Having shaved once now with the bigger, heavier, half hollow Hart Steell razor I bought from @Keithmax, my initial impression was that it was much easier to shave with than my 5/8 Dovo that I had been learning on. I mean MUCH easier. Being only 35 shaves in or so, I realize that my technique (or lack thereof) may be a contributor to this, but I just found that the weight of the heavier blade kept me from "hanging up" on my very thick wiry stubble. Today, then, I decided to shave the left side of my face with the Hart and the right with the Dovo. Wow. The left side of my face is easily DFS with no touch up while the right would have benefitted from a pass from the DE at the end. So, a question for those more learned than me in the dark arts: The results on my beard were dramatically better with the heavier blade. Do those of you who also find this to be true for yourself stick to those larger blades, or as you developed more skill did you just get better "mowing through" heavier stubble with a smaller blade where it had a negligible affect on your shave?
I would say, touch up the Dovo, with some Chromium Oxide, restrop a hundred or more strokes, and try again.
Heavier grinds seem smoother and are definitely less ‘vocal’, they don’t sing like more hollow razors. And historically heavier grinds were marketed to heavier beards, in French, ‘pour barbe dure’ often appears as an etch on heavier grinds. However, this is maybe mostly marketing, few complain about a Filarmonica not shaving well. Methinks your Dovo edge needs a bit of TLC - both blades should really give the same result if not the same sensation while shaving. Glad to help if you need a touch up on the Dovo. Cheers, Steve
I mentioned in a video this morning that weight did not seem to enhance performance. This was addressed to shavettes but I think the same applys to straights. Either blade in good shape should do a great job.
Thanks for the responses, guys. It's not what I expected to hear, as I had the Dovo originally sharpened by @gssixgun, but in all fairness, I've shaved with it about 30 times, and the technique of shaving and stropping was significantly less than stellar early on, so a may well have dragged his great work though the mud early on and gotten some premature blade wear. I've got another comparable blade I haven't used much that he sharpened, and I've got a modular paddle with some felt pads and chromium oxide and diamond spray coming in Saturday for the purpose of touch ups, so I'll have to do some homework and then try again.
The "Keenness" of the blade being basically equal there, are still differences in the feel of the grind to the face and beard hair For me it is the opposite, Heavy stiff blades do not agree with my Hollywood face Extreme double hollows are where I go personally The advantage that SR shaving has over all other types is that the Variations of the edge to your face are nearly infinite. You can adjust just about everything to fit your face Angle, Grind, Steel, Finisher, Stropping, etc etc etc This is also the disadvantage of SR shaving, there are nearly infinite variables that you need to work through until you find your niche The journey is a ton of fun ain't it
Your razor should never hang up in your whiskers. Also, those first 30shaves are the worst 30 shaves for an edge. Both your shaving and stropping technique are likely the cause of your edge deterioration. There is also the part that if you have a thick wiry beard and great shaving and stropping technique 30 shaves May be touch up time anyway. It may be a little early for you but examine your edge with a loupe or a bright light to see if you have rolled your edge.
Just to add, recently I kept a Cape 1000 going for 50+ shaves with only normal stropping. So if your techniques aren't where they should be yet, as Rez sez 30 is probably time for a touch up anyway. Cheers, Steve
That is the beauty of a straight razor, is the ultimate adjustable. I have trouble controlling light small razors and I find it’s much easier for me to find tune my angle and pressure with the bigger heavier razor. Each of us are different. I don’t have a Hollywood face like Glenn so mug does better with a heavier grind. If find that some large thin grinds can flex with my tough beard, scary feeling. Since you have a tough beard 30 shaves is a lot of shaves without a refresh. Try the CrOx and then a finishing stone if needed. While I prefer big blades with a heavy grind I have two 6/8 Dovo full hollows that give me great shaves.
I find that razors lose their shave readiness at varying speeds. Some of my razors can go 30 shaves between touch ups, while I feel the sharpness on others disappear over 10 shaves. As @gssixgun put it, there are many variables that impact the time between touch ups. Stropping technique, blade grind and quality of the steel come to mind. It might not be that the Hart razor is actually superior, but just that your Dovo blade needs to hit the hone.
Good info guys. Thank you! Looks like my touch up gear (wool stops and CrO2, and diamond spray) is “out for delivery” a day early, so we’ll know soon enough. I also have a Naiwana 12K, but haven’t had the stones to use it (pun intended) for fear of botching a good edge. Any and all suggestions are welcome...
I don't think that a light touch up will be beyond your skills, but you'll need to know if Glen honed it with tape, and if so which tape because you'll need some. Keep in mind that most beginning razor honers put way too much pressure on the razor, so try balancing the Naniwa 12k flat on your off hand. This will help that you don't go overboard with pressure, just be sure that your fingertips aren't above the stone's surface for obvious reasons. Don't grab the stone at all, just sit it flat on your off hand. Take the razor, spine taped with whatever Glen used if he used tape, and give the razor about 6-12 short strokes as light as you can manage, and flip the razor each stroke, pull the tape, rinse the razor well (be careful!), then strop. Don't try to use the full length of the stone, and it's OK if the stone moves around a little, it's supposed to when you hand hold the hone. That should make a very noticeable difference if the edge isn't too far gone. Good luck! Cheers, Steve
^^^^ What Steve said works in fact I have several customers that maintain their razors with the Naniwa 12k for years, I only see them if they ding a faucet or something You MIGHT need a bit more after 30 shaves, most people that maintain them do so on a bi-weekly or 10 shaves rotation, they figure out just when that edge starts to slip a fraction and maintain it just like @Steve56 explained Theory being "It is much easier to keep an edge sharp then to sharpen an edge" Part 3 of my Naniwa series shows some ideas for using the 10k and 12k that you can combine into a good system ps: incase you forgot 1 layer of 3M 700 is what I use, but honestly after 30 shaves and stropping it really makes very little difference
It seems to last better and I hardly EVER get any "Rollers" on the hones and I can buy a 5 pack sometimes a +1 6 pack on sale often at Home Depot Also not that it is important at all but most all of the Angle Calculations on the Forums were done using the 700 Edit: Just to be REALLY clear Tape vs Tape vs No Tape is seriously inconsequential, you are talking about less then 1° of change on less than ~1 Micron of edge I made this vid 4 years ago and was in Full "Glen Mode" so there is a bit of attitude in it
By the time you think you should use it, the edge is already getting worn, and you’re looking for a little more. Assuming you’ve watched a video or two, the worst thing that can happen is that you can’t sharpen it to where you want it and you have to send it in. You were going to have to do that anyway. I am pretty new at this still, in terms of overall razors honed, but the one piece of advice I can confidently offer is that if I can do it, any reasonably well read idiot with a Naniwa 12k can also.
What I've noticed over the years, is that people with light fuzzy beards tend to gravitate towards the extra hollow or full hollow razors; those who have a permanent "blue beard," full and heavy, tend toward the wedge grinds. I prefer the stiffer wedge grinds.
I put the razor on the 12K this morning and then stropped it about 10 times on the wool strop with diamond spray on it. Pretty good results. I was able to pull off a DFS relatively easily with no tugging or hanging up on my stubble. Like a dummy, I forgot to strop the blade on a regular leather strop before shaving, so between that and my still-improving technique the shave left me a bit more irritated then normal. This was confirmed by stinging and some redness upon applying some alcohol based AS. Having said that, it was a considerably smoother shave with the Dovo today than it was yesterday, and I’d consider my first touch up a success. Thank you all for your help and input. I would’t have known what to do or where to start without you guys. Cheers!
