Can't set bevel on dovo 5/8 best quality

Hi everyone,

I'm vey new to straight razors and honing but managed to set a bevel and put a great edge on an old razor I got.

This dovo on the other hand is killing me. I tried to do what Lynn does by starting with the 5k shapton but it wouldn't get an edge so I decided to go to the 1K and start from scratch.

Some areas have set but not all and I've tried 3 times now and still can't get the bevel.

I'm trying to do circles like Lynn does on his video and I'm very confident the razor is flat but still no luck.

I don't really know what to do now and I'm worried I've ruined the razor.

Any advise or help would be great. I'm in carlingford (Sydney), Australia as well.

Stuarthttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...17313bd6c6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...525ceff269.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d6767e611a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1c5e94b7d8.jpg

Just try doing x strokes for awhile, is probably uneven pressure. Usually though if you already have a shave ready razor that needs touching up you can just do few x strokes on 8k then your finisher whatever it might be

I have the same razor and have never had the need to set the bevel on it in the first place.

I just touch it up on a Nanimwa 12K. I don't do circles I just go either up and down or x strokes really.

It is a full hollow and doesn't seem to need too much.

If you are worried that you may have ruined the razor it could be worth sending it out to a pro. That way it can be assessed and fixed if possible. When you get it back you should be able to just touch it up as and when as I do with mine.

I hope your razor is OK, they are great little shavers.

Good luck with this.

Are your hones perfectly flat? Are you applying too much pressure on a full hollow grind? Is the spine straight? Any one of these could be the problem. If all three are ok then send it out and concentrate on shaving and leave the honeing on the back burner.

Give your location. Someone near you may be able to help.

Pictures of the razor help. As does knowing where it is and is not sharp. Circles may be hurting more than they're helping if you haven't learned to control pressure/torque to target certain areas of the blade.

Mark the edge with a sharpie and do 1 stroke on each side to see where you're hitting the razor. If you're hitting all along the edge you're probably close, just a matter of doing regular X strokes until the bevel is fully set. If you have a loupe, following through this thread will help a lot:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ggestions.html

If you don't have a loupe, you're honing blind and I might suggest picking one up. 30x should be good enough, I wouldn't go above 60-100.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal

Pictures of the razor help. As does knowing where it is and is not sharp. Circles may be hurting more than they're helping if you haven't learned to control pressure/torque to target certain areas of the blade.

Mark the edge with a sharpie and do 1 stroke on each side to see where you're hitting the razor. If you're hitting all along the edge you're probably close, just a matter of doing regular X strokes until the bevel is fully set. If you have a loupe, following through this thread will help a lot:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ggestions.html

If you don't have a loupe, you're honing blind and I might suggest picking one up. 30x should be good enough, I wouldn't go above 60-100.

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I have a loupe and see it looks bad. I would rather get it right and not look pretty. That way I can learn for next time. Pretty much missing bits here and there. Shapton 1K and have been making sure to keep it flat with my atoma.

Added a few photos to see what everyone thinks.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...11e2755680.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...606532232d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9cec89e6e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5a2e7b90fe.jpg


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You have successfully honed that razor almost to death. As a new hone guy you need to maybe ease up on the pressure and also realize that Lynn has honed more Razors in a day than you have in your life, it looks easy but there is technique to it.

You may want to send it out to have it fixed. Or post your location and maybe someone s close who can help you out, Tc

If you're in the US, I'll hone it for you for the price of return postage.

If you want to keep honing it yourself, please start taping the spine. You are putting way too much wear into the spine. It also looks like you've got the makings of a frown given the width of the bevel in the middle, relative to the ends, of the front side of the blade.

Where are you located? Maybe we can find you some local help for one on one assistance.
(I guess I pretty much paraphrased what TC already said.)

I'm curious - did you buy the razor brand new? If not, it's possible that the previous owner messed up the geometry of the edge or spine, making the razor difficult to hone.

Regardless, like the other gents said, your razor's edge is now damaged. Since you've spent a great amount of effort and it hasn't gotten the edge to shave readiness, sending it to a pro (or Utopian *evil grin*) would be the best way to set things right.

Edit: Just to be clear - I'm joking; Utopian is an expert when it comes to fixing edges on razors.

Cheers everyone. I got this one of eBay and I'm located in Sydney Australia. I didn't pay much and from the sounds of it I may be better off just leaving it. Sounds like anymore and it won't be worth keeping.


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There are members in Oz that should be able to hone that for you. I would not carry on honing it yourself but send it out to preserve it being a usable razor.

Bob

What I'm seeing is the toe honed much more than the heel. At that point I'd be coloring the edge side with sharpie and using a pair of calipers to scribe a new edge line so I could butter-knife it until it's parallel with the spine. The heel and toe would likely need a little reshaping after.

It can be saved. But this looks to be a tick beyond regular honing from what I'm seeing in the pics. It might be better to set on the back burner until you've got a bit more time on the stones.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal

What I'm seeing is the toe honed much more than the heel. At that point I'd be coloring the edge side with sharpie and using a pair of calipers to scribe a new edge line so I could butter-knife it until it's parallel with the spine. The heel and toe would likely need a little reshaping after.

It can be saved. But this looks to be a tick beyond regular honing from what I'm seeing in the pics. It might be better to set on the back burner until you've got a bit more time on the stones.

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Did I use to much pressure? I used Lynn's method with circles. Is there a better way for beginners to hone?


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Too much pressure toward the toe, yes. I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with Lynn's method. The man's probably fixed more razors by accident with that method than I have on purpose.

It's just a typical beginner's error, focusing too much on one side without really thinking about where along the edge pressure was being applied. Some folks hone out the heel and end up with a hook back there, some end up with a frown, you wound up with a skinny toe. This isn't the worst I've seen.

I think it's perhaps easier to focus on a standard X stroke with the blade canted about 45 degrees. Heel leading if you will. That way pressure naturally transfers along the edge as you move through the stroke. Like Gssixgun does here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMchDtXzUO4

It's a tape vs no tape video, but it gives a pretty good top down view of the type of stroke I'm talking about.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal

Too much pressure toward the toe, yes. I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with Lynn's method. The man's probably fixed more razors by accident with that method than I have on purpose.

It's just a typical beginner's error, focusing too much on one side without really thinking about where along the edge pressure was being applied. Some folks hone out the heel and end up with a hook back there, some end up with a frown, you wound up with a skinny toe. This isn't the worst I've seen.

I think it's perhaps easier to focus on a standard X stroke with the blade canted about 45 degrees. Heel leading if you will. That way pressure naturally transfers along the edge as you move through the stroke. Like Gssixgun does here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMchDtXzUO4

It's a tape vs no tape video, but it gives a pretty good top down view of the type of stroke I'm talking about.

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Cheers for the video. His are more of a swooping stroke or should I stick to standard x-strokes?

Thanks again for the information


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Looks like too much pressure and the toe looks smaller than the heel. It can still be honed so dont feel it cant be. There are a few guys who are in your area that can hone. Either ask them to hone it or if they are close maybe show you.

If* you re-shape the blade to it's proper contour, I would say use the exact stroke Gssixgun suggested in the video. There's a reason he does it that way. As the blade moves through the stroke pressure will naturally shift from the heel to the toe, resulting in a relatively even amount of attention from heel to toe. The blade may end up with a slight smile, and that is not bad - at least in my book. But all of my straight edged blades have retained their parallel track to the spine thus far in spite of using a similar stroke. You can of course focus the pressure on specific parts if needed, but that shouldn't be necessary. I'd just focus on the follow through. Keep the blade flat, little bit of torque toward the edge, walk it through the stroke and eventually the edges will come together.

If you don't reshape it someone more knowledgeable would have to offer pointers. I haven't really honed a lot of misshapen edges. My approach is to bring them back to form first.

They've been known to have stabilizer issues.
I have one, that was doing the same thing, till I addressed the stabilizers.
She's as good as new... Uh...better than new.

The stabilizers weren't ground out enough, so it kept the heal off the stones.
They stood above the tang and spine, and you could feel a click, while honing in a X stroke fashion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

If you're in the US, I'll hone it for you for the price of return postage.

If you want to keep honing it yourself, please start taping the spine. You are putting way too much wear into the spine. It also looks like you've got the makings of a frown given the width of the bevel in the middle, relative to the ends, of the front side of the blade.

Where are you located? Maybe we can find you some local help for one on one assistance.
(I guess I pretty much paraphrased what TC already said.)

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Thanks, I got a hold of someone in Australia that I'll get to fix it. Can I ask, if you have a new dovo out of the box, would you just use the 8k and 12k lightly to get it right?


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal

What I'm seeing is the toe honed much more than the heel. At that point I'd be coloring the edge side with sharpie and using a pair of calipers to scribe a new edge line so I could butter-knife it until it's parallel with the spine. The heel and toe would likely need a little reshaping after.

It can be saved. But this looks to be a tick beyond regular honing from what I'm seeing in the pics. It might be better to set on the back burner until you've got a bit more time on the stones.

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You mentioned the excessive toe wear on the back of the blade but did not mention there was not comparable wear on the front side. On that side, the excessive wear is in the middle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

You mentioned the excessive toe wear on the back of the blade but did not mention there was not comparable wear on the front side. On that side, the excessive wear is in the middle.

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I was talking about thickness from the spine to the edge more so than the witness marks from hone contact. I held a set of calipers up to the screen to make sure the taper wasn't just my eyes playing tricks on me. That seemed to be a more pressing concern than what I'm assuming is the uneven grind that seems common to Dovos.

Potentially a warped razor. If the warp is significant, throw it away. It'll be a lifetime of annoying honing otherwise.