Need a sanity check...

OK,

I just finished lapping my new 220/1000, 4000/8000, Naniwa 12000 stones (2 1/2 hours) with a DMT325.

I have a 3 month old Dovo 6/8th full hollow ground that is in great condition but needs to be touched up. It's getting difficult to shave with. I use the cloth/leather Strop before each shave and it's taking a lot more stropping to get an OK shave.

I do not have any type of compounds.

My plan is to perform some X strokes on the Naniwa 12000, testing with my thumb, and HHT, followed by the shave test.

Should I use tape, and if I do will it throw off the geometry of the blade to where I will need to perform a lot more sharpening? I've watched a lot of the videos and the tape aspect isn't clicking for me.

The blade will cut hanging hair now, just not shave smoothly. Should I be starting at 8K instead of 12K?

Forgive me ignorance.

I have the same razor and the same stones, so I'll just tell you what I'd do: 10 X strokes, with no pressure, on the
12K stone. If the blade "sticks" on the thumb pad test, then strop and shave. If it doesn't stick on the full length
of the blade, then go with 5 additional X strokes until it does. The shave test is what matters.

If the blade was honed without tape when you got it, then don't use tape. If it was, then tape the spine.
The idea is to preserve the geometry of the previous honing, and merely fine tune the edge.

If the bevel needs to be re-established at some point, using the lower grit stones, I would tape the spine
then...and thereafter.

Good luck.

Thanks Paul. I have no idea if the blade was previously tapped though...It went from the factory to a reputable dealer who sold it to me "shave ready".

Kelley, give it a go, without tape, and see what happens. The use of tape is to prevent undue wear on
the spine. Some folks use it and some don't. If you bought the razor new, my guess would be that
it was honed without tape.

If the blade was in good shape when you got it, it shouldn't need more than just a touch up. If this is your
first attempt at touching up an edge, then go easy: no pressure, not too many strokes, test frequently.

I just searched - unsuccessfully - for a thread that asked specifically about people's touch up methods. As you might guess - the methods varied. The one I remember most was Glen's mentioning that he started 2 stones down from the one he finished with. If you finish on a 12k, a few strokes on the 8k , then move to the 12k.

Tape, no tape - who cares? Again, I'm unduly influenced by my betters on the topic - who say: if you use it, use it well.

Since you're new on the stones, one technique to consider (controversy alert) is a few backstrokes. I use them alot. I suspect they compensate for the marginal quality of my normal stroke. 'Shouldn't take many on that N12 - its fast. If you find they don't help - abandon them. I've found a bump in smoothness with them, as well as sharpness.

That Dovo is a good shaver - honed 4 of them so far. Your stones should stand you very well, and allow you to hone all blades. Pls. post again w/ your findings.

I've never been successful at touching up my razors using my 12k. Usually I've had to drop down to my 8k and sometimes I've had to go all the way down to my 3k. Don't be afraid to use your 4k.

Good morning,

Well I put my Dovo to the stones for the first time and now I know what "shave ready" really means! I made the first pass this morning and was totally disappointed because the blade just slid effortlessly over my skin. I thought to myself that it had to be totally dull to be so smooth until I looked and the hair was 100% gone! I thought that it was shave ready when I bought it and used that as a bench mark. Wow what a difference.

I learned a lot and appreciate the input from everyone.

I started with 10 strokes on the N-12K and didn't see much happening with the TPT, so I dropped down to the Norton 8K and did 5X on it and just started to feel a difference. All in all it ended up being 30 strokes on the 8K and 40 strokes on the 12K followed by 40 rounds on the cloth/leather Strop. I watched the bevel and made sure it was even and polished looking. It's going to take me a while to get used to the TPT. I could barely perceive a difference in the sharpness when testing.

When I finished with the Dovo I grabbed an old Sim-Mart full hollow ground that I got off of E-bay in a lot of five. It was as dull as a fence post. I started on the Norton 1K with 20 strokes until it shaved my arm hair and the bevel looked even. I moved on to the 4K and did 30 strokes and then the 8K for 20 strokes and then 12K for 20 strokes. I shaved the other half of my face this morning and it did fine, but not as well as the Dovo. I'm going to work on it a bit more.

Most of my strokes were straight down the stones and straight back. I did some X strokes but it seemed that the heel wasn't getting equal time on the stone. I had a problem with the shoulder touching the stone when moving the blade a bit further up. Is there an issue with straight up and back on a blade?

I got so much into what I was doing that I would drop back a stone for a few passes from "feel". It's like becoming one with the blade.

One lesson I learned is that I shouldn't be afraid to use the 4K. Next time I'm going to do a few passes on it first when touching up. The 12K is going to be my "squeeze a little more out of it" stone. I believe that It would have saved me a lot of time.

I did not use tape on anything. I'm not prepared for the additional complexity yet.

Sounds like you might be a natural! LOL Use those x strokes or you will end up with a frowning blade. Be sure to pick up a barbers hone sometime, this will keep your razor "shave ready" for years to come without dropping down to the stones.

There is no additional complexity with using tape, it is there to protect the blade from honewear.