Thread: Progress!

Well I got my first 100% successful hone today and I'm fairly excited about it!

My first attempt was on a factory sharpened "shave ready" DOVO that really wasn't shave ready. I managed a very slight improvement but wound up sending it to Lynn for a proper hone along with another that I'd been dumb enough to ding against the faucet while shaving.

2nd was on an old family razor that hasn't been used in at least 60 years. It has a slight smile at the toe & I did ok everywhere but there.

Then I found gssixgun's 3-part series "how to hone a smiling wedge" on YouTube. He lined me out on a few things to keep in mind when honing a full hollow instead of the near wedge he used in the films, mainly less pressure & probably fewer strokes.

After that I made my 3rd attempt today on an old sheffield with a bit of a smile & it came out great! The toe could be a little better, I left a little pit in the bevel area, but the whole edge shaves well. Maybe not as well as my 2 dovo's will when I get them back from Lynn, but I definitely feel confident that I can maintain & repair small nicks on my own at this point in time!

I still want to pick up a couple more old ones to hone first before going back to finish the family razor just in case this one was a fluke. Gotta fill those last 2 empty pockets in my 7-day travel roll after all!

Edit: DYAC