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hello friend i m triyng finally my first hone of the pearlex dovo carbon steel 5/8 on the belgian stone--the razor is NEW .......
the normal number of lap on the belgian for this "dovo shave ready" out the box....is 60 ???
could we tell me a simple reference number?? 5 30 100!
thanks
Danzyc,
There isn't a simple answer to your question. The number of laps you need to do depends on how sharp your razor is to begin with. We'll need you to help us figure out how sharp your razor is now before we go further.
Look through the forums for information on the "thumbnail test," the "thumb test" and the "hanging hair test."
Try to perform the thumb test and tell us what happens. Then try the hanging hair test and tell us what happens.
We'll walk you through it.
Josh
danzyc, give this link a try http://babelfish.altavista.com/, it may help break down some barriers.
could you explain me the hangin hair test??? .... i have "free fall " my hair.....and the blade have not cut the hair....
belgian coticule is too poor to develop a very sharp edge?? i d like to buy a norton waterstone???
Danzyc,
Here's what I wrote in another thread about the hanging hair test. Let us know if you still have questions.
To perform the hanging hair test, you take a hair, usually one from your head, and slowly touch it to the edge of the razor.
I rest the spine of the razor on my desk for this. You do not want to move the razor--only the hair.
In a perfect world, when the razor edge touches the hair, the free end (the hanging part, see?) smoothly disconnects from the rest of the hair and falls. This should happen all along the edge of the razor.
Various levels of sharpness will give you different results. The hair might break but still be connected, or it could cut partway through and start splitting and peeling, or it could cut all the way through with a tiny "pop" that sends the free end flying. Or you might see the edge is starting to catch the hair, making a little sound.
You won't believe this test until you see the results on a truely sharp razor. A sharp razor edge actually seperates the hair at the molecular level; the blade's not cutting but just sliding between atoms. Way cool.
The main problem with the HHT is that it works differently on different thicknesses of hair. This is because thicker hair means more resistence against the edge, making it easier to cut. Thin hair will bend out of the way. I have pretty thick hair, so a duller blade will pass the test. But on the sides of my head the hair is thinner, and I have to get my razor sharper to make it pass.
I cut my own hair, so I grabbed a handful last time and I have a good supply. Some people use hair from their dog, or wife or girlfriend, or they ask their barber for some.
many thanks josh !! you are clear....
i have another question....the belgian coticule (the only stone that i have) is a "finishing" stone...... could i hone my razor only with this hone?? or i should buy a 4000 grit stone to sharp the blade??
remember :( my condition is a peralex dovo new that non shave at all out of his box )
thanks
Which belgian do you have, the blue or the yellow?
The blue is a working stone, roughly equivalent (I think) to the 4k norton, and the yellow is more of a finishing stone.
i have yellow coticule
I know that Norton 4k stones are manufactured in Italy, so you may be in luck. If I were you, I'd get the DOVO honed by a honemeister and get an antique e-bay blade to work on using the professionally honed one as a benchmark.
I'd second the recommendation to get a 4K stone to work on, and to have your nice new razor honed by someone who knows how to do it right.
If you're anything like me, your first attempts at honing will make things worse rather than better. It takes a little time to develop the skill you need to do a good job.
If you'll be honing eBay razors, you may want to consider getting either a 1000-grit stone or some good quality 1000-grit wet-dry sandpaper. If the razor is really dull it can take a while to get a bevel started on the Norton 4000.
Josh
I also use the 1000 grit sandpaper on a regular basis. Norton 4k is the fastest cutting 4k hone that I know of, but the sandpaper will still save you a lot of time.
The yellow belgian can hone your razor but it will take a long time. Hoekmanx has done this.
You can use either a blue blegian as a 4000 grit hone or a Norton 4000. The Norton 4000 is faster.
Have you shaved with the razor? I would suggest that you try to shave with it first, just your cheeks. Then hone for 60 laps on the yellow Belgian coticule. Then shave again. Notice the difference/change. Then hone for 50 more laps. Then shave again. Now hone for 40 laps and shave again. etc.
Let us know what happens,
He's a bit of a martyr, though. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by randydance062449
hello randy !! many thanks...i have only belgian hone (yellow) and i don t want to spend 70 usd to buy a norton!!...the time is not a problem for me...if the results is the same..
i have tried the razor ....is it not ready to shave after 40 laps on coticule! ...my merkur blade on shavette is far superior (and this is not possibile i think!)
I never got a blade shave-ready after 40 laps on ANY stone and that includes one factory-honed Filarmonica (to the point of cutting SOME arm hairs but with no authority) and a partially honed Eskiltuna. Here's how I would go about it if I were you...
The honing:
1) Do about 50 trips on the coticule (it cuts slowly so chances are you won't overhone the blade)
2) Move the blade over the arm hair, without touching the skin. If it effortlessly cuts the hair, with every part of the blade (heel, middle and toe), do a shave test. If not, do another 10 trips on the coticule and try the arm-hair test again.
Note: As people have different thickness of arm hair, the best way to determine if you should stop honing is that additional honing doesn't improve the way the blade cuts the arm hair.
The shave test:
1) 15 trips on the linen
2) 35 on the leather
3) If you get a smooth and comfortable shave, with no pulling and tugging (especially when going with the grain), you're done.
4) If not, do another 10 trips on the coticule and do another shave test the following day.
shaving and razor in hollad ..told me that after 50 passes on the coticule ..i have probably damaged the blade!
bah!
and one friend told me that 10 passes on the coticule are too much....
finally the razor don t cut!
The coticule is a slow cutter so chances are you didn't overhone it, but you may have rolled the edge. Just in case, do a few back strokes and try again, slowly, keeping the blade flat on the hone. Don't lift the edge or the spine.
Don't know where the opinions are coming from that Belgians are slow honers or that you can't hone with one and want to buy a Norton 4k/8k. so here's my opinion. The belgian coticule is superb for keeping your razor sharp. If your razor is dull, use the blue belgian, then the coticule, then strop with natural leather. If you want to buy a Norton 4k/8k, they are on theperfectedge.com, happy to sell you one. Seriously though, my suggestion is to experiment and find out for yourself.
Magnification of your new Dovo's edge will tell you a lot about the factory edge. Look especially at the toe and the heel of the blade. You may find some surprises! Most problems people have with honing are fixed when they look to see what they're starting out with as an edge (under magnification), check again after a few strokes, and then again at the end.
You will hear lots of opinions and sage advice on this forum. My suggestion is to practice, practice, practice and use magnification. Then you will know what works for you, your particular steel, your stones, and your style.
Howard
I realize that you only have the yellow Belgian hone and you do not want to buy more hones. I was trying to suggest an approach that would eventually get your razor shaving sharp.Quote:
Originally Posted by danzyc
It is a slow method but it should work.
Use 1-2 pounds of pressure for the first 10 laps then the remaining laps should be performed using only the amount of pressure necessary to keep the razor flat on the hone.
As has been suggested use the arm hair test to see if the razor is ready for a shave test.
Hope this helps,:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Chandler
And the hermit speaks:
The initial work on a dovo inox (new) has taken me 6 evenings for the initial work and 3 weeks of shaving and fine-tuning on just a coticule (yes that is the yellow side). Now I am by far a honing expert, but that is how long it took me before I was satisfied (and had grown enough beard to test-shave).
Now if you'll excuse me I'll go back to my "cat o' nine tails" .......