12-16 hours honing my first razor. A lot of this was reading, but some of this time was honing and re-honing, to figure it out. I did this on an antique store purchase, but I would have done it on a new razor as well. Shaving with your first honed razor is a nice feeling and you then know that you can be self sufficient with straights.

A pyramid should be fine on that hone. The design of the pyramid is to creep up on the shave ready edge. You remove metal with the low grit and then smooth it out with the higher grit, going slowly to avoid over honing. While the specific laps may not be the same the concept applies to all synthetic hones.

Of course I'm not saying you can't use a progression, it's just that the pyramids are better for a beginner because they allow you to slowly work your way up to the desired sharpness.

Personally I recommend having your first razor professionally honed. First, it gives you a benchmark of sharpness, and second, if you get sub-par shaves you know it's not the razors fault. If you hone it yourself you won't know if any problems are due to you, or the razor.

All in all though, WELCOME! Whether you hone the blade yourself or not, I wish you a wonderful first straight razor shave.

Originally Posted by Bagman

(my wife tells me I have to wait for my birthday, which is only a few days away)
Appreciate any advice.

Explain to your wife that you think life is too short to wait.

Best advice I can give you is to send that beautiful razor out to have it professionally honed. Unless you already have the requisite skillset to put the proper edge on your new razor, let someone put the edge on it for you. It's a good investment. This way you won't get caught in the dilemna of trying to figure out if your problem is the edge or your technique. No reason to get rid of your hones. Just put them away for a bit.

Thanks for everyone's very useful advice!

I tried to convince my wife to give it up before my b'day, but she's more stubborn than me and that's saying something (and probably one of the reasons I married her come to think of it!!).

I'll watch my wrists, elbows, knees, and face!!

As for the honing, I'm still inclined to give it a go as I'd rather learn, but if there is someone skilled up in sharpening razors who lives in Sydney and would be happy to hone it up for me, I'd be grateful if you could PM me. It would be good to know there is someone I could turn to for some help if needed.

Thanks for all the welcomes. This is really I great site with a great community feel to it. It has certainly made my decision to enter the SR world much easier.

Thanks to all.