Thread: Noob needs help with tiny nick repair

I had a similar nick in my Dovo, actually. I spent some time on my Naniwa 1k, and was able to remove enough metal to make it go away. I would say that doing 4-5 sets of 40 circles in both directions on a 1k should remove it..maybe even 2-3 sets..

And now, the dreaded "YMMV"

Danny, when you strop it, does this ding in the blade leave scratches on the leather? If not, you might be okay to CAREFULLY use it until Sunday. We can easily fix this at the meetup on Sunday and show you a bit about maintaining your blades. My guess is that you hit this gently on the faucet or even closed it on the scales, but it does not look catastrophic at any rate. We can get you sorted very quickly!

Hey Danny
I'm real new myself so you may not want to go by me but I agree I think you should send it out to someone and get it back real fast! It will be in perfect condition and you don't have to go through those hassles. If you do choose to go the honing route yourself there are tons of videos on this site and on YouTube that show you how to do it step by step. Ignore the snarky responses- I do. It's aggravating and frustrating but whatever...
Just my 2 cents for what its worth!

How I learnt to hone after studying everything I could find on the internet about razor honing.

1. Hit razor on tap to dent the edge (unintentionally I should add).

2. research hones and grit levels to find what I would need to look for.

3. Bought hones according to grit rather than brand/quality.

4. Honed razor on a 1k with a willingness to destroy it if that's what it took, as I had never had a decent shave from it anyway. Kept this up until nick was no longer visible.

5. Managed to get razor about as sharp as my good knives after getting frustrated with getting a decent edge, only to lose it on the next grit stage.

6. Got a rough shave from razor, but a lot smoother than I had ever had from it before. Could have gotten the same from my decent knives though.

7. Went back to hones and tried again. Results the same.

8. Spoke to a member of SRP via PM. Found that my finest hone, a double sided 3k/8k was incorrectly marked. I had been shaving off of a 3k edge. Also the the reason why the edge was coming good before getting worse.

9. Found the shave off an 8k hone to be smoother, but still had higher expectations of shaving sharp.

10. Bought a C12k from OS. Paid too much. Found out I had to lap it and how to go about it prior to it's arrival. Practiced lapping on my other hones, never having done that before either.

11. Re-hone razor with a bit more care on freshly lapped hones. Finally started getting a decent learners shave from razor.

12. Recieved C12k and lapped it over several pain-staking hours.

13. Shave vastly inproved after touch up on C12k.

14. Had another SRP member offer to drop over to show me honing technique. Found to be reasonable, but some pointers required.

15. Later sent razor off to be checked by someone better than me, as it wasn't coming good anymore. Some rust on edge that was honed out and returned with a professional honing job.

16 Realisation that I have been like a hammer in my honing technique where a feather was required. This was my new baseline and a couple of years later, I'm still not there yet.


Lessons learnt: The learning process leaps ahead when you have someone show you, rather than tell you, what you need to know.


Mick

Originally Posted by LegalBeagle

Danny, when you strop it, does this ding in the blade leave scratches on the leather? If not, you might be okay to CAREFULLY use it until Sunday. We can easily fix this at the meetup on Sunday and show you a bit about maintaining your blades. My guess is that you hit this gently on the faucet or even closed it on the scales, but it does not look catastrophic at any rate. We can get you sorted very quickly!

Dang. The razor is at NY Shaving Co awaiting sharpening...though I am OK leaving it there for now. Was able to pick up a 4 vintage razors there that were sitting on display in an old sterilizer, most notably a Torrey "992"; John (NYSCo owner) hadn't planned on selling them, but I made a stupidly aggressive impulse offer, so am now waiting for 5 razors to come back instead of just my original Dovo.

RAD has progressed beyond the incubation stage...

Originally Posted by DannyMcO

RAD has progressed beyond the incubation stage...

Yep... That happens pretty quickly! Buy a straight to try and save money and end up spending a bit on a new hobby!

Originally Posted by MickR

Lessons learnt: The learning process leaps ahead when you have someone show you, rather than tell you, what you need to know.

Amen brother! I'm sure Danny will pick enough to thoroughly scramble his brain at the meet. He thinks he has RAD & is opening his self up to HAD...I forsee deep injuries to the bank account.

Danny,
You are wanting to learn to hone. Go ahead and order up a DMT8C diamond plate for lapping, Naniwa Chosera 1K, Norton 4/8K or Naniwa 3/8K, and a Naniwa 12K so that they will be in the mail when you return from the meet. You think you want to learn to hone now...wait until after the meet! The guys at the meet will make it look easy & you will be hooked for sure saying "I can do that, no problem". This is where the frustrations just begin on the journey to getting proficient at honing and one that you will never really quit learning on.

Probably one of the few here who's gramps shaved with a straight(he was born in the 1870's), from reading about those times I've found while most males had their own razors, most of them went to the barbers for a shave.
If you're going to use a straight everyday it's best to have more than one, or even easier and cheaper a Parker-like Shavette to use if your straight goes dull.