Thread: Limited success

Originally Posted by Sachiya

Honing hasn't been a walk in the park for me.

Last week I was successful in honing a blade from the bay in good condition and it gave a great shave.

However for the life of me I cannot seem to hone either of my Dovos - stainless (tried 6 times - failed 6 times) / prima klang (tried once and failed).

I've found it discouraging and for the time being put both of them away with oil on them.

I've even managed to hone another ebay blade that was in decent condition but had a slight tilt to it - didn't lay flat on the hone so went to the 45 rather than x stroke to solve it.

Are modern dovos more difficult to hone than old vintage razors? They both lay flat on the hone and my technique is the same as the other two I've honed.

It's nice to be able to put an edge on a razor that gives a great shave....just wish I could replicate it with my dovos.

There is a parallel discussion on factory edges .vs. a shave ready edge.
It is possible that your difficult razors have a factory bevel that is not
ideal for a hand honer.

You can keep after it or send it out to a professional. Since you have two
razors you might send them out one at a time or as a pair. You will save
on shipping by sending a pair.

I suspect that the factory edge was set on a power wheel and the
factory worker lifted the spine so it would arrive perfect for the customer's
eye. The result is a bevel that does not match the angle established
by the spine. A lot of razors sit on shelves because of this..

You can try taping the edge. One layer at a time, hone, strop shave test
but no more than three layers of tape. Use the black magic marker trick
and a hand magnifier to see if the bevel is the issue.

Stainless has a history in machine shops for being difficult. It seems to
tear rather than cut so use a light touch and a modern hone. Some might
call stainless tough. I recall trying to drill and punch stainless way back when and it is
very different than common steel. It might respond to a micron - submicron
pasted strop if you have one.

Others said "do not put it away" -- +1 on that.. Pull it down once a week
and worry it sharp. It may just be that it takes more honing than
common razor steel.

I do not own one, but Dovo stainless razors have many fans. I suspect
once you get them dialed in you will like them as much or more than
your other razors.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That is actually very good advice Eric

What is that saying about blind pigs and truffles? Haha.

As to the original question about modern Dovos being cantankerous, that has not been my experience at all. I have 4 -- all carbon -- and they all arrived with a factory edge that, despite my very limited honing experience at the time, I got sharp fairly quickly. Since then they have been a dream to touch up. My favorite razor at the moment is a Dovo Best I bought for 40-50 dollars a few years back -- the cheapest new razor I ever bought. Whenever I sit down with a modern Dovo, I assume I'm going to have an easy, hassle-free experience. Of course, that's important. If you believe you will master the blade, you're halfway there.

On the other hand, the most expensive new razor I ever bought -- a Joe Chandler custom -- has been a perennial problem for me. It came with a poor shaving edge. I've been able to get it shaving well, but it always comes up a couple of percentage points below the majority of my other razors. Whenever I get a new finishing hone, I always try polishing the JC on it. It always gets to the same level of sharpness, no farther. One of these days, though, I know the stars will allign with the magnetic poles and it will come right.

It's experiences like that that keep me honing.

thanks for all the replies. All my stones are Naniwas - 1,3,8,12k.

I realise it is just a matter of practise and building experience. I will continue to acquire other blades to practise on.

I have a loupe (one Glen suggested) and use the marker on each blade to see what exactly is happening at each stage. I also always tape the spines with one layer.

I tried Lynn's pyramid scheme with limited success and find Stuart's technique better although I do 20 circles either side then 10 x strokes rather than 40/20 on the 1k/3k.

My success (the 2 I have honed) has been due to resisting the urge to move up from the 1k and also countless hours practise to obtain a consistent/repeatable stroke.

However with the dovo stainless I bought second hand the hone wear was pretty uneven on the spine, only realised this when I received it as photos didn't really show it and it was sold as only used several times - unwanted bday gift. I cannot get the middle of this blade sharp.

Same thing with my prima klang before I tried to hone it, the spine wear was different at the half way mark as if it had been honed straight strokes on a narrow hone for one half of the blade, then the other. It is difficult to put into words - the metal removed from the spine has a different tilt/angle so one half is different than the other.

In any event I'll be away from home and won't be honing for the next month as I won't bring my stones - perhaps the break is what I need.

No fear of me giving up - I'm like a dog with a bone....although something tells me I could spend years doing this and still be a complete novice.

thanks again!