How sharp is sharp?

I guess what I am saying is I do not think I have any basis of comparison for my new razor. I know from everything I have read that "shave ready" from a factory has no minimum quality. Most outfits that sell new razors say they will give all razor a hone and strop before they ship to you. As a newbie its tough for me to gauge weather or not this has been done.

I got a new Dovo and right out of the box it shaved arm hair and shaved my face well (well enough for a newbie). After a 3 pass (sorta 3 passes) shave it wasn't doing too good of a job on the arm hair. I gave it 30 linen, 50 leather and then bam, it shaved arm hair again. I just wonder if it is the minimum sharpness it needs to be or if it could even be sharper. Think I would notice a difference in the closeness of my shave/the way whiskers pop if I sent it to an expert and had it sharpened? I have shaved 5 times now with a gentle stropping in between each shave and it feels the same each time which I guess is good in that I'm not damaging it with poor stropping technique.

Should I hear a scrish scrish sound each time I try to shave hair with it? Does the volume of the shaving sound I'm hearing have anything to do with how sharp the blade is? I also cannot get the hanging hair test to really go consistently. Perhaps its my wife's hair being so so so fine or my execution of it.

Lots of variables there. The fact that you are getting good shaves with it would indicate to me that it is sharp. A strop is always said to be necessary because after use the edge needs to be ...... an old barber told me the strop "straightens the edge"..... I don't know exactly what it does , but I know that it brings the edge back to more keenness after each shave. At some point it will 'fall off' a bit and it may be time to hit the touch up hone. The other variable is shave technique.

Seems like it should be as simple as taking a squeegee to a windshield but it isn't. I'm amazed that after years of doing it I still pick up new nuances of technique in stretching skin, stroke direction, blade angle. Anyway, if you can afford it buy a second razor and send this one out to an "expert" . It will give you a back up, or better yet, a rotation, and you'll answer your question for sure.... of whether it could be sharper.

It has been my experience that there is a sweet spot for sharpness and smoothness. Too dull and the shave is pulling or just skipping over the whiskers. Too sharp and the blade is removing everything in its path including all skin irregularities - very harsh sensation. Those of us who shave daily, the entire face, have learned that sometimes you just want sharp enough, but not too sharp. With experience you too will discover how to keep your razor dialed into this sweet spot.

Attachment 101991

As you have noticed, a factory edge is rarely truly shave ready, but it will (at least in most cases) cut hair.
If your razor wasn't honed before you got it, something I suppose it wsn't reding your post, I would recommend to get it sent out for honing to get a best edge as possible.

The best comparison you can do as a beginner is to compare it to a DE blade, the difference shouldn't be too significant.

As for HHT, forget it! It's only a usable tool for someone who hone and have calibrated it to their hair i.e. I'm not happy with an edge unless it cuts my armhair minimum 1/2 inch above skin level, but with your hair it might only cut at skin level. (I don't use the "regular" HHT as I don't have much hair to use :))

Oh yes, almost forgot...stropping is king! What you experienced is exactly the reason why we strop, a good stropping keeps the edge sharp and keen.

Sometimes Dovo gets lucky, That is, you get one that shaves good out of the box. I've gotten one. They do run each razor over a wet stone (8k I think) before it ships out and hair tests it. (They use synthetic hair) There's a cool video on YouTube. Just search for Dovo Factory. Also, Many of the specialty shops on the net selling razors offer them "shave ready" and have someone sharpening them before they go out. As Jimmy mentioned, having one from there, or sending a razor out to one of our "Honemeister's" (look on classifieds, member services) will give you a bench mark.

Stropping is a necessary evil, and Jimmy is correct. It realigns the blade after use. If you could see your razor's edge at 200x magnification after shaving, it looks like jagged edges. Stropping kinda realigns it. We had pics at one time.

This "Tips" probably has the info you are after

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ry-2012-a.html

Every one has a different sense of what is or it not sharp, I like a VERY keen edge, that is one that feels like it just jumped off the finishing stone. For me, even when I have one of the local[read SRP] honmeisters hone a str8 for me, by the 3rd or 4 th shave I notice an appreciable loss of keeness even with the best stropping technique I can apply.
But I concure with my fellow wet-shavers, buy a back up, send you razor out to a honmeister and start from there.
It will give you a baseline to work from as far as what you should or shouldn't expect from you blades edge.

Wellcome to the Wet-Shaving community, and have a great shave on me!!

Most Sincerely, tinkersd.