Conflicting information between Dovo and some Forum Members

[PuFFaH]

This fabled "Fin" again

Has anyone actually got a magnified image of this oh so delicate and prehensile thing?
I can only base my opinion on what happens with my sharpening routine and this has never been affected by before and after stropping. If I could see this "fin" it may help me understand what Dovo and other rest period advocates are on about. Pictures of it deformed after a shave and after 24 hours would go some way to alleviating my doubt on the whole theory.
If this "Fin" is nothing more than a very fine bur left by slight over honing...well you can guess what I would recommend

PuFF (Fin Atheist)

[ForestryProf]

Here's a new theory for you...

Back in the day when most men had only one razor (too expensive to duplicate needlessly), there was a small but fanatical group that really hated shaving daily. Their wives, on the other hand, really loved the BBS feel of their husbands cheek after a good shave. In order to get their wives to 'give it a rest', they fabricated the urban legend of the self repairing fin which of course required that the razor be allowed to rest. This allowed them to skip shaving every other day...for the good of the razor.

In a sense, we here at SRP have adopted this urban legend and magnified it. Now we have members telling their wives that they absolutely NEED at least 14 razors because the edge needs that much time to realign itself between shaves

Just another data point,
Ed

[Friggin Joe]

I wonder if a blowdryer heating the blade followed by a freon blast would speed up the process. I'm not trying it.

[stangman]

I strop my Dovo 5/8 before I shave (10-15 linen passes plus 30-40 leather passes); between shaving passes (12-15 on the leather only); and after the shave (10-15 linen plus 20-30 leather). I have been using that same Dovo razor as my main daily shaver for the past 11 months with no problems whatsoever. It shaves very comfortably with no irritation or pulling and I can get a BBS shave with it any time I want. Just my opinion, but I think stropping afterwards gets rid of any little bits of corrosion-inducing elements (microscopic bits of skin cells and/or blood, soap, etc.) that might be clinging the edge and keeps it in better shape for the next shave.

[Jonedangerousli]

I guess it's a good thing that Bob Dylan wasn't a straight razor afficianado or we might have ended up with:

Ev'rybody's building the big ships and the boats,
Some are building monuments,
Others, jotting down notes,
Ev'rybody's in despair,
Ev'ry girl and boy
But when Fin the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Fin.

I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet,
But guarding fumes and making haste,
It ain't my cup of meat.
Ev'rybody's 'neath the trees,
Feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Fin the Eskimo gets here,
All the pigeons gonna run to him.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Fin.

A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all,
Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey,
And I'll tell you who to call.
Nobody can get no sleep,
There's someone on ev'ryone's toes
But when Fin the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Fin.

[SIB]

I find that stropping during the shave , gets the edge to the best it can give, i guess the previous stropping plus the heat of the water really prepares the edge to be really "aligned" , i always feel the best edge if i stop before hitting the neck ( after doing the cheeks) and get no irritation.
My personal experience....

[gnit]

Well, I have 2 Dovo's, a Bismark (wonderful blade) and a Special (which suffered from a nasty ding a few years back, before I knew this site existed). I also have two strops, one with a red, "hone" paste on, and the other with a blue, "polish" paste on (according to the 'documentation', anyway).
Anyhow, I generally give the blade a few passes on the "polish" strop before a shave, and then give it a few passes on the "hone" strop afterwards. I don't seem to notice any problems with either blade (except for my disasterous shave today, but that's another story).

Hope this helps you.

M.

Hi,
I just read at the Dovo web site (dovo.com) question 5 from the FAQ Section. It states that "if the razor is stropped too soon (after shaving) the "fin" ...breaks off". The inference here is NOT to strop a razor immediately after shaving, but to wait at least 24 hours, which will allow the edge to realign itself a bit. I have read on this forum that a number of you strop immediately after shaving. Do you feel Dovo's information is correct, incorrect, outdated, etc.? Personally, since I shave with a Dovo, I'll follow their advice, but perhaps, it doesn't matter if many of you strop after shaving without any negative results. A little confusion here!