Thread: Ode to the Christmas DOVO :-(

Well Merry Christmas to all...... For weeks I have been looking forward to this day for many reasons but one in particular was a present I had asked Santa to get for me.... A New old stock 7/8 Dovo from Vintage Blades.

I have struggled and struggled for the last few weeks with shaving. I have had a awful time keeping my razors sharp (Learning to hone correctly) and have talked to several board members here.

First to help me was Sham..... He sent me a PM a few weeks back and offered to help me over the phone. We have talked just about every day since and he has even honed a razor for me. I sent my sharpest to him and he said it was "too sharp" and honed it correctly. I had over-used diamond paste according to him and over honed it.

I have talked to Lynn on the phone several times and he has been VERY helpful and given me several pointers. I know how busy he is right now and will leave him alone until after the first of the year.

I have also talked to Alan Davis and he has been tutoring me with learning the correct stroke among other things. We are talking weekly and he has helped me greatly. He currently has two of my blades to analyze and correct if need be. Hope to talk to him after the holidays.....

Earlier this week, I talked to Glen (GSSIXGUN?) and he gave me several pointers. It helped me get the first shave ready razor off my new Jnat. Still having problems however....

I have been shaving with these straights since September. I have never been a wet shaving guy but after my electric razor was giving up, I became facisnated with shaving with my hunting knife back in July. I was surfing the net and eventually found this site and bought my first Straight.... a M Jung #80 from hi_bud_gl on 9/15.

I have collected 6-7 so far and have been trying to hone them as well. I just love the process and have really been challenged with it all. For some reason, I just can't seem to get more than three shaves from any of my razors. I got really frustrated back in October and decided that I just would have to break down and buy a new razor.

Well, I received my Jung back from Sham the first of this week and also sharpened my Joseph Allen on Monday night. I stropped up my JA on Tuesday morning and left the Jung un-touched. Well I had a nice shave from my JA and used the Jung as a reference from time to time as I shaved. My JA wasn't quite as sharp but still close. Each time it has 60+ laps on the strop and it shaved me nicely for two days. The third time it just wasn't sharp enough to cut well. On the third day the Jung wasn't as keen as it had been so I decided to strop it. I stropped it 30 laps on canvas and leather but it wasn't much better. I tried to shave with it but it wasn't quite enough for a comfortable shave on my neck. It worked well on my cheeks but my neck has to be XTG and was pulling too much. Next day was Christmas...... so I finished up with a safety razor.

Well today......much anticipation. Opened all the presents and found my beautiful 7/8 NOS DOVO my wonderful wife got from Vintage Blades. After all the presents had been opened I retreated to the bathroom for a much anticipated shave. I flipped open the razor and found that it wouldn't grab arm hair above the skin. I washed my face with hot water and made up some lather. I let the lather soak in while I stropped three razors..... My J Allen, M Jung and new DOVO. With the HAHT (Hovering arm hair test) the Jung was best, followed by the JA and the DOVO wouldn't even catch a hair!

Well I decided to go ahead and shave. The Jung did fine on my cheeks but was too uncomfortable on my neck to finish. The J Allen didn't even work as well. This was shave number three or four and it wasn't up to the task. I tried the DOVO and was shocked when it wouldn't even cut hair. No cigar...... How disappointing. While trying to muster a smile to my wife who had bought it for me, I finished shaving with my safety razor and cleaned up.

Now what should I do?????

Hoping for a BBS shave, Barry