Revival of an old thread...

I had difficulty finding information about Dovo Red Paste, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.

A bit of background info: I bought a Dovo Inox 5/8 razor a few months ago, and ordered the Dovo red paste along with it. In hind sight, I should have ordered some CrOx instead. I thought about returning the red paste to the vendor for a refund, but kept it after all.

The majority of the info I found about this paste was negative feedback, with users saying it would be a step back in the honing or refreshing process. I only found a couple of users who explained that although the particle size is relatively large, it's a "slow cutter" and therefore not directly comparable to an 8k stone, even with comparable particle size.

Well, after a few weeks of thinking my razor was too dull, and since I didn't have the patience to wait 2-3 weeks for a professional honing, I thought I would give the red paste a chance. I found a 2 inch wide nylon webbing from a gym bag, applied 3 diagonal strips of paste about 2-3 inches apart, and smeared it with my finger. I did quite a few laps (20-30) on this pasted strop, then another 30-40 on plain felt, then about 75 on plain leather.

Now I must admit I don't have enough experience to compare this paste to any other refreshing method, as it was my first ever attempt. What I can tell you though, is that before the paste, my razor had a bit of pulling, and the shave was not particularly close. After the pasted strop, I definitively noticed less pull, giving a smoother and closer shave.

So there you go. I'm not saying it's the best way to refresh a razor, but in my desperate case where it was well over-due, and the Dovo red paste was my only option, I'm quite pleased with the results, and the red paste isn't the evil some people make it out to be. This will be satisfactory until my CrOx arrives in the mail, or until my next drive to the big city to get the razor honed.

While I'm on this topic, is it possible to over-strop when using pastes? Most people recommend only 5-10 laps on CrOx, will anything bad happen with more laps?