Thread: Why isn't this working...

I'm sure after 400-500 passes with the slurry it should be good to go with some more passes on the coticule with plain water.

Don't forget, I got two shaves out of it and they weren't all that bad either. It just didn't felt like it was where it was supposed to be.

You're the better one to judge so you'll feel and know...

The wet thumb and the sticky feeling should really help especially with the Dovo tortoise that should give a nice sticky dry feeling. Properly honed they are very sharp.

If your blade is almost sharp and has no nicks to remove, forget about the 1200 DMT.

This is what works for me. Give it 20 passes on Coticule with slurry, then 40 on BBW with slurry, then 100 on Coticule w/ water. Skip the CrO and strop the heck out of it on linen (50+) and leather (100+). Give it a shave test and repeat the next day if not there yet.

I do not count laps but watch light reflections off the edge and observe water flow on hone; but those figures should work, IMO.

I know the Dovo can get scarry sharp! I'm not sure I can get away with your routine Sparq. It would probably work under normal circumstances but I got the razor pretty scratchy off the DMT. I think I need something to remove all the scratches before I can think of going higher up the honing ladder.

thanks for all the great tips guys!

Hopefully I can get it to shave again!

Hey Dups. Quick question: did you break in your DMT after you got it? You said you received it recently, and I'm just worried that it wasn't properly broken in. I don't have a DMT, but I've read numerous reports about breaking them in before you should let a razor touch them. Perhaps that is part of the issue?

Just curious, what does the bevel look like under an eye loupe or a microscope ?

Did the edge bite into the thumb nail smoothly for the full length after you set the bevel ?

Have you trained your thumb pad with a sharp DE or SE blade to know what the TPT should feel like against a sharp edge ?

Have you been using the TPT as you progress in the honing ?

Did you get the edge to a level of keenness where it would pop hairs on the arm or leg brushing the edge against the hair without touching the skin ?

Have you watched Lynn's and heavydutysg's videos on honing ?

Please answer the above questions and I would have a better idea of what the problem might be.

Yes the stone was broken in using a chisel and kitchen knife.

I'm not sure exactly what the thumb nail test is supposed to feel like but the edge was something sticky to the thumb nail.

It did not really pop hair off my leg but I passed the HHT a few times.

I know how the razor is supposed to feel to the thumb pad and I don't think it's there yet.

What would remove deep scratches from the DMT 1200 faster than a coticule with slurry? Would the Norton 4k work pretty fast for it?

Originally Posted by Dups

Yes the stone was broken in using a chisel and kitchen knife.

I'm not sure exactly what the thumb nail test is supposed to feel like but the edge was something sticky to the thumb nail.

It did not really pop hair off my leg but I passed the HHT a few times.

I know how the razor is supposed to feel to the thumb pad and I don't think it's there yet.

Do you have any DE blades lying around? If you do, grab a sharp one and try the tests with that. That gave me a better idea of what to look for with the TNT and the TPT.

Originally Posted by Dups

Yes the stone was broken in using a chisel and kitchen knife.

I'm not sure exactly what the thumb nail test is supposed to feel like but the edge was something sticky to the thumb nail.

It did not really pop hair off my leg but I passed the HHT a few times.

I know how the razor is supposed to feel to the thumb pad and I don't think it's there yet.

This says a lot here....

I think your original assessment was correct that you have a sharp but fairly rough edge because of the DMT use...
I am not a Coticule expert so I can't help much with lap counts etc:
But it seems obvious that you need some sharpening girt work in the 4k range, that should smooth up the edge get the sharpness where it needs to be then you can move on to polishing at the 8k level and above....