The dovo was honed by Lynn and was in great shape. I have two razors, a red point and this dovo that I trade out after a month or so. At this point the red tip has gotten somewhat dull after about a month and a half usage and I normally switch to the dovo. Well the dovo is in need of touch up too. Figured this would be the time to take it to the stone and learn from the ground up since it's long overdue. So update:
I spent a good hour and a half on the 4k stone re-setting the bevel as it were. Doing circles on both sides and basically removing metal until the sharpie came off without a doubt in one stroke. This means that the edge is wide in some places, I mean like a good 1 mm wide and only about .5 mm in other places but the blade makes full contact. I took it up to the 8k in time and did circles and strokes on that. Then I went for a shave.
I should mention two things: 1) I hadn't shaved in 4 days so I was getting some good whiskers. 2) I've never, even with a freshly honed straight razor been able to shave every single day without getting serious razor burn and places that just plain won't shave (specifically under the jaw line around my neck) and that has caused me in years past to take serious care with pre-shave prep. I lather with Musgo, let that sit for about 5-10 minutes, boil some water while waiting, dip my towel, apply a hot towel to face and neck, let that sit for about 2 minutes, whip up my lather and apply that, let that sit for about 5 minutes, wash it off, apply another hot towel then apply final lather and shave. This is about the only way I can keep my neck from reacting badly.
That being said, the razor shaved. But it didn't feel quite right. 4 day growth usually gets cut like butter. This felt like it was just short of dragging also when compared to how it shaved after lynn honed it, I felt like I was shaving with a spoon. The edge felt wider if that makes any sense at all. It performed. It cut. It didn't really "drag" the hair but it didn't slice through like when others had honed it for me, that much was noticeable. I don't know if what I'm feeling is the difference between a razor honed to 8k and a razor honed to 12k or more or what. The usual test of sharpness, for me, is whether or not I can do a pass around my adam's apple and not have too much stubble left over. Stubble after a pass usually increases as the razor gets more dull.
Overall I'm happy that I got this blasted thing to shave at least and I'm definitely not giving up but I would like some wisdom as to what that feeling is caused by, whether it's the hone or if I'm still screwing up.