Thread: Can't keep an edge

I can get what appears to me at least, a fairly decent edge by giving my razor a series of passes over my abrasive paddle (3, 1.0 then 0.5) followed by passes on the strop side.

The edge passes the hanging hair test and I feel that it shaves fairly well. Not exactly like a hot knife through butter but I get the impression that it is up to par.

On the second shave (a couple of days later), I only strop the blade but the edge just doesn't seem to be there.

Should the edge degrade so quickly? Am I doing something wrong with my stropping? Am I setting the bar too high in regards to the sharpness of my blade?

Cheers,

Scott

Hi Scott:

I have had the same problems at the beginning and sometimes still do. What I've found is that it is my stropping method that dulls the blade up.

Since I'm still figuring it out, I'll let others chime in with more experience. All I can tell you is that it will take time. Stropping is, in my opinion, the single most important skill to learn, after shaving properly.

How are the shaves after you strop?
Can you describe how you strop?
What does the edge feel like after stropping when you say it "just doesn't seem to be there"?

What kind of strop do you have, hanging or paddle?

How many round trips on plain leather do you do before each shave?

Well, there are several possibilities here. First what kind of razor do you have. If its a marginal piece it just may not hold an edge more than one shave. Its also possible your stropping is dulling the blade. Its also possible your razor really isn't all that sharp and its only lasting one shave because the sharpness isn't really all that great.

So tell us more about these factors so we can help you.

I'll try to provide a collective answer to all of posed questions.

I have a paddle strop and a Dovo razor which I picked up from Tony Miller. Here is the set:

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.c...1&categoryId=5

How are the shaves after you strop?

I think they start out well. To be honest, they are a little rough towards the end, to the point where I still do the goatee area with a Mach-3 (at least until I get this all sorted out). I get the feeling that the blade is skipping over the beard as much as cutting it by the end of the shave. I don't know if the comparison is fair, but the blade doesn't seem to cut the beard as easily as the mach-3. At first I assumed this was my technique but I do believe my angle is correct.

Can you describe how you strop?
I try to follow Tony's instructions. Holding by the shank I pass the blade along the strop away from me with the spine leading and the heel in contact with the leather. I slide the blade across the leather so that by the time it has reached the far end the entire width of the blade has come into contact with the leather (as the blade is wider than the paddle).

I roll the blade over the spine to make contact with the other side and slide it back to me in the reverse of the method described above. I never roll over the edge itself.

After about 1/2 dozen of these passes (round trips), I feel the blade "drag" on the strop. I take this as a good sign.

Typically, I do about 25 of these passes.

It is possible that I am using to much pressure but don't know how to tell.


What does the edge feel like after stropping when you say it "just doesn't seem to be there"?

The best way to describe it would be to say that after doing my cheeks, the blade feels like it is "skipping" over the beard as much as it is cutting through. I am unsure what it "should" feel like.

Finno:

I *think* there are a couple of possibilities.

1. Not enough skin stretching. Got to stretch that skin tight and if you take long strokes, say on the face sides, move the stretching hand down with the razor. The further the razor gets from the stretching hand, the less taut the skin is. Skin not stretched enough might cause a skipping (has for me, which is how I learned to keep my stretching hand near my razor)

2. Potentially over-honed razor though with a pasted paddle, I'm not sure.

3. Too much pressure while stropping. Just use the weight of the blade and apply no more pressure than is needed to keep the blade flat for the whole trip. That's an experiment type of a thing. It is good that you are feeling some drag while stropping.

If it were me, I would start with (a) stropping with less pressure, just keep the blade flat, no more and (b) examine how I stretch my skin and try to adjust to keep my stretching hand within 2 inches of the blade.

If that didn't make improvement, than I would continue looking for someone who has experience with the pasted paddle.