Thread: Honing a vintage razor, can't find the same tape used to get it shave ready

Hello fellows.

About two months ago I got a Dovo Bismarck as a gift, which I first thought as not shave ready, but after practicing a bit more on the strop, I was able to get comfortable shaves.

But since I live in Brazil, I couldn't find a honemeister around my city/state, so I decided to learn how to hone.

I ended up buying two shave-ready razors from a reputable dealer, and a King 1K, a Norton 4K/8K and a Shapton 12K.

The honemeister told me he used 3 layers of tape, specifically the 3M Super 88. Problem is, 3M doesn't sell this tape in Brazil.

The closest I could find was the Scotch 33. Now the Super 88 is 0.22mm thick and the Scotch 33 is only 0.19mm thick. Combining the three layers the sum of the difference comes to 0.09mm.

My first question is whether I'll able to refresh this edge on my Shapton 12K even with this slight difference.

Secondly, how do I figure out how much tape to use with the Dovo and how do I avoid damaging the gold etching on the blade?

Thanks in advance for any input.