Thread: Pastes and such

Hi, i was hoping for some advise.
I'm still a beginner so go easy on me please :/
I had a Dovo that i couldnt get sharp. My bro honed it on his stones (sharpening stones, not his nuts,silly) and it didnt work. I sent it twice for pro honing and that didnt work either. Then my brother bought a 4 sided paddle strop and 4 grades of diamond paste, and that green oxide stuff.
Bingo, my dovo for the first time is mega sharp , however it isnt smooth, that i can tell.
I've done some reading and learnt a bit about a harsh finish. I know the oxide paste can dull a blade if over used and there is a white lapping paste too.
I'm gonna buy some 3inch paddle strops and pastes. I want to know exactly what grade pastes to buy.
I want to buy some diamond pastes and the green and white lapping pastes.
How many laps of each paste should i perform?
I know it might vary depending on the person and the state of the blade.
I only shave once a week so my blades will only need a touch up now and then. I'd asume i dont need the coarser pastes.
Many Thanks

I think you should go easy with pastes. Just use them when needed and only when the razor starts pulling. If your razor has a bad bevel, paste cannot work a miracle.
I have just one paste, it is a chromium oxide paste - you can recognize it because of its green color - and I use it only to finish a honing session or to refresh an edge when the razor starts pulling. They are not however meant to be used on a regular basis.
My advice is to pay attention on your stropping technique as this makes a big difference for the edge life and quality of shaving.
Bad stropping means frequent honing or using a paste. Of course this also depends on the quality of the razor.

If it 'wasn't sharp' after being professionally honed but it was after a few laps on chromium oxide, it would suggest that your regular stropping technique is at fault.

Did you strop after having it honed? Usually you shouldn't need to...

Did you strop on leather after paste? You should do, and if you didn't, that's probably why it still feels harsh.

If you're not stropping well enough, though, you'll still dull the edge even after stropping with paste.

Originally Posted by PigHog

If it 'wasn't sharp' after being professionally honed but it was after a few laps on chromium oxide, it would suggest that your regular stropping technique is at fault.

Did you strop after having it honed? Usually you shouldn't need to...

Did you strop on leather after paste? You should do, and if you didn't, that's probably why it still feels harsh.

If you're not stropping well enough, though, you'll still dull the edge even after stropping with paste.

after 2 pro hones I just tried it straight off the bat, no stropping and it was dull, my bro went through 4 grades of diamond paste and it was very sharp.. my bro told me not to strop it after he did his paste honing but you might be rite, it feels harsh because it needs stropping..

Originally Posted by JOB15

after 2 pro hones I just tried it straight off the bat, no stropping and it was dull, my bro went through 4 grades of diamond paste and it was very sharp.. my bro told me not to strop it after he did his paste honing but you might be rite, it feels harsh because it needs stropping..

Stropping is very important and you can tell the difference, like you noticed. I would suggest you to improve your stropping technique.
It could also be a geometry problem of the razor, therefore making the honing procedure difficult. You said it is a Dovo: which model?

Originally Posted by razorguy

Stropping is very important and you can tell the difference, like you noticed. I would suggest you to improve your stropping technique.
It could also be a geometry problem of the razor, therefore making the honing procedure difficult. You said it is a Dovo: which model?

it's a Dovo solinger , it has fake mother of pearl scales and cost £200. that's all I know.I have 2 heart steel razors from Baxters of California, they are both amazing, super sharp and smooth..

Originally Posted by JOB15

it's a Dovo solinger , it has fake mother of pearl scales and cost £200. that's all I know.I have 2 heart steel razors from Baxters of California, they are both amazing, super sharp and smooth..

Maybe a picture could help? Dovo is the brand name, whereas Solingen is the famous German town where Dovo has its headquarters.
It is not easy to identify your razor: Dovo makes many models and many of them have fake mother peal scales.

Originally Posted by razorguy

Maybe a picture could help? Dovo is the brand name, whereas Solingen is the famous German town where Dovo has its headquarters.
It is not easy to identify your razor: Dovo makes many models and many of them have fake mother peal scales.

The pic of the open razor is mine

Originally Posted by JOB15

The pic of the open razor is mine

What about a larger picture? ;-)

Originally Posted by razorguy

What about a larger picture? ;-)

hows that