Thread: 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.

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.

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...

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...

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.