Newbie mistakes

Hi All,

A month or so ago I bought my first SR - a Dovo Best Quality along with a strop from the Invisble Edge site here in the UK.

Everything was going swimmingly (some decent irritation free shaves with only a couple of small nicks) until I left the blade a little wet as I tidied up the bathroom prior to cleaning and drying the razor. The blade is carbon steel so despite the short timespan small dots of rust appeared on the blade in the few minutes I was tidying.

Alas, I panicked and used some Barkeepers friend to remove the rust spots. Despite being careful, I have obviously dulled the edge somewhat and despite stropping I haven't been able to get a decent edge back. I think my stropping technique is okay - light pressure, blade flat, taut strop, rolling over the spine etc. but this might also have added to the problems (I know it takes some practice).

Knowing that I would have to do so at some stage anyway, I decided to order some Naniwa Super Stones (5k and 8k), along with some 3M wet & dry assorted grit (240, 320, 400) for lapping them. The plan is to try and get the edge back whilst also learning how to hone - I'm going to use the pyramid technique outlined in the wiki as it seems a good bet for beginners.

My thinking goes that, it makes sense to have a go learning this stuff with a relatively inexpensive razor and worst case scenario I can send the blade out for honing by a honemeister.

Does this all sound sensible?

Sounds a lot more sensible (to me) than some of the things I hear from people that have been at it quite a bit longer...so good on ya! :)

The strange thing is, starting out I was pretty apprehensive about the actual shaving with a SR, but now the general upkeep of the blade is easily the most challenging part for me.

Perhaps because I've made the transition from a DE... meaning blade angles, skin prep, etc. weren't such an issue

Yeah, I started with a DE as well, so knowing good prep/lather/angles made the shaving part a lot less steep of a learning curve than stropping/honing/etc

Think of straight shaving like a computer. You have hardware and software and you have to be able to deal with both. The maint. and upkeep of the razor and brushes is the hardware part and the actual learning to shave and prep is the software part. They both have their own skill set that needs to be mastered.

Just go slow with the hones and test often. Don't get carried away and wind up doing more harm than good.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Think of straight shaving like a computer. You have hardware and software and you have to be able to deal with both. The maint. and upkeep of the razor and brushes is the hardware part and the actual learning to shave and prep is the software part. They both have their own skill set that needs to be mastered.

Just go slow with the hones and test often. Don't get carried away and wind up doing more harm than good.

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Very true re:the computer annalogy. As I can just about shave with the current edge - not closely or smoothly however, the plan is to do a very simple pyramid probably starting from 10 or 15 strokes/laps (still find the use of the term "strokes" to be highly misleading!) with zero pressure and then try shaving. If sharper, but not quite there, try another similar small pyramid, if no real improvement a longer pyramid, and so on.

With honing, the phrase I picked up the most from reading was, "less is usually best". The whole lapping issue is a tad daunting, hopefully will be relatively straightforward

Sounds like a good plan.

I did exactly what you are planning to do.

After a couple of months of shaving, I followed the instruction for pyramid honing, monkey see monkey do. It worked perfectly. I've repeated the process a few times since and it's worked great every time, so far.

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Originally Posted by easyace

Sounds like a good plan.

I did exactly what you are planning to do.

After a couple of months of shaving, I followed the instruction for pyramid honing, monkey see monkey do. It worked perfectly. I've repeated the process a few times since and it's worked great every time, so far.

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Good to know :D

I cannot comment on your methods for correcting the problem, but may I suggest some ways to minimize them? After shaving, my first priority is the blade. As it takes a few moments, I rinse it, dry it with toilet paper, then blow some canned air on it and let is set on a clean, dry towel. For the most part, the blade is dry, so now I can tend to the face and the final clean up. Once all that stuff is complete, I go back to the blade, apply some oil, and store it. Over the last six months of using this method, my blades remained rust free and clean. Good luck.

Very true, the first priority is the blade so dry it before anything else. What it does surprise me it is the time that take to the blade to rust, sound very quickly to me even for carbon steel. But the quality of the blade is out of discussion, what I am starting to think is the microabrasion of the stroop produces a surface that promotes the oxidation you mention (the stroop can have even 30k grit I have read). Therefore the priority will be first to dry the blade, trying not to touch it, the canned air sounds perfect.

I am a newbie also in straight razor shaving, but without getting cocky, I am chemical engineer, so if I can help anyone in the forum with what I know I will.

Good Luck

Send the blade out. Buy a cheapo vintage salvage blade from the Bay and practice with your stones on it. Honing is skill which takes practice and muscle memory to develop. Your Dovo is a quite respectable blade and having it professionally honed gives you a baseline for comparisons with your own efforts.

The blade was professionally honed when I received it, so I have a good idea of how sharp it can/should be. I'm going to be careful with the honing and can't see myself doing any irreparable damage i.e. beyond what a professional can easily fix (obviously the plan is not to do any damage at all!)

Whilst I fully appreciate that the Dovo is a nice blade that one wouldn't want to carelessly ruin, at this stage I can't see the merit of buying either:

1) a blade requiring any major re-honing or restoration, as I only have 5k and 8k stones
2) an inferior blade just for the sake of practice

Purely from a cost point of view, my plan of action seems reasonable - no additional razor expense and worst case scenario it costs me £15-20 to send it out

Points well made......grind away. Let us know how it develops. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a great edge.

Some of the nicest razors I have used(mho nicer than Dovo) are more than 70 years old and cost less than $25 but you can spend a great deal more. Your 5k and 8k stone would have been enough for nearly all of them to become shave ready.

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Originally Posted by jaswarb

Points well made......grind away. Let us know how it develops. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a great edge.

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Although it might well surprise me :rofl2:

Glen has a video that shows how to set a bevel only using a 4k/8K.

5k/8k isn't that much different.

Hi all, just a quick update:

Having lapped the stones (5k was pretty much flat out of the box - 8k not so much) I did a pyramid starting at 15 strokes and then did a shave test. The edge was much improved, but still not quite there. I proceeded to do a second pyramid starting at 10 strokes and the result was much improved. I realise I have also been able to reduce the blade angle (due to the sharper edge) and this has resulted in significantly more comfortable shaves.

All things considered, I'm very happy with the results.

Thanks for all the advice everyone

I think you'll be OK re-touching the blade lightly on a hone. I have almost zero mechanical ability and experience (I'm NO handyman) and I found it quite achievable. I know recommending spending more money may be something you don't want to hear, but I'd get a Shapton 16k as well. Do less than 10 laps on the Shapton, very lightly and very carefully, AFTER watching a bunch of videos. It really IS a good idea to watch honing by someone who knows how to do it for maybe an hour. That sounds a long time but it gets you into the moment. You can do less laps if you want, but don't do more for now. Oh, and buy a lapping plate or lapping stone. At least using a lapping plate or stone eliminates flatness problems. However, I have used wet and dry wrapped around another stone and it seemed to work OK.

Of course you can do it all with the hone you've ordered and the wet and dry (and maybe a glass topped table to stick the wet and dry on) but you'll want a finer stone at some stage anyway, and iof you can afford it, you may as well get one now and see if you can bring the edge back without going all the way back to 5k...

Oh, just ignore my post, a but redundant now... :-)

Great success story. Keep it up there is much more fun to come.

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Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Oh, just ignore my post, a but redundant now... :-)

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No, thanks for the advice regarding the finishing stone; I will get one at some stage as I feel I could definitely get a smoother shave after using one.

I found that wet and dry on a flat surface was sufficient to lap the hones and therefore don't see the need to get a lapping stone at this point...

Hi, before I go out and rehone from the start, I go to a small Barber Hone. You may want to pick one up and see if that would work with your razor.
You can do it wet or dry. I do it dry.
Some Brand name run to excessive amounts on eBay. The one I use the more is a Keen Kutter hone. Still inexpensive.