Thread: stainless steel blade

i am looking at dovo straights and love stainless steel...

is stainless really that much harder to hone than carbon...or is it worth the money to get stainless...

I've always felt that carbon steel razors are true to what is more or less an old-fashioned hobby.

I've got a couple of stainless razors and I personally use the carbon steel ones much, much more. They're definitely easier to hone, and when you shave with them, they're quite different, I find. There's more "feeling" and more "understanding" from a carbon steel blade, if that makes sense (people who've used both might understand). It's like getting a massage from either a trained professional or one of those Shiatsu chairs from big box stores. A carbon blade is a lot like a professional maseuse you can speak candidly to for specific requests, so he or she can zero in on sensitive areas with care. Stainless razors are those chairs. They're not nearly as modifiable, you see. They're just not the work horses carbon razors are. They're their own little entities.

Stainless doesn't give a damn about you. It's cold, it's hard. It's mainly preoccupied with looking pretty and keeping its "cut" figure as long as possible.

In my own experience DOVO stainless blades are pretty good they do take a bit longer on the hones to get shave ready but the edge seems to last a bit longer. But I have to say that I prefer the carbon blades better.Paul

I have mostly carbon razors but I have picked up a few high quality stainless blades and they are very good. As previously mentioned they may take a bit more honing. Some find them to be a harsh shave but I didn't find that to be the case with my particular skin/beard.

The Dovo Stainless blades are actually pretty good. The main difference in honing them for me is to use a few more polishing strokes than for the carbon blades and that usually works fine.

Have fun,

Lynn

+1'ing with Lynn the only difference I have found in the SS honing combination is they like the higher grit stones a little more....

I have heard that some stainless blades can be harsher to shave with, but some are very smooth (Friodurs, Hess). It may be true that stainless blades give less feedback, but it's hard for me to say since my only stainless is a 7/8 Friodur. I can say that she's an amazing shaver; sharp as could be and very smooth on my face.

I haven't done near as much honing as Lynn of gssixgun, but from what little I have done, I have found it harder to appropriately set the bevel on the stainless razors that I have worked with. There is probably a trick that I haven't figured out yet that will help me with this though. Always learning.

A quality blade is just that. I find when properly honed you can't tell the difference between stainless and carbon. I find when a stainless blade starts to deteriorate it will shave harsher than a similar carbon blade. Unsually is just a few extra strokes with stainless to get it honed up over a carbon.

I think alot of people dis stainless because of the tradition thing. reminds me of the watch forums where many will only consider a Swiss watch.

I have a big 8/8 Friodur (ice hardened stainless) and think it shaves super, one of my best actually. As others have mentioned, it does take a little longer to hone. I set the bevel on a 600 diamond plate, smooth it out on a 1200 plate then the 4K/8K Norton, chromium oxide and leather. I give the stainless about 50% more laps than most carbon blades, including the CO and leather.

Once it is set, it is super sharp and retains its edge a little longer than carbon steel. That Friodur is the only blade I have ever been able to fillet a hair in half on which is darn impressive. Beard type plays a big role in razor selection; I have noticed that the handful of stainless blades I have tried shaved more like wedges than a hollow ground. The steel feels stiffer and will knock down a tough beard with ease. I like, and use both stainless and carbon blades. If I have skipped shaving for a day or two and have a heavy beard, I grab the Friodur or a big W&B wedge.