Thread: Marks on my Dovo Solingen

If you support the edge & body well you can rub it in gently with one of those disposable chopsticks that look like balsa.
See how you fare but I doubt you'll get rid of the pitting.

When I first started, the shaves took so darn long that I was getting water and soap spots during the shave! If this is the case with you, keep a towel or sponge on hand to wipe the blade down.

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

When I first started, the shaves took so darn long that I was getting water and soap spots during the shave! If this is the case with you, keep a towel or sponge on hand to wipe the blade down.

I have started wiping it on a dry sponge for exactly that reason.

I think I will have a go at the polishing tonight and post a photo of the results!

I'm not sure if it is the water (alone). I have a Ralf Aust, that I put aside for a few moments. It had a rest of thick lather - the way it sometimes gets at the end of the shave. Consistency that is not washed away by holding it under the faucet - Anyway, when I then cleaned the blade it had spots exactely where the lather had been. Under the loupe they appear white(ish) and I can't easily get rid of them (tried Q-tip and Autosol, but don't want to risk the edge).

The blade does not seem to be impressed by water alone (at least not for a time of a normal shave). Normally I don't use running water but toilet paper ( gentle one ), but I did last time and got no additional spots

Maybe someone else has watched it that way too.

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.