DOVO red paste

[strtman]

Information about the compilation and use of DOVO red paste is spread over many topics. Therefore I would like to start a separate topic about this matter.

Does anyone have experience with this substance? If so, what can you tell about the results? Where is it made of?

Did you use it on leather, canvas, etc.? How many passes, how often, etc.?

As far as I have used the red paste, I think it is good stuff for a touch-up. But the razor gets blunt way too soon, so I guess I am doing something wrong. Or not?

Thanks in advance for all input.

[Castel33]

The Dovo red paste is roughly in the 8 K Range. So it's not the best for touch ups by itself. Dovo black is better for that purpose being in the 12K range. I have found dovo paste to work best on rough leather. Dovo paste in general are slow and can require a fair amount of laps to get the best results. I have found it hard to over use these paste. I have used dovo green, red, black to take a razor with a bevel from not shave ready to shave ready.

[earcutter]

I am a fan of Dovo pastes. I use all three (green, red, and black) with varying success.

I have tried them all on balsa, leather, and linen. Ultimately, I find that I like the green on balsa the best, and the red and black on linen.

I find that they seem to "settle down" my blades a bit, and provide me with a "smoothness" of sorts. I use the black dang near every shave before hitting up the linen and leather. It might be more of a function of habit than anything. That said - and this will probably make some guys eyes roll LOL - if I hit a barbers hone, diamond paste, or any kind of sharpening device, I'll run the blade on red and then the black : ).

Who knows - maybe i am going backward, but a blade treated to diamond paste or a good finishing stone, is just too harsh for my face.

Well that's my story - this week lol - check back later and who knows what I'll be doing. : )

[strtman]

gssixgun, the more I read the more questions arise. Therefore I would like to continue this old thread.

In your last response you wrote that DOVO is much softer on the steel than CrOx, CBN etc.

But the DOVO pastes black, red and green are respectively 1-3 microns, 3-5 microns, 5-8 microns. CrOx for instance is 0.5 microns. If I compare these measurements I would say CrOx is less aggressive.

Or am I making an error?

[Castel33]

gssixgun, the more I read the more questions arise. Therefore I would like to continue this old thread.

In your last response you wrote that DOVO is much softer on the steel than CrOx, CBN etc.

But the DOVO pastes black, red and green are respectively 1-3 microns, 3-5 microns, 5-8 microns. CrOx for instance is 0.5 microns. If I compare these measurements I would say CrOx is less aggressive.

Or am I making an error?

You are making a common error. You are looking at micron and thinking lower the micron more a aggrisive the cut will be. However micron only indicates how fine a scratch patteren you will get on the edge of the blade. This is similar to grits on hones.

Now for aggrisiveness of a paticlur paste that comes from use and observation of a paticluar paste. The dove paste cut very slow in general and removes only small amounts of metal per lap. Thus requiring a fairly high lap count to get the most out of the paste. The dovo paste also leave a very smooth edge. Now with crox you want very low lap counts because it works very fast and removes alot of metal per lap. Some find crox to leave a bit of a harsh edge do to the quickness of the removal of metal. If you were to go into Diamond paste they cut even faster then crox of similar grits. The most common complaint of diamond is the harsh edge that it leaves behind.

A good example of this is to use hones. Take a King 1k and Chosera 1k they are both 1k so they both will give you a 1k edge. However the king stone will require more laps to achive that edge then the Chosera will.

[shallard]

Revival of an old thread...

I had difficulty finding information about Dovo Red Paste, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.

A bit of background info: I bought a Dovo Inox 5/8 razor a few months ago, and ordered the Dovo red paste along with it. In hind sight, I should have ordered some CrOx instead. I thought about returning the red paste to the vendor for a refund, but kept it after all.

The majority of the info I found about this paste was negative feedback, with users saying it would be a step back in the honing or refreshing process. I only found a couple of users who explained that although the particle size is relatively large, it's a "slow cutter" and therefore not directly comparable to an 8k stone, even with comparable particle size.

Well, after a few weeks of thinking my razor was too dull, and since I didn't have the patience to wait 2-3 weeks for a professional honing, I thought I would give the red paste a chance. I found a 2 inch wide nylon webbing from a gym bag, applied 3 diagonal strips of paste about 2-3 inches apart, and smeared it with my finger. I did quite a few laps (20-30) on this pasted strop, then another 30-40 on plain felt, then about 75 on plain leather.

Now I must admit I don't have enough experience to compare this paste to any other refreshing method, as it was my first ever attempt. What I can tell you though, is that before the paste, my razor had a bit of pulling, and the shave was not particularly close. After the pasted strop, I definitively noticed less pull, giving a smoother and closer shave.

So there you go. I'm not saying it's the best way to refresh a razor, but in my desperate case where it was well over-due, and the Dovo red paste was my only option, I'm quite pleased with the results, and the red paste isn't the evil some people make it out to be. This will be satisfactory until my CrOx arrives in the mail, or until my next drive to the big city to get the razor honed.

While I'm on this topic, is it possible to over-strop when using pastes? Most people recommend only 5-10 laps on CrOx, will anything bad happen with more laps?

[strtman]

Thank you Castel33 and earcutter for sharing this.

I just finished a shave. The razor was originally honed by Lynn. After every shave I carefully do my stropping. But fifteen shaves later I got razor burns. So yesterday I stropped the razor on leather treated with the red paste, ten passes. After that about thirty passes on canvas and fifty passes on leather. The results were satisfying. No nicks, cuts, razor burns or an irritating skin. So I am back on track.

But for how long before I have to get back to the red paste, I do not know. I will inform you through this topic.

[strtman]

In addition to my last response, there is something I forgot to ask. Pure curiosity, but does someone know where the substance is made of?

Any chemists on the forum?

[Castel33]

I am not sure what it is made of exactly but the generally thought is that it is jeweler rouge now what that is made of I am not sure.

[Sticky]

I've had good results with touch-up on Dovo black on a latigo paddle. The black paste seems to work on the few razors that prefer it to a barber hone. I've heard it is around 1µ.