Thread: Hone of the Day

Originally Posted by Steve56

You know if I were Dovo and saw a post like this after a discussion of Gold Dollar quality, I’d have to be a little concerned.

There was/is a vendor who touts those ‘master Solingen grinders/honers’ and how much better they are than mere forum folk, but when I see posts like this, and there are MANY, I have to wonder where those Solingen masters are that he talks so much about.

Pretty simple. Not every grinder is a master grinder. And every master grinder started out as the FNG who could do nothing right. I think a lot of the entry level Dovos that have issues are newbie grinders' mistakes. The steel is supposed to be the same and does seem to be the same. The midrange and top shelf Dovos are very nice razors. They have to have new guys coming in to replace the old guys who retire or die off. It all adds up. And the razors that don't take kindly to the quench get thrown in the same basket as the mistakes, and etched with "Best Quality" or "Special" or whatever. Nearly all can still be made to shave nicely, but you can't always treat them nicely to make them do so. The better vendors that offer them honed, have it figured out, and the buyer gets a pretty good shaver, and subsequent honing is nowhere near as difficult as setting that first bevel. That is my take on it. And I could be wrong.

Ironically, it was getting tough on the poorly ground Gold Dollar 66 that made me stop and think about getting medieval on the "Best Quality" razors. I didn't want to go nuts on a $70 razor, but it was sitting there useless anyway, so I treated it like a Gold Dollar and stopped worrying about what the spine would LOOK like and how consistent the bevel width was at the edge, and just made sure that there WAS a good bevel, pretty or not. A $70 price tag doesn't mean it is jewelry. That is what was hanging me up on those three Bests. Too bad I had long before tossed the first two. And the same way of thinking helped me to go back through my junk pile and turn blades I had given up on, into efficient shaving tools.

FACT... if you have a piece of good razor steel, you can make it shave. Master grinders are optional. It just sucks to pay for them when you aren't getting them. With a Bergischer Lowe or a Prima Klang or a Bismarck, you get your master grinder involved in the process and I do not regret the three Dovo Bismarcks that I bought new.

Feel free to regard this as pure conjecture but you have to admit the premise is compelling. And if I was in charge at Dovo, twisty, warpy, wonky razors would never leave the factory except as scrap.

@JOB15, you did the right thing. Instead of trying to make jewelry out of it, you made a working tool out of it. Pretty don't shave. Sharp shaves.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

PM a mod if you want to do this. Usually any sort of initiatives have to go thru admin.

One thing to consider tho is that it will only showcase your skills as a restorer/honer rather than give an overall view on build quality for 2020 GD's

True. Of course if I sent one out unhoned, it would then showcase the first recipient's skills as a honer. So I guess that's out, on this forum. Thanks for the advise.

So getting kinda back on topic.
Just touched up my Spydie Meer Kat on my KME jig.
I haven't yet experienced the other super steels like S90V etc but this little gem in HAP 40 just blows me away.

Spydie delica. Zdp-189. 3% carbon 20% chromium. I did this one on my venev diamond bonded stones. A bit of a bear to do on chosera and nats are definitely too soft. And then onto 1 micron cbn on a balsa block.

Originally Posted by Bill31521

Spydie delica. Zdp-189. 3% carbon 20% chromium. I did this one on my venev diamond bonded stones. A bit of a bear to do on chosera and nats are definitely too soft. And then onto 1 micron cbn on a balsa block.

You might be surprised with jnats Bill. I have a SLD slicer that no synth cuts well except Shapton Glass. I can put two kiitas side by side, very similar. One will cut SLD and the other won’t. I had a discussion with Alex Gilmore about that and he said that was his experience, and no way to tell but try them.

But but but I just spent $300 on the venev stones? Lol.

Originally Posted by Bill31521

But but but I just spent $300 on the venev stones? Lol.

That’s why it’s called a rabbit hole Bill...

Those delicas must be popular. Just ordered one in S90V.

I got this bout from Hatzicho a couple years ago. After playing around with coticules and Jnats since last summer, I pulled this out tonight and was reminded of the simple, highly effective and consistent results these thuringians can give. Test shave was perfect in every respect.

Another razor for the giveaways, gents. Its a 5/8 ths. Hunter, from Sheffield. Its been reground from a wedge, to a full hollow, from the looks of things. But whoever did it, did a great job.



Bevel set on Chosera, then progressed with Butterscotch Washita, Lt. blue Thurigan, Coti, and finished on Black Ark.

20 Passes on Cr/Ox strop, normal strop progression ( leaded linen, Russian tanned, Roo ) then final stropping on a C-Mon, shell.

This mornings shave was incredible.! It's every bit the same, as my Escher edges, but possibly a bit more comfortable, too. I was very impressed, to say the least.!