Thread: Confusion over sharpness

Originally Posted by MisterDavid

it's quite an old ToS, been used for years with knives, will it still need a lapping do you think?

Misterdavid,
If the hone isn't completely flat, it will need to be lapped. I suspect if it's old and used for years, it will need lapped. You can post a picture if you aren't sure and someone will advise.
Cheers,

I'd lap it any way. I have had athew brand new dovos and they have shaved realy well out of the box but do have a slight abrasive feel to them that i don't prefer so give it 30 laps on my coti wet then a thew dry ones then ch.5 and that will make a nice differance

Originally Posted by MisterDavid

it's quite an old ToS, been used for years with knives, will it still need a lapping do you think?

ciao,
Misterdavid

Even more so, knife beet the snot out of hones. It will improve in all ways lapped.
Mike

Sorry, i type slooow drool,......

+1 on what mparker762 said. Here is a link to a good tutorial on lapping.

Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I'm not familiar with your particular barber hone but most are very hard. I recently lapped a no name barber hone, starting with 220 wet/dry, and it was painfully slow. I ended up getting some 80 grit drywall sanding sheets and then worked through the grit progression to 1000. That sped things up a bit but it still will take you a while.

One other option for you is to send your razor to one of our members for a free honing. It will cost you shipping. Utopian is one, who I think, is still offering this. Send him a PM if you choose this route.

Originally Posted by MisterDavid

Quick Question:

I had a shave with a new dovo i got yesterday, it was definitely not sharp enough. it was sharp enough to cut my beard hairs off, and not blunt enough to cause cutting, but excessive pressure was required. I'm completely novice to honing, and was just wondering, would a polishing hone help, after I'd lapped the razor a bit on my natural stone (which is a slow around 6-8k) to remove the abrasive feel. if so, i'm massively on a tight budget, so what would you reccomend?

Thanks in advance

A pasted strop. My first shaves felt similiar when I bought two new Dovo Straights that has been honed and shave ready. I gave the new Dovos (Carbon Steel) about 10 - 15 passes on the .50 pasted strop and the straights felt sharper and smoother. A four sides paddle with a different pasting on the sides is a cost effective light honing solution.