Greetings Gentlemen! I’m a long time B&B member and have always been a DE user. A month or so ago, I decided I would try my hand at straight razors. Having been a knife sharpener for years, my honing skills are not non-existent but we all know it’s apples and kumquats when it applies to razors. Watched tons of videos, read lots of threads, and bought a couple of new stones. I have a Naniwa Pro 400, 800, Naniwa Super 3000, 5000, 8000, and 12000. Bought a few razors off the Bay and in local antique stores and started honing. First 3 were pretty good being able to tree-top some hair and pass the HHT.
Then I found an old W&B that I could not get sharp. The bevel was so wonky, the bevel would be heavy at the heel and become almost non-existent by time I got to the tip. On the other side, I’d have a strong bevel at the tip, and would be almost gone at the heel! DOH! Tried to apply even pressure but couldn’t fix it. Then taped the edge and took the spine to my diamond stones to see if I could even out the spine. Finally just gave up.
So, I ended up buying a new “Shave Ready” razor from an online razor store, a Dovo Special I believe it was called and honed by their honemeister to 20k. Dinged the edge first rattle out of the box so decided to just put my own edge on it. Similar problem, but this time, the bevel was normal at the heel (except when I went up on the shoulder), almost non-existent in the middle of the blade, and almost normal at the tip. The other side was almost non-existent at the tip, and tapering down to around normal at the heel. So, I started over and put extra pressure on the tip on one side, and extra pressure in the middle on the other side. It helped, but still not a consistent bevel. I’m getting to where I hate shoulders on razors! But I don’t think that was the entire issue. How likely is it that I’be been working on two blades that have a warp to them? Of course the old W&B could have been abused for decades but the new Dovo has me a bit confused.
Thanks for any thoughts…..
Jerry
Then I found an old W&B that I could not get sharp. The bevel was so wonky, the bevel would be heavy at the heel and become almost non-existent by time I got to the tip. On the other side, I’d have a strong bevel at the tip, and would be almost gone at the heel! DOH! Tried to apply even pressure but couldn’t fix it. Then taped the edge and took the spine to my diamond stones to see if I could even out the spine. Finally just gave up.
So, I ended up buying a new “Shave Ready” razor from an online razor store, a Dovo Special I believe it was called and honed by their honemeister to 20k. Dinged the edge first rattle out of the box so decided to just put my own edge on it. Similar problem, but this time, the bevel was normal at the heel (except when I went up on the shoulder), almost non-existent in the middle of the blade, and almost normal at the tip. The other side was almost non-existent at the tip, and tapering down to around normal at the heel. So, I started over and put extra pressure on the tip on one side, and extra pressure in the middle on the other side. It helped, but still not a consistent bevel. I’m getting to where I hate shoulders on razors! But I don’t think that was the entire issue. How likely is it that I’be been working on two blades that have a warp to them? Of course the old W&B could have been abused for decades but the new Dovo has me a bit confused.
Thanks for any thoughts…..
Jerry
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