Thread: Do I need to hone a new razor?

Do you need to hone a new Dovo razor? I tried searching for the topic, but can't find.

Welcome to SRP. Did you buy it from a vendor who told you that professional honing was part of the deal ? If not you may be best off sending it out to a honemeister. See the SRP Classifieds and 'member services'.

Agreed.

Dovos come from the factory "pre-honed." Their degree of shave-readiness from this can vary greatly but in general, they do not come from the factory in a shave-ready condition.

AFter the factory, someone else needs to hone them. If the one you bought was not described as being honed, then it needs to be honed as Jimmy described. You will find the shave to be much improved when it comes back to you.

2 Dovo bought from eBay. Best quality and an Astrale.

No mention of shave readiness.

I also have a Norton 4K/8K enroute. So I probably will attempt to hone.

I mistakenly bought the zeepk strap as well, but ordered the filly from advice here.

If I was you I would try a shave with them. If it is you first straight razor shaving check out the link in my sig to the beginner's guide. Read Lynn's suggestions for the first straight razor shave and follow that. If the razors shave you well that is fine.

If they need honing I would suggest sending one out to be pro honed and wait until you get it back so that you have something to go by to judge your own efforts. If these are new Dovos you might want to get some older used razors to practice on before you try honing your brand new blades. There is a learning curve to honing razors too. It isn't the same as honing knives or tools.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If I was you I would try a shave with them. If it is you first straight razor shaving check out the link in my sig to the beginner's guide. Read Lynn's suggestions for the first straight razor shave and follow that. If the razors shave you well that is fine.

If they need honing I would suggest sending one out to be pro honed and wait until you get it back so that you have something to go by to judge your own efforts. If these are new Dovos you might want to get some older used razors to practice on before you try honing your brand new blades. There is a learning curve to honing razors too. It isn't the same as honing knives or tools.

I would strongly recommend following Jimmy's advice. Get to know a genuinely sharp edge, and achieving it becomes much, much easier. Good luck.

Received my Dovo "Best Quality" yesterday! along with the zeepk strop. Gave it a few strops being very careful to keep it light and flat going slow. It arrived very sharp and did past the HHT, so I wanted to not over strop it and worried about ruining the edge before the first shave.

Did a partial shave last night and completed it with my safety razor. Shaved again this morning with it. I definitely see I have a learning curve to get over just from the length of the blade. The safety razor is much narrower. I shaved again this morning with just the Dovo and it went much better. Also no nicks! hehe.

I do think that my use of the old fashioned safety razor first for the last couple of years is helping because I am used to a single edge.

You guys are great! Thanks for all your help!

Glad to hear it is working well for you. My first two of three weeks i did partial shaves with the straight and finished the more difficult areas with the DE. Once I got the hang of the straight the DE went in the closet. Take your time and before too long you'll be getting through the whole shave with the straight.

+1 on the previous advice. If you're just starting out as a straight shaver, it is probably best to send at least one of your razors to somebody who is expert at honing razors.

As for using your safety razor to complete your shave...Whatever floats your boat. There is no shame in using your safety razor to complete your shave, especially with problem areas of your face. As Jimmy points out, as you gain in confidence and perfect your straight razor shaving technique, the need for the safety razor will diminish to the point where you won't need to use it at all.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

If one buys a straight razor from SRD, which by anyone's definition is truly shave ready, should it still be stropped before first use? Also, assuming reasonable stropping technique for a beginner and appreciating that mileage may vary, when should one expect it to need honing (in ballpark terms)? I have been told that when it does need to be honed, a 12K stone ought to do it. Any comments on that?