Thread: Is my Dovo sharp enough?

That razor is sharp enough. I bought the Best Quality 6/8 from SRD 3 months ago and I haven't even thought about honing it yet. Lynn Abrams hones those razors and you're not gonna do a better job than him out of the gate.

Have you stropped the razor since the last shave? If you have, I'd check your technique on that. Keep in mind that even a perfectly honed razor still needs to be stropped and used correctly when you shave. If it's between a razor honed by Lynn being sharp enough or your technique being off on your 2nd shave, the answer is your technique is off.

Give it a good stropping and focus on getting your shaving technique right. Obviously if the first shave went pretty well, you've got it in you to do it, it's just a matter of being consistent. Focus on good shaving and stropping technique for now, and you can worry about honing in a few months.

Good luck and welcome to SRP!

Originally Posted by BingoBango

That razor is sharp enough. I bought the Best Quality 6/8 from SRD 3 months ago and I haven't even thought about honing it yet. Lynn Abrams hones those razors and you're not gonna do a better job than him out of the gate.

Have you stropped the razor since the last shave? If you have, I'd check your technique on that. Keep in mind that even a perfectly honed razor still needs to be stropped and used correctly when you shave. If it's between a razor honed by Lynn being sharp enough or your technique being off on your 2nd shave, the answer is your technique is off.

Give it a good stropping and focus on getting your shaving technique right. Obviously if the first shave went pretty well, you've got it in you to do it, it's just a matter of being consistent. Focus on good shaving and stropping technique for now, and you can worry about honing in a few months.

Good luck and welcome to SRP!

Paul,

I think the razor came from Classic Shaving. The strop came from SRD. If the clear Dovo factory sticker was still on the razor when it was received, I don't think it was professionally honed by anybody. If that's the case, then the razor needs to be sent out to somebody to be professionally honed to make it "shave ready."

If it had the clear sticker on the blade, I would agree that it had not been sharpened. I have quite a collection of those stickers which are removed when honing the razor. When done, it only gets a coat of oil and wrapped back up.

Lynn

Originally Posted by jhenry

Paul,

I think the razor came from Classic Shaving. The strop came from SRD. If the clear Dovo factory sticker was still on the razor when it was received, I don't think it was professionally honed by anybody. If that's the case, then the razor needs to be sent out to somebody to be professionally honed to make it "shave ready."

Oh Wow! My Bad!

I must have read that wrong - I thought it said the razor was from SRD. Looks like Lynn came down to set me straight...

Sorry existart.

Now I feel like a dork. Went on the CS website and found one answer:

As a customer service, the razors in our Dovo inventory labeled "PRESHARPENED" have been additionally honed in the USA by a ClassicShaving Sharpening Expert before being returned to our inventory. The razors without this description have been sharpened by DOVO in Germany and have not recieved additional sharpening.

I did find the sticker, and it was the DOVO factory one warning not to touch the edge. However, I bought it presharpened so it was either honed with it on or replaced afterward.

I will most definitely take notice of my shaving and stropping technique and get back to you when I get to take another go at it. I have a feeling I might have been too aggressive with my shave; my second beard was more of a short stubble and I might have been too gung ho about getting it close (I tend to shave better when the hair is grown out a tad more). I'll keep practicing the stropping too, I've been obsessively cautious about rolling the edge but there might be something I'm doing wrong that I haven't noticed yet.

The good news is, I can't wait to shave again, I really want to get this right!

Oop, too slow for all those posts! Lynn, it was oiled when I received it, which seemed to be what was holding the sticker (more like non-adhesive plastic) to the blade.

Given that your blade seems to be appropriately honed, all evidence seems to be pointing to your stropping technique. A poorly stropped blade may lead to an improper shaving technique. Your shaving technique is compensating for a poorly stropped blade. Cause and effect.


On the stropping issue. Keep it taunt and do not apply too much pressure. You should let the strop do the work, it is not a forceful job really. If you physically feel like you are applying pressure on the strop, back off a bit. It should be a very smooth operation to avoid curling the edge.

The difference between a excellent VS a poor stropping job can be dramatic. If you are not easily cutting your wiskers, you may have the tendance to work too hard while shaving, thereby applying too much pressure while shaving. The result will be a post shave condition as you are describing. If the razor does not feel good on your face, something is wrong and you should stop and go back to the strop.

EDIT: Ok, forget everything I said. Lynn just posted saying that the blade was likely not sharpened. Blade shapening supersedes my point.