Edge life before more than stropping is needed?

As a noob, I find that this really comes down to my stropping. I have 2 Dovos. The first one can shave, but hardly takes hair off now, even after some Crox. I screwed it up stropping poorly. The second one is still shaving well after a week, with daily stropping only, but I really have to watch my stropping. I think as my stropping improves, the length of time between touch ups will increase, as others have mentioned.

I have been diligent about stropping but yesterday morning I felt a little pulling which indicates it is time for me to take a further step to maintain and freshen up the edge on my razor. The ultimate result of the shave was still rather acceptable but considering my novice status, my threshold for "acceptable" is not very high yet. I have read the various advice posted here and thanks to all. I have placed an order and have the following items on the way:

Norton 4k/8k combo water stone;
Norton Flattening Stone;
Chromium Oxide - Semi-Paste - 0.5 Micron; and
Balsa Wood Bench Hone (I know I should have easily made my own but I had an itchy trigger finger online last night :gwh: ).

My plan is to use the Chromium Oxide w/ the Balsa wood - maybe 10 to 15 laps - to see if I can get my razor's edge to freshen up. If so, I will put away the Norton stone until more aggressive/comprehensive sharpening is needed. If more is needed, then I will consider using the Norton 8K to be followed by the crox. I will also pick-up in the future a higher grit stone but I wanted to limit the size (cost) of the shipment lest my wife take particular notice and commence her own purchasing blitzkrieg.

I really hesitate to contact my only razor with the Norton stone until I have an opportunity to pick-up a less expensive razor to practice with as advised above. In the meantime though, I still need to shave and will do what I need to do to keep up the edge on my current and only TI.

Any obvious problems with my plan? What else is recommended? Any advice in applying the Crox semi-paste to the balsa?

Thanks very much as usual.
Dan

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Originally Posted by ElChe

While "less more often" sounds like great advice, I've only had about 6 shaves on my Dovo Special, so it's hard for me to differentiate "learning curve" from "starting to pull".

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True words :)

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Originally Posted by DPMaltese

I can see my interests progressing rapidly towards becoming self-sufficient in razor maintenance but for now I'm more concerned with trying to make sure I'm shaving with a good edge so that I can determine whether or not my technique is improving.

But as a wannabe wood worker and home improvement enthusiast I certainly do not need too much of an incentive to get more into the "do it yourself" aspect of straight razors. Thanks for the input.

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Be careful give it some time. I went hog wild with honing gear and found out I don't need half the stuff I purchased. I would recommend the SRP modular strop with felt pads using 1 micron and .5 micron diamond paste or CrxO. Go slow.

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Originally Posted by red96ta

True words :)

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I get it. Thanks. :)

I know that the pulling I experienced yesterday is a function of poor technique or less than optimal blade sharpness or a combination of both. Regardless, I will have to freshen up the edge at some point. So I will forge ahead before the blade becomes dull (due to use or improper technique) and ends up requiring more effort to bring it back.

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Originally Posted by ShoreBird

Be careful give it some time. I went hog wild with honing gear and found out I don't need half the stuff I purchased. I would recommend the SRP modular strop with felt pads using 1 micron and .5 micron diamond paste or CrxO. Go slow.

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Funny, I was strongly considering the SRP modular strop. I have read good things about it. I will probably end up buying it soon. For my initial foray into refreshing the edge. I wanted to stay on the inexpensive side even though I understand the modular strop to be a good value. I fully intend to go as slow as possible and to take my time. Thanks for the advice.

Hello Fellow Long Islander,

I have been at SR shaving for a little under a year and bought some hones to maintain my edge. What I found out is that I have a hard time honing, so I leave that to the professionals. What I now do is refreshing the edge once a month on a paddle/balsa strop with chromium oxide. I made the paddle exactly as specified under the wiki tab and clicking "maintaining SR". Look under "making a pasted balsa strop". You will see how to make a home-made strop for only a few dollars. It works great. I wish I knew the person who published it because it does the job very well. Just buy some chromium oxide and you will be able to always have a sharp razor. If ever you need honing, maybe once a year, you can send it out to a professional. This will save you time and money. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by DPMaltese

How long should a quality pro-honed razor's edge last with only stropping before more measures (i.e. pasted strop/high grit stone) are usually necessary? Consider novice user with almost daily use and avg. beard.

I have been advised that the razor likely won't need to be re-honed until about 2 months of use.

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I have to admit it, I feel sorry for newbs asking this question. The reason? The conflicting answers they receive.

One of the main problems is the fact that some do not consider the use of pastes as "honing" or touching up. Therefore when asked how long between maintenance the answer is months or even years. This can be true for the pros who have been doing this for decades (thinking of the "stropping is king" thread), but is completely unrealistic for new guys. They feel like failures if their edges do not last as long as the guys on SRP told them they would in the Beginners Section. I feel that it would be more responsible for senior members to advise them that edge longevity comes with advanced skill; a comfortable shave from a optimally sharp is definitely preferrable.

BTW - for the OP, DPMaltese:
It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a daily shaver in the hands of a novice to be in need of some form of touchup (paste, barber hone etc) anywhere between 5 and 15 shaves.

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Originally Posted by red96ta

I shaved with a Dovo Bismarck nearly every day for nearly three months before it started to lose it's edge. About every week and a half, I did ten laps on the pasted strop and it brought it right back.

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If your razor didn't start losing it's edge for three months, then what was the point of hitting the paste every 1.5 weeks in that time frame?

Technically that's a touchup every 11 shaves or so, for a total of 8 touchups in three months....

When you are getting into str8 shaving, your technique is not quite there so you will probably end up dulling the edge faster than normal (sometimes after 2-3 weeks maybe). Once you become more proficient, this time will extend further and further into the future. I have heard that some can go without honing for as long as 1+ years.

Having 2-3 razors that are shave ready in your arsenal is not a bad idea...in fact, I would highly recommend it. It offers several advantages:

a) You can rotate between them, extending the life of the edges since they won't see daily use.

b) You will have back up razors when you send the rest for honing. With one razor, that is hard to do.

If, as you indicated, you intend to become self sufficient in razor maintenance, then there's never a better time to learn how to hone than now. BUT, before you take those shave ready razors to the stones, stop and get yourself some practice blades...The classifieds section is a good place as you can get good quality blades for $40-$60. eBay may be another choice. You want to get a few that you can learn how to set a bevel, sharpen, polish and finish. For this, I found the Naniwas to be great, easy to use, and affordable. I recommend the 1k, 5k, 8k, and 12k.