Thread: Trying to get new Dovo into shave ready condition...

Originally Posted by UKShaver

What a great thread.

Ocelot please don't put the 'scope down and keep posting. I agree with OCDshaver that this is good way to followup (noted cudarunner in your wise words this isn't the be all and end all) your honing as surely a shave ready edge has certain visual characteristics and by seeing them, and knowing how to achieve them (amongst your 'experiments'), it must put you in a better position? A marriage of visual and physical (re: HHT / shave 'tests') must be the icing on the cake.

OCDShaver have you ever posted your images here?

Finally I'm quite shocked at the vids. No hearing protection (for the guy on the pneumatic hammer) , no breathing protection for the grinders. Just look at the machinery bodies to see how much muck these people must be breathing in.

Unfortunately no. My cheap $10 hand held scope is of no use in photography. My suggestion is to simply watch what is happening at every stage of the process carefully. Be sure the very edge looks clean and even before moving on to the next stone and look carefully at it at the very end. Be honest with yourself if it looks like you went too far and are seeing the edge break down. You may need to go backward to clean it up.

Originally Posted by UKShaver

Finally I'm quite shocked at the vids. No hearing protection (for the guy on the pneumatic hammer) , no breathing protection for the grinders. Just look at the machinery bodies to see how much muck these people must be breathing in.

In my humble opinion it's only been in the last few years that companies/businesses and or corporations have become involved with 'caring' about worker's health!

As a longtime corporate 'grunt' I will tell you that their concern is not about their worker's health or safety but about money/or loss of it! Laws have been passed that require 'reinbursment' for workers injuries or other job related problems such as hearing loss!!

I was once ridiculed for wearing some equipment to protect me while performing my duties by management, now almost 30 years later that equipment is 'Required'!!

Here at home I use my best judgement and use what ever precautions that I deem necessary but if I make a mistake and get injured, I only have myself to blame!!

OCDShaver. I'm not that developed yet. Don't even have my first straight (Its in the post though! ) and wanted to learn as much as I can about honing. I actually got myself a little USB 'scope with the intention of stropping DE safety blades with abrasives then looking at their edge just to get an idea what happens there. Also to see how a used blade looks etc but not got all the 'pieces' together yet.

Indeed cdarunner one of the upsides of 'Compensation Culture'.

Originally Posted by UKShaver

OCDShaver. I'm not that developed yet. Don't even have my first straight (Its in the post though! ) and wanted to learn as much as I can about honing. I actually got myself a little USB 'scope with the intention of stropping DE safety blades with abrasives then looking at their edge just to get an idea what happens there. Also to see how a used blade looks etc but not got all the 'pieces' together yet.

Indeed cdarunner one of the upsides of 'Compensation Culture'.

One little word of advice, when you DO get yourself set up, don't try to learn honing on the razor you use every day. Instead, get another one to experiment on. Find something in decent condition either here on the classifieds or on eBay and practice with that. Otherwise you risk ruining the edge on your new razor and going back to another form of shaving just to get the job done. Many will tell you that you shouldn't even attempt honing until you are proficient with shaving with the SR. I don't subscribe to that since in the hours between shaves you could be experimenting on the hones. BUT, it has to be on a different razor than your daily. Enjoy your new razor when it arrives.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

One little word of advice, when you DO get yourself set up, don't try to learn honing on the razor you use every day. Instead, get another one to experiment on. Find something in decent condition either here on the classifieds or on eBay and practice with that. Otherwise you risk ruining the edge on your new razor and going back to another form of shaving just to get the job done. Many will tell you that you shouldn't even attempt honing until you are proficient with shaving with the SR. I don't subscribe to that since in the hours between shaves you could be experimenting on the hones. BUT, it has to be on a different razor than your daily. Enjoy your new razor when it arrives.

+1 to OCDshaver

My first step into honing has been a lesson from a honemeister on how to refresh a razor.

To do that, I bought two very cheap blades to practice on, so I could compare what I was doing between the two. I have never, and would never touch my other approxx 14 blades, all new and vintage razors. Each one has been professionally honed, and with a good rotation, sheesh even two professionally honed razors, you can go for probably a year just with CrOx and stropping, a longer with a barbers hone or a good coticule.

Point is, don't touch your blades for shaving, use practice one's, and take your time to learn, it's not a race. I've spent the first year just learning how to shave with the straight properly, proper lathering, and the most neglected part of all in my opinion, how to properly strop a blade. I still, every time I strop, pay close attention to the spine on the strop, doing a proper roll of the blade, and proper pressure.

Without proper stropping, the best edge won't last past one or two incorrect stropping sessions.

Found that out the hard way, when I went for my lesson with the honemeister, he inspected my blades, and I had rolled the edges on some of them...