Carbon Vs Stainless - Sharp questions

Hello everyone,
I know this question has been posted hundreds of times, which one is better... thankfully, this is not that kind of post again.

My question is more about how sharp they can get.

I have a Dovo EnVougue Ice tempered stainless steel and a Thiers-Issard Carbon Steel.

When I shave with the TI I get great shaves, not BBS yet but I'm getting there. Whereas with the Dovo I feel it's sharper and I can feel it burning my skin while I shave.

Is it possible that the SS gets so much sharper than the Carbon Steel? Any advice on this topic?

Cheers.

E.

IME depending on the steel, the honer, the edges can be equally sharp. Same with smooth ....... IME. If your Dovo is not as smooth as you like try 5 round trips on chrom-ox on a flat bed. Has a softening effect on harsh edges IME.

I have the same set - a stainless Dovo and a carbon steel TI. Both are equally sharp, but I feel like the TI gets a closer shave with less effort than the Dovo. I've also touched both blades up with a barber's hone, so their equally maintained. These days, I'm liking my TI more, but that changes, seasonally.

I don't have a Dovo stainless or a TI carbon steel razor but I do have several razors in both types of steel and they all shave equally comfortably. I would say your problem is what Jimmy said, a matter of edge smoothness not sharpness. I would try what Jimmy suggested for starters.

Bob

I'm rather new at this, so the only thing I have is a Strop, Leather and Canvas sides... I think it's cotton but I'm not entirely sure.
Every day after my shave I strop the blade with the canvas side to dry them off and I strop them at night to have them ready for my morning shave next day.
At night I strop it on the canvas a few passes to heat the blades and then with the leather side for at least 60 pases. I do this every second day as I try to alternate the blades.

But as Kyriaco says, I'm also liking the TI better, I feel it's smoother and more forgiving than the Stainless blade. When I shave with the Dovo I feel like it's burning sharp and I start feeling some irritation if I do anything over 2 pases. The problem is that I usually have to do some touch ups as I can't get the shave as smooth as with the TI

Both were honed properly as I haven't got my hands into that yet.

I am going to take it that razors were both pro honed by whomever you bought them from. It could still be that the stainless did not get along with whatever finish hone was used as well as the TI did. The other possibility that I can think of is that you may have rolled the edge on the Dovo while stropping it. That could also lead to a harsh irritating shave. Like I say Both types of steel shave just as smoothly for me.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

I am going to take it that razors were both pro honed by whomever you bought them from. It could still be that the stainless did not get along with whatever finish hone was used as well as the TI did. The other possibility that I can think of is that you may have rolled the edge on the Dovo while stropping it. That could also lead to a harsh irritating shave. Like I say Both types of steel shave just as smoothly for me.

Bob

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Yup...the old rolled edge.

After 6 months thought I was an expert at stropping until I visited a honemeister in Ontario, brought all my blades with me, think I had 8 at the time, 5 of them had rolled edges!!

That was a back to the fundamentals experience, put away everything else, back away from thinking of honing, paste's etc...and learn to keep the darn spine on the strop and properly roll the spine during the strop...speed kills, take it slow, and practice, practice, practice...as BobH says, a rolled edge is a complete buzz kill in regards to a comfortable shave!!

Thank you everyone for your answers!

Is there a way to know... or more accurately "see" a rolled edge? Could I see it with a magnifying glass or something like that?

Straight Razor Sharp Tests - YouTube


There are some really good ones from Toxik

I know of no quantitative test where you can do X with a razor and generate a numerical value as to what sharp is relative to other items. There are too many variables and each person will rate sharpness differently with the exact same razors.

To me stainless and carbon can be made equally sharp.

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Originally Posted by Eco82

Is it possible that the SS gets so much sharper than the Carbon Steel? Any advice on this topic?

Cheers.

E.

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No , it's more likely the edge on your SS needs more polishing or maybe some Cro paste as Jimmy mentioned.

I regularly use several Friodur razors and mine are keen but not harsh. I think that it is most likely that you have not found yet what the Dovo likes. I hone my Friodurs up to an 8K Norton, strop on 3, 1, and 0.5 um diamond paste, and strop on unpasted linen/latigo 30 and 60. Try a CrOx or diamond pasted bench or paddle strop before your unpasted daily strop. CrOx should smooth things out. When the unpasted strop starts to lose its effectiveness, I touchup again on the diamond paste.

HTH

Again, I have no pastes and only one leather strop so far...
My question was not about a numerical value as for how sharp is it but more on the visual aspect.
If I use a good magnifying glass, can I see that the edge is rolled? or how it's supposed to look?

Again, thanks everyone :-D

Cheers.

E.

Magnification can tell you a lot if you know what to look for. If not you may still be guessing.

You said your Dovo feels 'sharper' than your TI so I am assuming the SS shaves closely ?
If so the edge is not likely to be rolled.

What is the honing history of this Dovo ? Was it ever to your liking ? Did it degrade slowly /quickly ?

That's the thing Onimaru, I'm not sure he he he.

I've been using it for a couple of months, well, I would have to say for a month as I try to use the Dovo one day and the TI the next day and I started using mid November or so.

I know it was honed professionally, I bought it used from someone at the Badger & Blade forum. I was able to see the blade before buying it as he lives nearby and it was still on it's original package. Every time it pases the hanging hair test, although I feel it's a little bit better on the toe and heel than the center of the blade. Also, the TI was honed by Max in Las vegas, where I bought the blade.

I feel I get smoother and closer shaves with the TI than the Dovo, but the Dovo feels "harsher" I start feeling like it burns in the middle of the second pass or so.

So, I'm not sure if it's because it really is sharper and I need to work a little bit more on my technique to find the right angle and all... Or, if it's because I'm messing it while stropping.

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Originally Posted by Eco82

So, I'm not sure if it's because it really is sharper and I need to work a little bit more on my technique to find the right angle and all... Or, if it's because I'm messing it while stropping.

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Well it could be technique but I doubt you are making the edge harsh by stropping. Just going on the crystal ball here I still think the Dovo was not finished right i.e. smooth enough. Anyone that hones these will tell you they can be very comfortable to shave with but they may need some minor tweaking at the end of honing.
Your simplest bet is to send it out to someone confident at doing these & explain the sensation you're feeling when shaving. A microscope may reveal some answers too. Unless it's giving you a much closer shave than the TI the Dovo is not necessarily 'sharper'.

So... I've been looking at the edges on a magnifying glass, a thread counter actually, one of those made to see the dots in printed materials and I have to say that I couldn't see anything.
My guess is that the edge is even and it's so thin I could not notice anything weird. I did notice one tiny spot on the TI blade that seems to reflect light in a different way so it might be a little hit or dent in the edge.
Still the TI is giving me a way smoother shave than the Dovo even though the Dovo blade seems sharper on the HHT. It splits the hair right thru but when I use it it does seem harsher.
I might need to send it to hone or something.

My question for you is about shipping and such, I live in Canada (Vancouver) and the only profesional honemeister I know is Max, in Las vegas. Has anyone shipped their blades internationally? Is there an issue with that? What would be the best way?

Thank you everyone!

E.

Here's a postage calculator . It will give you a range of prices & services
Postoffice.com -- Gateway to Post Offices of the World!

From my experience, the shave is in the hand of the honer....:shrug:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eco82

So... I've been looking at the edges on a magnifying glass, a thread counter actually, one of those made to see the dots in printed materials and I have to say that I couldn't see anything.
My guess is that the edge is even and it's so thin I could not notice anything weird. I did notice one tiny spot on the TI blade that seems to reflect light in a different way so it might be a little hit or dent in the edge.
Still the TI is giving me a way smoother shave than the Dovo even though the Dovo blade seems sharper on the HHT. It splits the hair right thru but when I use it it does seem harsher.
I might need to send it to hone or something.

My question for you is about shipping and such, I live in Canada (Vancouver) and the only profesional honemeister I know is Max, in Las vegas. Has anyone shipped their blades internationally? Is there an issue with that? What would be the best way?

Thank you everyone!

E.

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Lynn from SRD does honing also. Dunno if it'd be cheaper to send it to him. Also check the classifieds, there might be someone in Canada that hones.

There's also Maxi in Toronto.

There is Phil at Sharpening Service and I think there is another place in Toronto that Phrank was talking about that does honing.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

There is Phil at Sharpening Service and I think there is another place in Toronto that Phrank was talking about that does honing.

Bob

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That would be, thegentlemansden, does awesome restore work as well as provide excellent honing services...