Thread: Straight Razors Dull Despite Little Use

Originally Posted by onimaru55

The working edges of your stones should be chamfered smooth or you're dead in the water.

I could see it. Just sandpaper? I've never had to grind a stone before.

Yes wetndri will work.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

I've never had to grind a stone before.

Which raises the question......Have you checked your stones are flat? With regular honing, some synthetic stones can form a hollow surprisingly quickly. A proper straight edge laid across the stone at 3 or 4 intervals and also along the length too.

Originally Posted by Tathra11

Which raises the question......Have you checked your stones are flat? With regular honing, some synthetic stones can form a hollow surprisingly quickly. A proper straight edge laid across the stone at 3 or 4 intervals and also along the length too.

Yes but not recently. I was wrong to say I've never ground a stone actually, just never chamfered one. I heard the King 1k has a habit of dishing rapidly, so I have trued it with pencil grid and a truing stone before, I haven't tried this with the 4k norton yet. I suppose I could just use the truing stone to grind the edges if I wanted to.

I took another couple shots at it. First flattening my stones.

Pencil lines drawn on 8k side of the norton combo stone and my king 1k



The 1k got nice and flat with all the pencil lines and previous grey markings removed. The 4k appears to be getting shredded. Not sure if this is leftover grit from the 1k stone, or just this flattening stone being really bad at its one job, but soaking them both further and running them under water didn't make the shredding any better.



The flattening stone in question.



In any case, I tried five variations of stroke on the 1k.

1. Basically no pressure, just enough to keep the blade on the hone, conventional x-strokes, blade leading, switching sides to complete full back and forth strokes, both sides blade leading. This had absolutely no results, the blade could not cut any hair anywhere but the heel.

2. Keeping the blade close to fully on the stone at all times, varying very light pressure slightly from heel to toe as I move down the stone in a close to straight stroke, only moving to the side enough to get the whole blade as the blade is wider than the stone. No results on this either.

3. Stronger pressure, still light, full x-strokes. Would not cut at all after.

4. Back and forth strokes, one side at a time, alternating blade leading / blade trailing, just basically scrubbing it lightly, then switching side after about 20 of these. The blade will no longer cut hair on any part, not even the heel.

5. Same as above but with slightly stronger pressure. Will not cut at all.

I am increasingly baffled that they actually sold this for real money as a razor that cuts hair. I have seen it, after a skilled honing, cut hair, but I cannot get it to do so for the life of me. It is extremely frustrating spending hours trying to improve the edge with zero to show for it.

I guess I'll try *very gently* honing up the nice razor that paulFLUS sent me, just to build some confidence back up. The Dovo beat me.

Please send me links to specific guides on honing uneven razors. I can't get it with text instructions, it just will not shave at all.

No disrespect intended

I don't think you should touch the good edge that Paul sent.
Shave shave and shave some more, you really need to know how a good edge feels as a shaver with some experience before you touch metal to stone.

I told the following story to a new guy from Labrador recently in a private message, he missed the point and told everyone i wanted his razors which was not the case but i will repeat it now and hopefully it will be useful.

There was a guy on this forum, he had never shaved with a straight razor even once.

Before his first shave he bought 2 razors new, a Dovo and a TI plus a complete progression of Naniwa SS.

He had his first shave and wasn't happy with it.

He got the second razor and shaved, he wasn't happy.

It didn't occur to him he had only had 2 shaves and needed time.

He honed both brand new razors until he couldn't even cut his finger.

He was so disgusted that the stones didn't work that he went out and bought an electric razor.

He offered the razors and stones for sale, I tried to talk him into getting the razors honed properly and persevering but he was over it so i bought the stones and the TI, another member bought the Dovo.

My point is that you should get them both honed by one of the experts here and shave for a while before you end up killing your edges so effectively that you go off the idea of straights.

Like i said, no disrespect intended and its only my opinion for what its worth.

I suppose you're right, though to be clear I have no intention of trying to re-do the edge on that razor from scratch, simply some very light strokes on the 8k. It has this stiction feel to it that kind of scares me using it, I have a huge scar on my lip from the last time one of my razors was sticking badly (that was just really bad shaving cream.)

I spoke to my local honer dude, his razors he would be willing to sell are mostly wonky geometry like mine, so I would have to try and find something beginner friendly on eBay.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

In any case, I tried five variations of stroke on the 1k.

1. Basically no pressure, just enough to keep the blade on the hone, conventional x-strokes, blade leading, switching sides to complete full back and forth strokes, both sides blade leading. This had absolutely no results, the blade could not cut any hair anywhere but the heel.

2. Keeping the blade close to fully on the stone at all times, varying very light pressure slightly from heel to toe as I move down the stone in a close to straight stroke, only moving to the side enough to get the whole blade as the blade is wider than the stone. No results on this either.

3. Stronger pressure, still light, full x-strokes. Would not cut at all after.

4. Back and forth strokes, one side at a time, alternating blade leading / blade trailing, just basically scrubbing it lightly, then switching side after about 20 of these. The blade will no longer cut hair on any part, not even the heel.

5. Same as above but with slightly stronger pressure. Will not cut at all.

I am increasingly baffled that they actually sold this for real money as a razor that cuts hair. I have seen it, after a skilled honing, cut hair, but I cannot get it to do so for the life of me. It is extremely frustrating spending hours trying to improve the edge with zero to show for it.

I guess I'll try *very gently* honing up the nice razor that paulFLUS sent me, just to build some confidence back up. The Dovo beat me.

Please send me links to specific guides on honing uneven razors. I can't get it with text instructions, it just will not shave at all.

It's not the bow. It's the Indian. You positively absolutely refuse to follow one honer, using kit and technique identical to his. Random technique can only give you random results. Am I recalling correctly, that your Dovo is a Bismarck or similar model? Those are the easiest razor to hone that Dovo makes, and they are not twisty or warpy like Dovo's entry level razors notoriously are. Guides will not help you because you will not follow them. Until you begin to exactly and precisely follow one acknowledged honer and perfectly duplicate his kit and his technique, you are doomed to wander in the honing wilderness forever, I'm afraid. It will cost you time. It will cost you money. And you still won't be able to shave with your own edge. And BTW, hitting Paul's no doubt very competent edge with an 8k would not be gentle at all. It would be a waste. Don't go there. Not even with a 12k, or with 1µ film, or a slate or a Jnat. When you can put a good edge on the Dovo, THEN consider touching up your other razor when it needs it, if that ever happens.

Sorry but I have to agree. You are going in too many directions. Pick one, ANY one (well, almost any) and follow it until you get success. Master that then venture others.

By the way, the offer still stands to hone them free of charge and assess what is going on if you want to pay for shipping. Hell, send em all and I'll do all of them to atom splitting edges and make the most of your postage.

EDIT: I'll even give pointers on each one to help you in the future.