Thread: Sharp enough

I'm just getting started here and have the following set-up. Dovo razor, Col Conk honing stone, paddle strop (from Lee Valley tools). After getting my razor I set to work with the hone and strop and now have an edge that will pop hair fairly easily and "drags" when drawn across a wet thumb nail. It seems to shave pretty well but catches around the chin area but I'm not sure if that's technique (or lack thereof).

I've read a poor review of the Col Conk stone and am wondering if that and the strop are suitable to get me started (as I'm trying to keep cost on the down low with regards to initial start up).

Can anyone advise?

Well, I can't say that you won't be able to make the stone and strop that you have work, but I can say it's going to be a lot less trouble to go a more reliable route.

There is a great thread about making paddle strops out of balsa wood, and using various pastes on them, that'd be a big step in the right direction.

As for cheap hones, barber hones are probably the lowest cost that there is. Check the Classifieds section for something that might work.

I checked out the balsa wood strop which looks very "cost effective". Do you use that as you would a leather paddle strop with the balsa taking the place of the leather or do you need to treat it with something/use it differently?

rossco,

Once you have done the thumbnail test to determine if you have rough spots in the edge and have gotten a smooth drag, stop using that test. If you drag a well developed edge over your thumbnail, you'll be putting yourself back to pretty much starting over. As you progress with the sharpening, use the thumb pad assessment. The soft tissue of the pad of your thumb is much more sensitive to the sharpness of the edge and does no damage to it. Dragging the blade over a fingernail is akin to subjecting the edge to weeks of shaving and is only useful in gauging edge damage - not sharpness.

That would certainly explain why the edge appeared to be getting worse this evening not better! Is "popping" a hair held between fingers reliable for gauging sharpness.

This is a constant question. The answer is generally a variation on "depends on the hair" and "depends on the blade." Recently JimmyHAD referred to it as a parlor trick and I think that's about right. The best way to test for sharpness is to shave with it.

Tricky. Judging sharpness Vs. poor technique. As a general rule how much work is needed to get a new Dovo shaving sharp?

Originally Posted by Utopian

This is a constant question. The answer is generally a variation on "depends on the hair" and "depends on the blade." Recently JimmyHAD referred to it as a parlor trick and I think that's about right. The best way to test for sharpness is to shave with it.

When I referred to the hanging hair test as a 'parlor trick' I was using an expression I had seen used by others on the forum repeatedly. Some members responded that they feel it is a reliable measure of a razors sharpness and that they would not shave with a razor that would not pass the HHT.

At that time I couldn't get a razor to pass the HHT but I was getting what I considered good shaves with my razors at the level of sharpness I was achieving. Since then I have been able to get razors I have honed and stropped to pass the HHT and I can truly say that the razors that I have honed and stropped to that level give me a closer and more comfortable shave.

I have had a strong case of SRAD and I have close to 100 of the things so I have been getting a lot of practice honing. I am easing up and only have three on the way to me this week so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel. If only I had a long Swaty I could die happy.

OK. I snuck out and bought a Norton 4000/8000 stone when the wife wasn't looking. While I was there I picked up a 0.5 micron film thinking that I might be able to use this after finishing with the 8000. I thought it could be used with a "stropping" type stroke to to polish the edge up. Any thoughts?