Thread: Noob needs help with tiny nick repair

Howdy all -

10 days in and my Dovo just got its first tiny nick, maybe a 1/4" from the tip - I can (and just did) shave with it, after some serious stropping, but recognize this is not a situation to let sit.

Any guidance in step-by-step nick repair would be appreciated.

Thanks -

Dan O

If you're new at this, there are three steps:

1. Send it off to be honed.
2. Get it back in the mail.
3. Shave with it.

Ha!

I get that it's best to leave it to the pros...but I am not feeling like I should buy another blade locally while I wait for the nicked one to come back.

Surely, had this happened to Grandpa, he might have taken a different path?

Originally Posted by DannyMcO

Surely, had this happened to Grandpa, he might have taken a different path?

Did Grandpa hone his own razors ? If not he would have:

1. Sent it off to be honed.
2. Got it back in the mail.
3. Shaved with it.

And there you have it! Next question; Did Grandpa own a second razor, or did he go to the barber in the interim?


Mick

There is an easy alternative, but it involves more steps:

1. Buy a 12K finisher for about a hundred bucks.
2. Dull the edge further with inexperienced technique.
3. Purchase the 4K/8K combo stone for less than a hundred bucks.
4. Eliminate whatever bevel was there in the first place.
5. Purchase a 1K stone to reset the bevel.
6. Express your frustrations in the forum regarding when to know you've set a bevel.
7. Purchase a DMT 325, a few loupes and maybe a USB microscope to examine the edge.
8. Send it off to be honed.
9. Get it back in the mail and shave with it.

You'll eventually go through all those steps, but for now all you need is a box,
an address and some postage. As for what to do in the meantime, that is why
God made DEs.

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 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.