Thread: Stainless Steel vs. Carbon Steel

I have the entry level dovo 'best quality' razor and I just can't manage to get it as sharp as the two carbon steel razors that I have ( a F. De Luca and a Waterville Cutlery). My honing and stropping techniques are adequate enough to get an OK shave out of my carbon razors but not my stainless steal dovo. I know that stainless steel is harder and therefore needs to be honed more, and I keep honing alittle at a time and then testing it out, but I am continuely disspointed.

It seems like dovo stainless steel razors are very popular, so they must be giving someone a good shave.

What am I doing wrong.

The Best quality is I believe also carbon steel.

Does it say stainless, or INOX on the razor itself?

My Dovo Renaissance stainless can take an edge with the best of them. My Friodurs took a bit more work....

It has nothing on the blade or case that says if it is stainless or carbon steel. I just remember the shop where I purchased it from saying that it is stainless, I could be wrong. Maybe I over honed it, but I don't think so. Any other tips for why it is not taking an edge.

If I may ask, what stones you have??? strops??? pastes???

I have the norton 220/1000 and 4000/8000 water stones, a dovo leather strop with red paste, a dovo linen leather combo strop, and I just bought another strop and the green dovo paste.

I do pyramid strokes on the 4000/8000 stone as described in the 'world of straight razors' dvd that I purchased from classicshaving.com, then I move to the red pasted strop, then I strop with leather and try a test shave on my face.

Well you have the right equipment to get a shaving edge, I have never personally found a use for the Dovo Green paste, but the Red and the Black can be put to good use to polish that edge...
I can't really assess your blade, since I cant see it, or touch the edge, but I can tell ya some of what I find when I get blades to hone for the members here...

The biggest thing I see is lack of low grit work ie:setting a sharp bevel if you don't have an sharp start it will take forever and a day to get there...

Use the X stroke it works, but if yer not getting anywhere change that up with a straight stroke, heel leading at about a 40 degree angle, down the hone see if that helps....

The 1k is yer friend to set bevels, the 4k sharpens that bevel, and the 8k polishes that bevel, but it is all about the bevel being "sharp"..... You might not have to drop to 1k if there is already a sharp bevel established, my standard test is, does it cut arm hair easily, if it is popping arm hair, then yer close, if not you ain't in the ball park....

Hope this helps a little....

+1 to what he said.

And be sure to oil your Dovo, it is most certainly not stainless steel!

My technique in honing stainless steel, which is the same for carbon steel, is very simple:
if the proper bevel is obtained by the piramid honing, I go over to the TI broad paddle with the TI diamond/aluminum paste: 15 strokes.
Then 10 passes on a balsa wood with .05 diamond paste and finally, 5 passes on a balsa wood with .25 diamond paste. Then stroping as usual on the leather strop. That's all.
DOVO stainless steel razors are a pleasure to use.