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.

Maybe you could go see grampa's barber and if he uses straights will be able to hone out the chip.

Is there a set of steps that the cool kids follow that doesn't include lamenting about messing up their own razors? Or should I just accept as fact that I will always be a noob and rely on third parties for everything?

Or am I just asking the wrong question?

Danny,

You won't be a noob forever, but you're asking for someone to give you an answer that provides instant gratificiation. That won't happen. Accept that for now you are a noob, and that entails growing pains.

The advice you've gotten, at this stage in your learning, is not bad advice. No one is telling you to forever be dependent on others, but given the interest in not having to buy another blade whilst you await the return of your current blade, we are all guessing you'd be even less happy possibly not being able to use the current blade for some time as you develop your technique to get the current blade shaveable. Keep in mind that if your blade is nicked, it's not just needing to tune the smoothness of the blade, you're talking about having to remove a lot of metal and reset a bevel. That's better left to someone else until you know how to maintain an unmarred edge. If you send it to someone with experience, turn around will be a matter of days in the right hands. You will wait almost that long for shipping on a set of stones you buy.

The other alternative, is to update your profile to show your location, or use the member locator and see if there is someone nearby you that is willing to meet up and give you a little mentorship/honing demonstration...

I am not asking for instant gratification - I am asking for guidance, for step-by-step instructions.

There seems to be some detailed instruction in how I should handle expressing my frustration about rolling the edge/killing the bevel via honing in counterintuitive order, and a number of snarky responses (if there were a better description, I'd use it; there isn't).

What I haven't read is anything that would set someone on the path to learning how to hone other than asking another member locally.

To wit, I am wondering if asking another member locally is going to produce any better result than I am getting so far.