Thread: Beginner from Aus

Hi Everyone,

I am Ash from Brisbane, Australia. I have been lurking around the site the last couple of days and thought I should join up and stay around for a bit. Although that could be dangerous for the bank balance.

I have just bought a Dovo Natural 5/8 SR, bit of an impulse buy basically due to liking sharp things. I already have some king 1K and 6K hones and have bought a shapton ceramic 12K for finishing.

So far I have not been able to get an edge that I am happy enough to shave with but I have got it sharper than out of the box. I am not given up on it yet though It keeps getting sharper the more I practice honing it. I know I should get it honed professionally to begin with but prefer to do things myself if possible.

G'day and welcome to the forum. Did you go back to the 1k hone on the razor? If not, you should. You won't get a razor shave ready unless the bevel has been set properly. Some Dovo's come from the factory with a reasonable bevel and some don't. Also it's a pretty big jump between the three stones you have so you'll need to make sure you've got the most out of one stone before moving to the next.

Yes I had to go to the 1K and set the bevel fully as the edge had a frown near the rear, I got the edge straight then worked on resetting the bevel. I believe the bevel is set and was able to shave arm hair on the 1K, then worked on the 6K until the entire bevel had a near mirror finish as at that point I had not received the 12K. Once I got the 12K I cleaned it up even more and can take large sections of arm hair off with a single smooth cut and can get it to cut hair at mid length but not every time.

Sounds like you might just need some more time on the 12k to get it shave ready.

Welcome to the 'Place'.
Yes, maybe more 12k will help. Your stones are not really well matched in that the Kings are much softer than the Shapton & will give a slightly different contour to the bevel. The Shapton is a fast cutter tho so still be careful not to over do it in terms of time & /or pressure.

I found the shave to be a little smoother off the Pro if followed by a pasted strop.

No worries Mate, you'll find your stride after a while...it's worth it.