Thread: Newbie needs help

I can't seem to get a good shave from my entry level Dovo. Best I could do was shave half of my face and it wouldn't cut properly after that, even with some stropping. I bought a jeweler's loupe to examine the edge after I honed and it seemed ok to my untrained eye. So I'm looking for opinions.

I've got a set of Shapton GlassStone 1k-3k-6k-10k. I did set the bevels with the 3k and went up to 10 and stropped. Here's some pics I managed to take through the loupe.

I don't know where you live, but there is a meet in Denver on the 22nd. https://sharprazorpalace.com/get-tog...nd-2019-a.html

https://sharprazorpalace.com/honing/...ggestions.html
This thread has a lot of good pictures.
When setting the bevel the sides of the bevel are not relavent. The bevel is set when the town planes come together to form a perfect apex. It is best viewed from almost straight down. I say almost straight down because straight down is hard to see. Any points where you can see white lines or sparkles is where the apex is a U and not a V. I think you could accelerate your learning by attending the TO meet. I know it’s not next door but it would be worth the trip.

Is it just the picture, or does there appear to a frown on the edge?

Ok, I did take another look from almost straight down and I did see some areas where light would reflect. Thanks for pointing that out.

Attending to a meet is next to impossible for me right now due to family and work obligations. But I know someone relatively closeby who could help me point out my mistakes.

Thanks again for the answers

Take a look at our members list and find someone near you. But also check to see if he is an active member as a lot of folks dont join in the fun very often. You say you know a guy. Hopefully he is not a knife sharpener. As knives and razors are not the same. If you put your basic location up someone might be right around the corner from you that can help. Honing takes a long time to learn. Its not something you pick up in a couple days.

Good luck and let us know how its going.

He's a knifemaker, but also a straight razors afficionado. I am a hobbyist knifemaker myself and it didn't take long for me to realize the two are completely different beasts indeed . Still, I've got to learn honing if I ever want to make straights.

It looks like the bevel is not fully set, judging by the light reflection off the edge. If you enlarge the photo you can see a rough edge in the first 2 photos.

Also, there are deep stria on the bevel not 10k stria. Once you set the bevel, (get them to meet fully), remove all the previous stria with each stone. At 10k you should only have 10k stria.

More magnification will make it easier to see the bevel and edge. I like the Carson Micro Brite 60-100X, sells on-line for about 10-15 dollars. The Micro Brite uses AA batteries is brighter and has a better on and off switch.
The small Max uses more expensive button batteries that do not last as long and is not as bright. The larger Max is the old style, not LED and burns through AAA batteries quickly.

This will allow you to compare your bevels to the photos in the Second try at Honing post.

Not a popular idea here but you might get a couple of cheap Gold Dollar razors to practice honing on. Dovo is good quality steel and a fine razor. Better to mess up a cheap razor than a quality one. That’s what I did and all seven of my GDs shave fine today and I didn’t worry about messing them up learning to hone. As I say, not a popular idea here.

So from looking at the pictures, I see an uneven bevel, scratch patterns from several different grits, and scratches going perpendicular the edge.
The uneven bevel is probably from applying uneven pressure on the blade. Solution, don't apply any pressure to the blade.
The varying scratch patterns are from not finishing honing on the previous hones. Solution, make sure the previous scratch patterns are gone before moving to the next hone.
The scratches perpendicular to the edge, which make the edge feel chippy can be fixed using an X stroke on the hones.

You may want to run a sharpie down the edges of the blade before honing. That will show you where you are failing to hit the hone. And tape the spine of the razor to protect it from the hone.

Picking up a cheap razor to practice on would be a good idea as well.

Adding your location to your profile could help as well. You never know if one of us is living right down the road from you and can help out.