Thread: Marks on my Dovo Solingen

Couple of loose notes here...

Fatty chains hanging out on a razor are prone to oxidizing because, remember, they're also in an atmosphere that is about 21% oxygen.

There have been some reports of camellia oil polymerizing. As Onimaru says, not good for long-term storage unless you're taking the blade out and re-oiling it. I assume that during the re-oiling, the old oil gets wiped away.

Oils formulated for firearms are going to be the best bet, I think. They're designed to spread thin and not turn to gunk over time.

More good news ! I think I have made some break throughs in the last couple of days!

After having polished the straight razor, it ended up looking good again, though there is slight pitting. I don't think there is anything I can do about this really with out getting a lot more equipment, but I don't mind. It has all taught me a lot.



Soo, having skilfully dulled the blade using my good friend Autosol, I then decided to give honing a go. I got a Norton 4K/8K, flattened and lapped it and gave honing a go. This video is basically what taught me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrs5kFkmJg

. Thank you gssixgun and speedster !!!

Soo, I didn't think it felt very sharp off the waterstone, but I stropped it and shaved ! And it was a good shave too !! It was only WTG, but it is still a ridiculously close shave, and I don't think I missed any spots. SOOO HAPPPYYY!

I still need to work on my technique with my left hand, a lot of the angles seem to get very awkward... Also, any tips on keeping a lather? My lather was drying out because I was taking ages... I guess that problem will become less with time, but still. Any tips ?

Nice work! Those are two big successes.

For your dry lather, play with mixing it to see how much water you can push into it before it gets too runny. You should be able to put a pinch of it between two fingers, spread the fingers, and have two sideways stable cones left. If they're stable, try a little more water... until they slump. That was too much water. But it's good practice to make lather you're not going to use. It's just practice.

Also, try lathering just the bits of your face you're going to shave next. My pattern is to lather my whole face and neck, then to start at my neck (collarline to jawline). I do the sideburns next, which leaves two points out from the corners of my mouth. Looks like scary clown makeup. I take care of the rest of my cheeks, from the sides of my mouth out toward my ears. Then I rinse everything I've done, including the still-untouched lather under my nose and between my mouth and chin.

Those are the hardest barbs, so I like them to get an extra lather soak while I take care of everything else. I relather and take them down with fresh suds.

There's nothing wrong with rinsing away lather that's gone dry and applying fresh. It's better than lathering over the old stuff; you end up with lather half again as thick as you intended.

If you live in a dry climate, you might also benefit from adding four or five drops of glycerine to your lather as you build it. That will keep it moist longer, and doesn't do your face any harm either.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by awkh88

More good news ! I think I have made some break throughs in the last couple of days!

After having polished the straight razor, it ended up looking good again, though there is slight pitting. I don't think there is anything I can do about this really with out getting a lot more equipment, but I don't mind. It has all taught me a lot.

Good job !

On a previous point, I always use toilet paper to remove lather but a dry towel is popular & fairly traditional too.

Originally Posted by roughkype

You should be able to put a pinch of it between two fingers, spread the fingers, and have two sideways stable cones left.

I think I am going to have to experiment quite a bit to work out what sideways stable cones are but I will definitely give it a go ! Thank you very much !

Originally Posted by onimaru55

On a previous point, I always use toilet paper to remove lather but a dry towel is popular & fairly traditional too.

At the moment I am using a dry sponge. It seems to be doing the trick, but I think I want to get a couple of nice small towels.

Also, the blade doesn't seem to be rusting or acquiring spots as it did before. I am wondering whether there might have been something odd about the surface of the blade when I first got it. Could that be possible?

I think I might have a minor case of the straight razor flu. I sort of went a bit bonkers and bought ebony scales for the razor last night. The were under £20 quid and I thought they would make the razor much more handsome. Also, changing the scales would allow me to polish around the pin, where a little rust has built up. I am a bit worried this might turn into a seriously expensive hobby...

Thanks for all the help so far !

Originally Posted by onimaru55

... On a previous point, I always use toilet paper to remove lather but a dry towel is popular & fairly traditional too.

a nice white towel is a lot more stylish, but I'd have tons more to wash, as it is only stylish when used once.
Will need to build up a towel-rotation next to my razor-rotation

...because towels need to rest, and re-align their fibers.

Wait, so there is a reason why people rotate through razors other than the fact that is it awesome to have 10 razors?

Originally Posted by awkh88

Also, the blade doesn't seem to be rusting or acquiring spots as it did before. I am wondering whether there might have been something odd about the surface of the blade when I first got it. Could that be possible?

It is possible but of course water played a big part in creating the rust.

Originally Posted by awkh88

. . . Also, changing the scales would allow me to polish around the pin, where a little rust has built up.

I am a bit worried this might turn into a seriously expensive hobby...

On the first point:

From time to time, put a drop of oil on the blade at the pivot. That should stop more rust from forming.

On the second point:

You are not the first person to discover this. See here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tta-money.html

Have fun --

. Charles