professionally honed..?

hi everyone,

i'm not sure if you have heard my story before, but here it is. i got a new dovo special from royalshave . com. i tried shaving with it when it was delivered, but i realized it wan't sharp enough. i called two Art of Shaving stores near me, one being in nyc. they told me to go to Henry Westphal. i took my razor down there, and they said they would sharpen it. i gave them my college address to mail it to since when i brought it there when i was home on easter break. i received the razor today at school and tried to shave with it. THE RAZOR was no where near sharp enough. there was tugging and pulling throughout the whole shave. my parker shavette gets closer and more comfortable shaves. i spent $37.50 to get it sharpened and shipped to me in connectcut. i am very disappointed and want a full refund from to company. has anyone had this experience before? i was hoping to get a prof. honing and i am very upset with the results.
sorry to be rambling about my terrible experience. if anyone can add any insight on this topic please do! i plan on calling Henry Westphal tomorrow to inform them on my problem.

Shave quality seems to be a function of blade sharpness and technique. If your technique is good, then the razor may be at fault. Still, my experience with a Shavette has shown me that it can be clearly sharper than a straight razor.

Personally, if I had been disappointed by any vendor anywhere, I would give the vendor an opportunity to correct the problem before publicizing it in an international forum.

is that your first straight razor?

Im a newbie my 1st razor is gold dollar(not shave ready) and my 2nd razor is Dovo best quality(shave ready), when I first using the Dovo I know nothing about the technique of str8 razor shaving but since the Dovo is sharp & professionally honed, I still get pretty good shaves. No pulling no tugging. Im pretty sure that it is your Dovo need to be professionally honed. you have to call back the royalshave.

have you tried shaving your arm and hanging hair test? I think if you pass these two then it might be your lack of technique

GoodLuck

I think your problem may be a problem with your shaving technique--lade angle, etc. If your Dovo was "shave ready" that would account for the problems you experienced.

Westphal may be able to correct the problem or give you a refund.

If the razor still isn't sharp after a second try with Westphal, I would recommend that you consult the SRP Classifieds. There are any number of members in your area or beyond who could hone your Dovo straight razor to perfection; and they would do so for less than $37.50, including shipping.

As fo the Gold Dollar....It may be possible to hone it, but from what I've read here in the SRP forums Gold Dollars are difficult to hone. Some won't hold an edge.

We hear this story on a regular basis. Beginners who don't know how to use a straight razor are disappointed with their first shaves and then assume the razor is not sharp. Unfortunately, the "took it to a knife sharpener" story is also common. Most of them do not know how to sharpen a straight razor, despite the number of them who confidently declare "a blade is a blade." Your razor may be just fine, or it may be messed up.

If you'd like, I can evaluate it for the price of postage both ways. I'll look at it under my microscope. If it is honed wrong, I'll let you know and I'll fix it. If it looks okay, I'll shave test it to evaluate it further. If it needs work, I'll hone it up before returning it. This way you will be able to confidently declare that your next bad shave is your own fault!

thanks for all the responses!
the razor neither passes the hht or pops the hairs off my arm. another clue that i got that the razor isn't sharp enough is that while shaving my face i didn't cut myself at all with it. like i said, i've been using a shavette to practice my technique, and i get awesome shaves from that, doing a three pass shave. my Dovo blade doesn't cut the hairs at all, it just pulls out hairs as i drag it down my face. i'll give them a call today and see what they say.

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Originally Posted by ace

Personally, if I had been disappointed by any vendor anywhere, I would give the vendor an opportunity to correct the problem before publicizing it in an international forum.

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also, i apologize for doing this; it's just that i was very disappointed with my experience. after everything gets settled with the situation, i will let everyone know how it went.

You do realize there is a SRP meet in NY this weekend where Gugi, Holli4Pirating, JoeD, and BKatchmer plus others are going to be at... I know those 4 can hone a razor quite well, besides who else might be there... I would try and make it if I were new :) The hands on experience would be well worth the trip...

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

You do realize there is a SRP meet in NY this weekend where Gugi, Holli4Pirating, JoeD, and BKatchmer plus others are going to be at... I know those 4 can hone a razor quite well, besides who else might be there... I would try and make it if I were new :) The hands on experience would be well worth the trip...

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i did see that. i would love to go, but i'm at school without a car so i would have no way of getting there. thanks though for the input!

Maybe you could ask the company to describe their honing process? If they describe it in a way that isn't correct then you'd know for sure. If they seem like they have the process right it may be your technique or they just didn't execute correctly. Who knows? It could truly be any number of factors but I'd start with questioning the people who honed the blade if you feel your technique is good enough to determine a sharp blade.

I think taking utopian up on his offer is your best bet. 1) it is a generous offer and you won't be able to beat the price, 2) you will instantly know whether you are the problem or the razor is. Don't put too much faith in any tests: HHT, TNT, whathaveyou... These tests are for pros for use mainly during honing. As you are new unfortunately the tests are even less reliable than your shave test. You maybe 100% right and your technique could be flawless but without experience that can't be a known and unfortunately with two variables we won't be able to give you an answer. Utopian will be able to eliminate all variables except a faulty hone job, and will be able to send it back with a proper hone job which will eliminate that variable from the equation. Art of shaving is a great resource for us straight shavers because it is one of the only brick and mortar stores we have access to. That said I wouldn't trust those the recomend for honing. That's just my experience in 1 AOS store with one saleslady and I hope not indicative of the whole chain.

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Originally Posted by thehekler

I think taking utopian up on his offer is your best bet.

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Offers like this don't come up every day, you shouldn't hesitate.

+3 on taking up utopian's offer.

I have 25 razors, 13 of which were professionally sharpened. At the beginning, even the professionally sharpened razors either didn't cut hair or pulled during the shave. After my first 100 shaves, an interesting thing happened: all of my razors suddenly started giving me really fine shaves. My early technique was obviously the problem.

As a Newbie, I have learned how to keep my professionally sharpened razors sharp with a razor stone and a leather strop. I hope to learn honing in the future so I can set my own bevels. I had one razor that Shooter 74743 was kind enough to sharpen for me and it went from a C+ shave to an A+ shave, so if the technique is good, a professional honing makes all the difference. This was a Henckels 401. He discovered a bevel had never been set on the razor. Before I sent it, it cut hair on my arms but just wasn't smooth when I tried to shave. After he finished, every inch of the razor was superb.

In my limited experience:
Poorly sharpened razor = bad shave
Poor technique = bad shave
Poor pre-shave preparation = bad shave
Bad frame of mind = bad shave
The problem is to discover which is causing the bad shave.

If the razor is sharp with a good bevel and a good honing polish and the pre-shave preparation is good, the only thing left is technique. In my case, it took a 100 shaves to even begin to become consistent in my technique. I feel for your frustration and wish you well. If you can eliminate the sharpness of the razor from the equation, it will help you know what to do.:)

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Originally Posted by ats200

Maybe you could ask the company to describe their honing process? If they describe it in a way that isn't correct then you'd know for sure. If they seem like they have the process right it may be your technique or they just didn't execute correctly. Who knows? It could truly be any number of factors but I'd start with questioning the people who honed the blade if you feel your technique is good enough to determine a sharp blade.

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yeah, that's what i plan on doing. the store isn't open til tomorrow, so i'll explain the whole situation to them and ask them what they did to sharpen it, etc. thanks everyone for the advice and i'll let everyone know about the outcome in the end.

also, for everyone who told me to send it to Utopian to sharpen, i probably will end up doing that. i just don't want to touch the razor til i get everything figured out with the company.

if anyone cares, i called the company today and informed them of my situation. they told me that they sent straight razors out to a company in nj to sharpen it. they told me to bring it back down with the receipt and they will REsharpen it. i didn't want to call twice in one day, but i'm going to call again tomorrow and ask them what the company they send it to uses to sharpen straight razors. hopefully they hone them, which i would think they do since they send it to a 'specialist'. so we'll see, and as promised earlier, i'll keep everything posted.

Sounds a bit strange that they waited until now to tell you they outsourced it!

If it were me I'd request my money back and use it to send it to someone here from the member services section

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Originally Posted by ats200

Sounds a bit strange that they waited until now to tell you they outsourced it!

If it were me I'd request my money back and use it to send it to someone here from the member services section

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i did request my money back, but they said they can't do it. after i figure out how the razor is sharpened, if i'm not satisfied then i'll try my best to get the money back. if not, i'll just call it a beginner mistake and send it to someone from the forum offering the service.

In that case, bring the razor back with a can of shaving foam and a mirror and tell them you'd like to see one of THEM shave with it. If they are unwilling or unable, then ask for your money back again.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

In that case, bring the razor back with a can of shaving foam and a mirror and tell them you'd like to see one of THEM shave with it. If they are unwilling or unable, then ask for your money back again.

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hahaha that's not a bad idea at all. if everyone goes wrong with getting it sharpened, you'll be getting a PM from me due to popular demand.

If it is a typical knife sharpening service I'd be worried about how much more steel they will remove second time around.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

If it is a typical knife sharpening service I'd be worried about how much more steel they will remove second time around.

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yeah i know, that's why before i give it back i want to know what their process is while sharpening the blade before i let them touch it again.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

In that case, bring the razor back with a can of shaving foam and a mirror and tell them you'd like to see one of THEM shave with it. If they are unwilling or unable, then ask for your money back again.

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THIS is the only real way to know if a razor is"right" & truely ready for a customer...unless you are like Lynn and the razors whisper to him...

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Originally Posted by shooter74743

THIS is the only real way to know if a razor is"right" & truely ready for a customer...unless you are like Lynn and the razors whisper to him...

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Yeah, but after all this time, don't you figure he probably whispers to the razors?

lynn is like the chuck norris of straightrazors. He dosent have to hone them he just looks at them and they magically become razor sharp.
h


(chuck norris once shot down a german plane by pointing his finger at it and yelling bang)

:OT but Lynn doesn't wear superman pajamas, superman wears Lynn pajamas

i just called the company and they said they use wet stones to sharpen the blade. they didn't mention they send straight razors out to be sharpened. they also didn't know the grits of the stones, but i guess that just depends on whether the bevel is set or not. it sounds like they know what they're doing. too bad my razor came back sub par. once i get out of school, i'll take it back down there with the receipt and see what they can do.
i wish i had sent the razor to Lynn, or Utopian, or someone here who knows what they are doing instead of having to deal with this aggravating situation.

I'm still not so sure they know what they're doing. If they don't know the grits of the stones (unless they're natural), how do they know if it's working correctly?

I don't know for sure but I THINK when you send a razor to get honed the bevel should be reset to 'perfect' and progressed from there. I think they're feeding you some BS. Just demand your money back and send it out

yeah i agree. i haven't dealt with proffessional honing but to me ats advice makes since. just take it in there and demand your money and take it to someone else. i do woodworking and i do the knife sharpening for the kitchen i work in. i also hone my own razors. Even if they are using natural stones they should be able to give you a ball park number or just tell you what the rocks are, if they can't then maybe the person you're speaking with is an ignorant receptionists and you need to go higher. if you're speaking with a shop person then you need to get out of that situation... Its like if my car breaks down i take it to a mechanic and the mechanic "fixes' it but i still have the same problem. Do i try to make him fix it again. No! i try to get my money back and take it to someone else

okay, so the company called me back today and offered me another deal. the first deal was for me to take the razor down there, and they would resharpen it for no charge. the next offer was for them to refund my money, minus half the price of shipping. i spoke to the store manager who was very nice and understanding. so i took the deal to just get my money back. now i have to find another source to hone my razor.

Henry Westphal is a very good, small, family company. i cannot speak for every razor they have had, but mine certainly was not sharpened enough. the people there are extremely nice and understanding. they guarantee their work 100%.

thank you to everyone for chiming in on the situation!

WOW cool story now send it to some one who know how to hone lol :) hope you enjoy this new hobby/art. I just started and i love it

well good luck mate, utopia knows his stuff when it comes to razors so i sugesst you send it to him or lynn or really anyone in the memebers serivce area they all know there stuff, id offer to do it for you but all i have is a barber hone to keep my razor touched up.

+1 I'd ask whoever resharpens your razor to check it out and see what kind of hone job was done before. Then maybe you can really get to the bottom of things

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Originally Posted by nycexit2

WOW cool story now send it to some one who know how to hone lol

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haha i certainly will.

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

well good luck mate, utopia knows his stuff when it comes to razors so i sugesst you send it to him or lynn or really anyone in the memebers serivce area they all know there stuff, id offer to do it for you but all i have is a barber hone to keep my razor touched up.

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thanks. and i guess i learned the hard way that i shouldn't trust anyone with the razor besides the people here.

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Originally Posted by ats200

+1 I'd ask whoever resharpens your razor to check it out and see what kind of hone job was done before. Than maybe you can really get to the bottom of things

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yeah that would be interesting.