So I received my birthday present last night, a Dovo /Col. Conk 5/8 round tip. I found this particular package deal on Shave Nation and instructed the Wife that this would be a perfect gift, and I guess she paid attention. I was pretty excited to say the least when it arrived. I got up this morning with anticipation stropped the blade 30 or so times on both sides of the strop and prepared my face for my first true SR shave. First stroke was pretty uncomfortable, lots of pulling and tugging. I experimented with a few other stroke to see if it was my angle to no avail. Admittedly, I am a complete noob so its quite possible I stropped improperly but from what I can tell the stroke felt smooth and was done with minimal pressure. Plus I managed not to nick or cut the strop so that's a plus. My question is could this mean it needs to be put on a stone already? I was under the impression these razors came "shave ready" maybe not though. The package came with a Col. Conk paddle hone but to be quite honest, I sure don't want to ruin my own blade within days of receiving it. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. And thanks in advance
Are Shave Nations razors advertised as shave ready? I'm asking because if they aren't then they won't be and will need to be honed.
Now that you mention it, I may have heard him say that on one of his youtube video tutorials where he promotes his business. I guess I need to go back and take a closer look. Suppose if it's not in writing it is what is. I suppose the safest thing for me to do would be to send it to get honed? I doubt anyone would suggest to try that on my own.
It's a hone (8K - 10K) Arkansas stone. It's maybe two inches in width and 8 inches long. That being said, with so much of the razor being off the stone it seems to me there would be a lot of room for error, for someone that isn't experienced anyway.
It might help to youtube some of the videos of pros using a wet stone. It shows how their technique sort of starts with the razor centered and then makes an S motion. I'm mostly a DE shaver so there is a solid chance I'm talking out my a%% on this one
Yeah I've watched a few but the stones I see them using are wide enough to accommodate the entire length of the razor. They also use multiple stones. I don't know I'm confused at this point....
No, have to say I must've overlooked that. But I see there are a few videos on there. I'll check those out as soon as I get to the house, Thanks.
You haven't done your homework on straight razor shaving, so get to reading and watching videos on everything related to the subject.
Absolutely, do not hone a razor by yourself unless you have some experience with what a proper shave ready razor should be. Most honemeisters such as Glen and Lynn recommend months of shaving with a straight before you even think about honing something. Check out http://www.straightrazordesigns.com or http://www.gemstarcustoms.com Either will put one of the most wonderful edges on your razor and you'll have a good baseline on how smooth and wonderful they can be.
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/video-what-is-the-shave-test.32920/ Try this, if you can't do that it needs to be honed.. If that "Paddle Hone" is the same one that Col Conk has been selling for years it is NOT going to do anything good to a SR Looks like a stick with a 3/8 inch thick rock glued to it ??? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TPALWS/?tag=thshde-20
Maybe the razor is ok and you did not prepare correctly. That will give the symptoms of a dull blade. That happened to me before I learned
That would be the one, it looked pretty cheap to begin with, and as for the shave test... looks like I'll be sending it out for a professional honing. I appreciate all the help with this gents!
