New Dovo razor, not quite sharp enough?

Hi,
I'm a bit new to this, hope I'm posting in the correct sub-forum. I just bought a new Dovo razor and it was supposed to be shave ready, but every time I shave with it it takes at least three shaves to get anywhere close to the close shave I desire but it doesn't feel at all comfortable and I get razor burn every time. The main problem areas are the really tough hairs on my chin and neck. I am using a cowhide strop with a napped side and a smoothe side but no matter how much I strop it only gets so sharp. I'm pretty sure my stropping technique is correct btw, I've watched tutorial vids and I'm only using the weight of the blade and making sure it sits flat on the strop every time. The razor does somewhat pop some hairs from close range but you really need to get as close to 1/8th inch rather than 1/4 inch for this to happen. I'm shaving at around 30 degree angle but I can't get a smooth shave. I'm pretty sure this razor could be sharper but I'm not sure whether the next course of action would be to use a pasted strop or if I need to go to a honing stone. I changed to Prorasso shaving cream which helped a little but not enough. Any advise would be very much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by Decco

Hi,
I just bought a new Dovo razor and it was supposed to be shave ready, .

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First question..

Was the Dovo professionally hand honed ??? normally depending on where you buy it there is an extra charge for that, or it is well advertised..

Just save yourself the time and heartache trying to figure out if it's shave ready and send it to gssixgun for a honing. Then you'll know for sure that it's ready to go. Speaking from experience here :rofl2:

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Originally Posted by guthriemt

Just save yourself the time and heartache trying to figure out if it's shave ready and send it to gssixgun for a honing. Then you'll know for sure that it's ready to go. Speaking from experience here :rofl2:

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This is maybe one of the best advices you'll get :) (Even if the razor was properly honed you might have ruined the edge in some way)

As I understand you're prett new to straight shaving, and there's no hidden secret that it takes some time and effort to learn and tune your skills. While you're still learning there are lots of factors that may influence your results, like shaving technique, stropping, prep and so on.

By getting your razor honed by someone like Glen or any other with skills and a good reputation you will at least for sure know your razor isn't the problem, and you can focus on the other things to learn to get a good straight shaving experience.

New Dovo razors have a reputation for not being shave-ready, despite their claims.

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

First question..

Was the Dovo professionally hand honed ??? normally depending on where you buy it there is an extra charge for that, or it is well advertised..

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I bought it from these guys Dovo Razors They say they peel the seals to ensure they are shave-ready before they send them out.

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Originally Posted by Decco

I bought it from these guys Dovo Razors They say they peel the seals to ensure they are shave-ready before they send them out.

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I'm not familiar with them, but I notice they say they check the edges, not that they hone them...

A factory edge will cut hair, but it will rarely (read never) be what most of us condsider shave ready.

I had a similar problem.
My Dovo came from a shop, that specifically say the make the razor shave ready if you want.
As it was my first razor, I had them make it shave ready. The only thing they did, was stropping the razor.
So I send it to a member to inspect it and hone it if needed.
The razor didn't turn out very bad, but it still needed a bit of honing.
A very strange aspect is that the people from the shop give shaving lessons and in the little book they give you, it even says: "don't believe anyone who says a new Dovo rasor needs to be honed."

I think it's safe to say not all sellers know how to completely make a razor shave ready.
So I agree with previous advices, send the razor to someonee who knows what he's doing, so he can look at your razor and hone it if needed.
That way, if something doesn't feel good afterwards, you can blame it on your technique 100%, like me :w

Thanks for the replies.

I just got back from the barbers and he gave me a number for this guy, but he specialises in sharpening hairdressing scissors. Would you trust this guy to sharpen a razor?

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Originally Posted by Decco

Thanks for the replies.

I just got back from the barbers and he gave me a number for this guy, but he specialises in sharpening hairdressing scissors. Would you trust this guy to sharpen a razor?

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I wouldn't. The people from the store of my story also sharpen knives.
I would contact a honer from the forum.

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Originally Posted by Yves81

I wouldn't. The people from the store of my story also sharpen knives.
I would contact a honer from the forum.

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There have been a number of threads on here where people have had their blades sharpened by places that do knives, scissors and what not. There was no happy ending in most if not all cases. If you want to get your blade honed send it to a reputable vendor who specializes in straight razor honing. Get it done right.

Bob

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Originally Posted by Yves81

I wouldn't. The people from the store of my story also sharpen knives.
I would contact a honer from the forum.

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Neither would I unless you know a little more about them. Sharpening a razor is a little different than knives and scissors. Most shops that do that kind of sharpening do it on mechanical belts so they can rip through a hundred of them in an hour. A razor needs a lot of manual effort to coax the sharpness from the edge and leave it comfortable to shave with. Its very frustrating for a new person to have to go through all of this. I didn't care much for the experience either when I got started. And the frustration continues as you begin to learn to use it properly too. So try to be patient and get some expert honing done before you give up on it. When you get the razor back, don't play with it or strop it. Just put it to use with your first attempt to shave. You'll know at the point if the razor was your problem or your technique in using it. Keep in mid that the difference between this kind of shaving and your previous is more exaggerated than comparing it to manual transmission vs. automatic transmission in driving. Every element that was previously controlled to some degree is no longer controlled. Be patient with yourself and try again.

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me with my first razor. It was really discouraging. I sent it to Glen and he found a few things wrong with the edge and sent it back in beautiful condition. I learned real quickly, that unless you're purchasing the razor from someone who has a solid reputation with honing, you're going to want to send it out to ensure it's shave ready. And while you're at it you should probably buy another razor. Cuz ya know... You may need one if you hit your blade on the sink or something and have to send it out. Not that I did that or anything... :banghead:

"All razors supplied on this site have their edges checked before despatch and are ready to use - and don’t forget that we do offer a honing service for razors both near-new and vintage. To learn more, pay a quick visit to our website - it’s only has two pages so it won’t take long"!


Yeah I told ya most places charge extra..

Assuming you are in the UK or at least the EU I would say you need to contact one of the guys over there for help3

Zephyr who has replied in this thread is in Norway
Neil Miller or Celtic Crusader/Jamie are on SRP and both are in the UK

There are others too but I am typing after only 1/2 a cup of coffee so my brain is not fully lubed yet LOL

It needs to be honed, it really should be honed by some body that specializes in Straight Razors and uses them everyday.. I would NEVER hand my SR to anyone that doesn't shave with them or has an Electric sharpener in their shop JMHO

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Originally Posted by Zephyr

I'm not familiar with them, but I notice they say they check the edges, not that they hone them...

A factory edge will cut hair, but it will rarely (read never) be what most of us condsider shave ready.

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I believe it's a part of the invisible edge which are a reputable seller IMO. But like the guys already said save yourself a lot of razor burn, nicks, the occasional cussing and eventually quitting because some halfwit scissor sharpener messed up your razor. Do the wise thing and get it pro-honed.. Not pre ( factory) honed.
Greets

Just to clarify, Dovo Razors UK are part of The Invisible Edge. We supply all razors shave ready in that they all pass the HHT before despatch (obviously we cannot test-shave them!) and we say we 'check' the edges because to say they are all fully honed would be wrong - after all, it makes no sense to re-set a perfectly good bevel when all that is needed is a few strokes on a 12k!
True, most factory edges are not quite up to snuff, which is why we check each one. Not to cast aspersions but many newcomers think edges aren't sharp enough when really it's basically lack of practice. Also stropping is not a skill learned overnight! We do supply all razors ready for use, as stated, - but we have no magic formula for keeping them that way, that's down to the owner.

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

"All razors supplied on this site have their edges checked before despatch and are ready to use - and don’t forget that we do offer a honing service for razors both near-new and vintage. To learn more, pay a quick visit to our website - it’s only has two pages so it won’t take long"!


Yeah I told ya most places charge extra..

Assuming you are in the UK or at least the EU I would say you need to contact one of the guys over there for help3

Zephyr who has replied in this thread is in Norway
Neil Miller or Celtic Crusader/Jamie are on SRP and both are in the UK

There are others too but I am typing after only 1/2 a cup of coffee so my brain is not fully lubed yet LOL

It needs to be honed, it really should be honed by some body that specializes in Straight Razors and uses them everyday.. I would NEVER hand my SR to anyone that doesn't shave with them or has an Electric sharpener in their shop JMHO

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So I sent it back to the Invisible Edge for honing (before I recieved this advise) but I wasn't satisfied with the results. However, it did seem somewhat sharper than before so I tried to shave with it as it was without stropping but it still hurt like hell and I couldn't get a close shave with it even across the grain. So half way through I tried stropping it but I didn't notice any improvement. This is very frustrating! As far as I can see I'm doing everything right. Do you think if I sent it to one of these members they could get it even sharper for me? Although it's popping of some hairs at mid range, I did the the same test with a blade out of a disposable razor and it was popping off hairs much more readily, so I still think it needs to be sharper.

Honestly the guys at Invisible Edge have a very solid Rep,


This is an actual shave test, it takes as much "User Error" out of the equation as possible try it exactly that way no shortcus.. Then Try it again..



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93zQP7CToWQ

If that simple stroke cannot be accomplished there is no sense in going farther, either you are really doing something wrong or the razor is dull..

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Originally Posted by guthriemt

Just save yourself the time and heartache trying to figure out if it's shave ready and send it to gssixgun for a honing. Then you'll know for sure that it's ready to go. Speaking from experience here :rofl2:

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What guthriemt said. I received my Dove and I had three shave of razor burn before I sent it off to Glen to fix. Got it back two days ago and shaved with it this morning after work and WOW, New Dove. Zero razor burn. :rock:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Honestly the guys at Invisible Edge have a very solid Rep

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Not in my experience they don't!

Dex, I actually did end up sending it to a member and I noticed a big difference when it came back.

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Originally Posted by Decco

So I sent it back to the Invisible Edge for honing (before I recieved this advise) but I wasn't satisfied with the results. However, it did seem somewhat sharper than before so I tried to shave with it as it was without stropping but it still hurt like hell and I couldn't get a close shave with it even across the grain. So half way through I tried stropping it but I didn't notice any improvement. This is very frustrating! As far as I can see I'm doing everything right. Do you think if I sent it to one of these members they could get it even sharper for me? Although it's popping of some hairs at mid range, I did the the same test with a blade out of a disposable razor and it was popping off hairs much more readily, so I still think it needs to be sharper.

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Whereabouts are you in the UK? Maybe there is someone near to you that could help. Let us know and I'm sure someone will be in touch

just set the bevel bought several open razors all said shave ready none had the bevel set,i do it with an 8000 takes about 30 min or so i reverse hone in circles applying gentle pressure alternate either end so centre doesnt get over done,you know when you get there gets sharp all at once then barely any pressure 2x up and down reverse hone and then super gentle2x blade lead,razor easy after that just 35 strops normaly okafter a while you will find shave gets rough just gently re establish bevel takes very little time 30 seconds or less no pressure,dont use paste i dont or would,oh make sure you keep the hone super clean at the end few strokes.Watch out for false positives, you can make a razor sharp without getting bevel set but its no good.

I got my dovo from SRD and they (Lynn Abrams honed it )and it was "shave ready" not just factory sharp. so the Dovo needs it done , the factory edge is not ready ,, and like the other advice send it to gssixgun , the hair on your face will throw up a white flag and run ! this I know from experience too good luck tc

have you been able to get hold of a honer in your neighbourhood, and got it honed yet? if so let us know if the results are satisfying to you and if your first shave of it is what you expected. greets

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Originally Posted by blueprinciple

Just to clarify, Dovo Razors UK are part of The Invisible Edge. We supply all razors shave ready in that they all pass the HHT before despatch (obviously we cannot test-shave them!) and we say we 'check' the edges because to say they are all fully honed would be wrong - after all, it makes no sense to re-set a perfectly good bevel when all that is needed is a few strokes on a 12k!
True, most factory edges are not quite up to snuff, which is why we check each one. Not to cast aspersions but many newcomers think edges aren't sharp enough when really it's basically lack of practice. Also stropping is not a skill learned overnight! We do supply all razors ready for use, as stated, - but we have no magic formula for keeping them that way, that's down to the owner.

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I would just add that I've bought a TI from Steve at Invisible Edge and had 3 vintage and 1 Dovo razors honed by him. All, without exception have come back to me in a true shave ready condition. I didn't strop them for that first shave but subsequently have stropped them both before and after each shave. I have noticed that as my shaving technique improves they seem to get sharper. Obviously as I haven't done anything apart from strop on leather this can't be true but I've definitely noticed an improvement in pressure and angle during my shaves as confidence improves.