Thread: I'm sure i'm not the first to ask this...

Originally Posted by cyrano138

that's more like it!!
i agree; i can do it myself. so, what hone should i order? i'd like to order one as soon as possible because i'll be really tempted to shave with my new razor as soon as i get it, and i'm sure that wouldn't be too smart if you guys are right about the 'out of box' sharpness.

: )

A Norton 4k/8k waterstone is generally agreed to be the best for razors (barber hone afficionados notwithstanding). I use the single grit 8x3" hones, but a 2" wide one will do the job just as well, and will cost quite a bit less. Not to discourage you at all, but please, please, buy a POS ebay special and practice honing with it before ruining a new Dovo. There's definitely a technique involved, and you don't want to ruin a good razor. Most folks recommend ordering a honing job as a way to give you a basis for comparison. If you never have one properly sharpened, you won't know what a properly sharpened one feels like, and what it's capable of. As a consequence, you'll get used to crappy shaves. I feel pretty confident in my ability to hone, but I didn't really have a clue until I got a couple from Lynn. A properly honed one will give you a nice basis for comparison when you hone your own, as you have a standard to measure up to. There is no better shave than a straight, but it takes technique, patience, and practice to wring all that performance out of one. I'm still working on it, but it gets incrementally better every day.

Joe

P.S. As far as pasted strops; they're great, but IMO they're only for smoothing up a properly honed edge, and for extending the period between stone honings. They're NOT for sharpening a dull razor. That being said, get one from Tony. (I have the 4 sided, but wish now I'd gotten the 2-sided, as that's all I ever use anyway...very soon. lol) His stuff is the sh*t, and he's a regular contributor here, so he can answer questions, and is available for advice and direction. His products are second to none, too. Oh, and never paste a hanging strop. lol

If you want to get that razor sharp by yourself then the best tools are hones. The hone that a lot of use is a Norton 3" wide
4000/8000 combination hone. They are not cheap but will lst you a lifetime. A less expensive set of classic Barber hones can be purchased from Tilly at www.redtrader99.com. She has a starter set available. They must be lapped flat before you use them. The abrasive pasted paddle strop is a viable alternative, despite what you have read in the help files. Tony Miller has them for sale, pre-pasted. Talk to him and tell him what your trying to do. He can set you up with the proper grit sizes. www.thewellshavedgentleman.com.
The easiest and fastest option is the abrasive pasted paddle strop. Learning to hone is a skill and takes some time.

Hope this helps,

Tilly, aka Redtrader99 also is on ebay. Here is a Lithide hone which by itself should get your new razor shave ready. This would be the least expensive route to get going. I like your
" DIY" attitude. The reason that most here suggest getting a shave ready razor from one of us is to use as a bench mark. That way you are not getting ddiscouraged with trying to learn to shave/hone/strop and giving it all up before you know what it feels like.

320001237244 - ebay #

Glen

I'll agree with Joe that a Norton is the thing to get a dull razor sharp, not a pasted paddle. A Norton is also a fast way to get a new, fresh from the box razor sharp quickly...ONCE you learn how to use it. A pasted paddle will compliment a hone or Norton and I use them exclusively to sharpen 95% of the new Dovo's I sell. There is a big difference between a new, out of the box razor and a dull eBay treasure when it comes to sharpening.

Down the road you will probably want to own both.


Best,
Tony


BTW, thanks guys for the mention

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

I'll agree with Joe that a Norton is the thing to get a dull razor sharp, not a pasted paddle. A Norton is also a fast way to get a new, fresh from the box razor sharp quickly...ONCE you learn how to use it. A pasted paddle will compliment a hone or Norton and I use them exclusively to sharpen 95% of the new Dovo's I sell. There is a big difference between a new, out of the box razor and a dull eBay treasure when it comes to sharpening.

Down the road you will probably want to own both.


Best,
Tony


BTW, thanks guys for the mention

Absolutely...I couldn't get by without all my gear (hones and strops) They complement one another. I wouldn't touch an ebay special with a pasted strop (until well after honing was finished), but afterwards, it does a great job of smoothing up the edge and getting the best out of my razors.

let me start by thanking all of you for taking time to respond. it's uncommon to run into a group so happy to help. i'm a surfer by obsession, and such is not the case with surfers. due to limited breaks and space in the water (especially around here), most surfers aren't exactly forthcoming with advice. let me share a something about myself:

when i wanted to start surfing older boards, people told me i was nuts, that i'd never even be able to turn an old heavy longboard, and that if i ever fell it would kill me. i've been surfing them for about ten years, now, and, in all modesty, i can handle my 10.5', 55lb. longboard (i restored an early 60's board from a santa monica shaper--got it junked for 175 bucks!) better than most of the guys out there on thousand dollar, ultra-light epoxy resin techno-crap flyers.

so maybe you can understand why i want to handle the razor honing myself. i've decided to purchase a norton4/8 3" and skip the pasted strop. i wouldn't mind practicing on a POS ebay special, as someone suggested, but i really don't have a lot of money to throw around, and i'm sure that someone, somewhere, alive or dead, has figured out how to hone on a first razor. if not, i guess i'll just shoot for being the first.

having said all that, any advice on how to avoid ruining my first razor (within the parameters i mentioned already), or just what is meant by 'ruining' (ie. is it fixable after it's ruined?), would be appreciated. no need to repeat what's already in the help files; i don't mind hunting through them myself, but if there's anything you guys could add based on personal experience, or that might be particularly useful to someone in my situation, which may not be much like some others would be awesome.

ps: there's a whole growing movement among surfers around the world now using of 'retro' boards like mine alongside shortboards from the 70's...funny how it takes people so long to catch on to good things!

I like the way you think, cyrano. I'm sure you'll be able to hone your own, even faster if you keep bugging us. Just a few ideas which you may already have thought of:
Get a shave ready razor from an experienced honer. It'll set the bar for you. I've got some. PM me if you like or check Lynn's User Gallery folder, anybody else who offers here or anyone from the Links.
Do get some ebay razors or such like to practice on before you wreck your shavers.
Do lots of reading here. The Help Files contain the collected wisdom of the ancients.

And wrecking a razor by chipping the blade badly would be unsalvageable, whereas ruining the edge with bad stropping means you go back to the hone to fix it.

I'll be looking forward to hearing about your process.

X

also there's a few video's on how to hone and things such as that. If anything like that fails one of the members might have a skype honing session simply to teach you how.

just an afterthought, someone on the boards here told me it's really not feasible to have only one razor. i have to admit, i'm not much into collecting stuff, and i was really hoping to keep the hardware to a minimum. i do shave every day with my prefab mach-three-turbo-jet-fusion-quattro-de-mayo-number, and, though my facial hair is very fine (honestly i don't even think i can grow a full beard), i was planning on doing it everyday with the straight as well. has no one been able to make one razor work every day? i've read that the razor must be left alone for 24 hrs. after use, but wouldn't that just mean i couldn't use it more than once a day?

Originally Posted by cyrano138

just an afterthought, someone on the boards here told me it's really not feasible to have only one razor. i have to admit, i'm not much into collecting stuff, and i was really hoping to keep the hardware to a minimum. i do shave every day with my prefab mach-three-turbo-jet-fusion-quattro-de-mayo-number, and, though my facial hair is very fine (honestly i don't even think i can grow a full beard), i was planning on doing it everyday with the straight as well. has no one been able to make one razor work every day? i've read that the razor must be left alone for 24 hrs. after use, but wouldn't that just mean i couldn't use it more than once a day?

They were most probably just joking with you. We tell this to
every new guy that joins the forum. I'm sure that any of us
could make due with only one.


Terry