Thread: Honing a Double Arrow

DAs are fully capable of getting as great an edge as any other razor out there. It is rather surprising. It may not be as remarkably smooth shaving as some high-zoot Wunderstahl razor that cost $250, and the guys who own $250 Wundersteel razors may not want to admit it, but if you could somehow do a blind shave test, I doubt many could pick the DA out of a lineup in comparrison with 3-4 other full hollow razors out there.

Here's an edge on one of my DAs, at 200x:


That's damn sharp and smooth. No taping, no fancy honing required.

Here's a Sheffield wedge edge 200x:


One thing you have to be aware of with the DAs is that they are big 7/8 or so full hollow blades, so if you put too much pressure on them when you're honing them, the blade will flex and do wierd things to what you are hoping to accomplish with setting a bevel. They are surprisingly finely ground blades--they flex quite a bit.

Step #1 when setting a bevel with a DA--don't be afraid! It's a $10 razor, so have at it! That troublesome shoulder everyone talks about? Sure it's there---you can either blast through it with your 1200 DMT, or avoid it altogether by honing with a heel leading stroke at 45 degrees.

Once the bevel is set they progress quite nicely. The DAs just hone up with no surprises. That's been my experience anyhow.

I can tell you they hone up more easily than a Friodur does. The Frios can tend to microchip, etc. Here's my latest Frio edge, after wrangling it with all sorts of pleadings. The Frio cost 10x as much as the DA, and was about that much more difficult to hone as well!