Quote Originally Posted by rodb View Post
Almost every blade has at least a slight smile so if you don't do an x-stroke you will do the center of the blade more than the heel and toe
dear rodb, with respect... your response make me ask myself: what came first the hen or the egg? In other words, i think that the reason that most blades have a slight smile is the X stroke.

I am a newbie, nevertheless, the first thing i did to all the razors that i have bought is put the edge against a flat glass to verify that it is straight. Dovo, Boker, TI, Aust, Kanetaka, Stark, all of them were straight when they came in.

In the other hand, i bought two filarmonicas -definitely counterfeit, probably from Pakistan, jeje- to practice honing. Those had a slight smile on them. I mean, I am new to all this, there is a learning curve, and I thought stupid if I put a new expensive razor in a hone without knowing anything about that. So, I found the counterfeits in a barber supply store for $25 each. They were a good investment. Now i have been able to refresh my Aust, Dovo and Kanetaka to a pretty good shave. Those were a good instructional investment. But that is a different subject...

What do you think, rodb?