Thread: Blade felt draggy and my first "cut."

I have honed a few new Dovo's, none were anywhere near a true bevel.

SRD has sold quite a few Dovos and I'm pretty sure there is a reason why he honed all of them before they were sold.

Are we really having this discussion about any Factory made razor being shave ready out of the box?

I've had Dovo's that were truly shave ready from the factory but they were the exceptions. Most needed work to one degree or another. The more recent razors tend to be in shape worse than the older ones.

I've had some vintage NOS pieces that shaved fantastically out of the box but we're talking razors made in the 60s.

I guess we are having that discussion and I'm glad we are since I'm new here and equally new to straight razor shaving....if The Superior Shave doesn't hone new razors and factories do not hone then I am very glad someone pointed that out.

I seem to recall the Dovo I bought being advertised as "honed" but that's been 9 or 10 years ago before I even knew what "honed" meant. Clearly the razor does work as I've been off to what I think is a great start with it. If, however, it wasn't honed at the factory or by the dealer then I might be in for a pleasant surprise when I do get it honed.

I should have enough growth to shave Friday or certainly by Saturday and I'll get back with everyone here on how that goes. My "cut" isn't completely healed yet but it's coming along quite nicely.

Originally Posted by AnglesMatter

I guess we are having that discussion and I'm glad we are since I'm new here and equally new to straight razor shaving....if The Superior Shave doesn't hone new razors and factories do not hone then I am very glad someone pointed that out.

I seem to recall the Dovo I bought being advertised as "honed" but that's been 9 or 10 years ago before I even knew what "honed" meant. Clearly the razor does work as I've been off to what I think is a great start with it. If, however, it wasn't honed at the factory or by the dealer then I might be in for a pleasant surprise when I do get it honed.

I should have enough growth to shave Friday or certainly by Saturday and I'll get back with everyone here on how that goes. My "cut" isn't completely healed yet but it's coming along quite nicely.

I don't think anyone is saying Dovos are "not" honed at the factory because they are. It is just that the factory honing may not be optimal. There is a difference between a razor you can shave with and one that is "shave ready" if you follow me. The razors that I hone for myself I can shave with quite comfortably but I would not consider them "shave ready" by the standards of a pro honed razor. I have had a couple of current production new razors that even I could improve the edge on. There are degrees of shave able edges.


You can see the honing at about the 3:49 mark in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACJrAI3SxM

Bob

I believe, two things come into play here:

1.) A novice has to master three skills: firstly the shave, secondly stropping, and lastly honing.
While in the beginning honing can be done by someone else, most straight shavers will ultimately want to master that skill as well.

But the first two skills go hand in hand, and a novice tends to be both hard on the razor when he shaves and hard on the razor when he strops.
In short, a novice’s razor will need to be honed much sooner than an accomplished straight shaver’s razor.
And there is no need to fret over it, it’s all part of the learning process AFAIK.

There are some excellent vidoes out there (some total rubbish too, it’s after all the Internet ) but they can only help that much and ultimately nothing will replace the lessons one learns from practice. And razors are very good at telling you when they need some care. They just “don’t cut it anymore”. You may hear the familiar sound, but after the pass the stubble is just still there and you wonder whether by mistake you reached for the butter knife.

I feel sorry for the first razors that I abused coming to grips with shaving, stropping and honing, but they all survived the ordeal and are still today with me - in better shape than ever.

2) Regarding “shave ready” that is such a subjective term. Maybe I have become picky, but I bought very few razors that were shave ready in my book, which does not mean these razors could not have been perfectly acceptable for someone else.

In straight shaving, one tends to set the bar higher over time, and expectations in the tools (razors) one uses grow and ultimately it burns down to the very simple question “Is this razor up to my standards and on par with the razors that I already have, or does it need some work done?”





B

beluga,

Thank you for that advice and no doubt, anytime one does something for the first time, they are bound to make mistakes. As long as that person can learn from mistakes, progress is guaranteed.

I shaved last night after a shower and I changed up my stropping technique to keep the spine in contact with the strop. The razor seemed to be "its old self again." I got a couple of nicks this time but no cuts. I did miss a spot that I can catch tomorrow or let go till next time since no one can see it.