Thread: Disaster!!! The wife dulled the razor!

So, I had this brand, spanking new DOVO Bismarck razor purchased and professionally honed off of http://www.dovorazors.com, and had been waiting for my beard to grow in enough to be able to try it out. Last night however, I noticed the razor having been turned upside down in its stand.

Knowing my wife had cleaned the bathroom that day, I thought maybe she'd given in to her curiosity and "done" something to the razor, and I was right. Horror of horrors! She'd dulled the edge! When new, the razor passed the HHT with no problem, but now it's nowhere near! I asked her exactly what she'd done to it, and she confessed having wanted to see how sharp it was, and had flicked the edge sideways, the way we do with kitchen knives.

Now, to be completely honest, I wasn't mad at her because how could she have known? She does now, though. Boy, does she ever. In my frustration at the situation, I might have barked at her slightly. But we kissed and made up, honest.

My question is this: what will it take to get this razor back on track? It does pass the TPT, I definitely feel a drag when gliding the edge over my moistened thumb. I tried some stropping on chalked canvas and then leather, but it didn't seem to help. I do have a scrap of leather with 0.5 micron paste on it. Will this get me back to HHT-pass, or does it take more work than this?

I know the priest said "for better or worse", but I didn't know it'd get this bad. (yes, that was a joke)

If she brushed the edge very lightly, you might get it back to shaveready with enough laps on the 0.5 Chromium oxide.
Since you have it, there is no risk in trying.

Then have a testshave and decide if it is good enough or not. And have it honed again if it isn't. Don't judge solely by the HHT, because in the end it is the shave that matters.

Hmmmmm I sympathize with you, but at least she didn't use yours to open a box like mine did...
Could not figure out for the life of me, why, I kept losing perfectly good edges after one shave, until I was enlightened, with me saying "Honey, grab me a knife to open this package" and her answer of "Oh I found that one of your razors works way faster"
But you should be able to bring yer edge back with just a little stropping on the .50 CR strop, she could not have done to much damage with the thumb flick

I cured that problem before it started! The day we were married, I showed her my straights and said "These are for shaving with!" Then I showed her my left hand...you know, the one with the missing digit...

Needless to say, she doesn't go near my razors to this day!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Could not figure out for the life of me, why, I kept losing perfectly good edges after one shave, until I was enlightened, with me saying "Honey, grab me a knife to open this package" and her answer of "Oh I found that one of your razors works way faster"

I just love it Good stuff Glen, that's how you know you've honed them real good

HenrickWL,

Really, the only way to avoid this type of thing in the future is for you to completely ban your wife from ever cleaning the bathroom again, and doing it yourself from now on.

I had a very similar experience with my wife, and this is what I did. In fact, she also used a scratchy cloth on the piano in the living room, so now I clean that room myself too.

And then, she unplugged my computer one day cleaning in the study. Same solution - I now clean the study too.

And just the other day, in the kitchen, she ...... hang on ..... ....

James.

Originally Posted by JMS

I cured that problem before it started! The day we were married, I showed her my straights and said "These are for shaving with!" Then I showed her my left hand...you know, the one with the missing digit...

Needless to say, she doesn't go near my razors to this day!

So that's how you judge sharpness...

Thanks for the fast replies, guys.

I'll do some laps on the .5 paste and see how it goes. The reason I'm fussing about the HHT is that when it came, it cut hair like there was no tomorrow. It was my reference; the way a razor honed right should feel. Now, my less than adept hands will have to reshape the edge.

Oh well... As long as I get good shaves, I suppose it doesn't matter if the razor was honed by Lynn, Steve, me or a chimpanzee, right?

Oh, and Jimbo: good going! You've certainly outwitted your wife there!

Originally Posted by HenrikWL

Oh, and Jimbo: good going! You've certainly outwitted your wife there!

I've done the reverse thing ... When asked to do the washing, I threw in a red sock I got a good telling off from that.. Next time she "trusted" me, I accidently put one of her wool cardigans in the washing machine... now I'm not allowed anyway near it!

I just had to show this tread to my wife! She also found it hilarious, but stated that she would never do that, because she couldn't live with the bathroom being as dirty as if I should be responsible for the cleaning!

But now she has no excuse if she "accidentally" ruins my straight razor (in fact if she does, no I have a perfect valid reason to go out and buy a new one!!) So wife, if you are reading this, PLEASE test how sharp my razor is!

Arlendius