Question from a new member.

Hello to all. After lurking for quite some time on SRP, I have decided to join the community. First and foremost I would like to thank all the members of the community, especially Mr. Lynn Abrams. SRP has been a huge help in answering the many questions I have had about straight razor shaving.

A bit of background. When I was 18 years old, I kicked the cartridge and began DE shaving, 8 years later I took the plunge and bought my first straight razor. It was a Dovo best 6/8 full hollow. After some time, watching almost every "how to shave with a straight razor" video on youtube I got my technique down. Shaves were quick and smooth, but still not up to par with what I was getting from my Feather blades in my Merkur DE razor.

Fast foreward a few months and I decide to get a hone. Of course I spent countless hours browsing youtube and SRP to get all my questions answered. The big day arrives, I unbox my norton 4k/8k and get to lapping. Step 1, draw edge across rim of glass to get rid of edge. I then set the bevel on my 1200 grit diamond stone. Hairs will pop off my arm, so I move to the Norrton. 4k and 8k go well. Strop on linen then leather and give her a test shave. Things go well. The razor is smooth but still not up to par with the shave from the DE.

A few weeks ago I decide that as a pastime, I will take my shot at restoring older razors. I'm pretty handy, and hey, making things shiny and sharp, sounds like fun to me! So today, a 5/8 full hollow Wade & Butcher arrives in the mail from eBay. The blade is in pretty good condition, but the scales need some work. I sanitize the razor, draw blade across the glass and get to work with my routine. 1200, 4k, 8k, linen, leather. Lather up with some Proraso and hope for the best.

What happened next made my jaw drop. My $40 eBay find gave me the closest, smoothest most incredible shave I've ever gotten. I had to do a double take to make sure it was cutting. No pulling, no tugging, no irritation. The blade sliced effortlessly through my thick beard. I was amazed to say the least.

So my question. Is there that much difference between Solingen steel and Sheffield steel? Is it the geometry of the 5/8 vs 6/8 blade that gave me the amazing shave, or is it something else? All else the same, same stones, routine, stropping, but such a huge difference in shave.

Thanks all.

Hi there and welcome. Personally I think that Sheffield steel gives one of the best edges in the world of straight razors. Here in the UK Sheffield is known as steel city and has been producing quality steel products for well over a hundred years.
One thing to bear in mind with a Sheffield steel razor is that when honing anything above about 15k grit brings nothing further to the edge IMO. I totally agree with you about the quality of the shave from a Sheffield blade second to none, very smooth.
Continue to enjoy.

There are always variables that will make you use two razors in a different fashion. Razor size, scale size and material, weight of razor. It may be tiny things but it can make a big difference. No matter the steel any quality razor should give you a great shave. if one is far better than the other first check out the razor with some mag and then consider if you are wielding it differently and then consider the poorer shaver probably needs more honing. Having said that there are some razors that are just perfection in steel and they will outshave others. These are rare and if you have one the test is if someone used the razor on you and you were blindfolded you would never guess a razor was being used on you. It's that smooth. Many think they have a razor like that but in reality few do.

+1 on the above post !! I would like to add that the shape of the blade will make difference, for instance a smiling blade gives me a better shave with the way I shave.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

There are always variables that will make you use two razors in a different fashion. Razor size, scale size and material, weight of razor. It may be tiny things but it can make a big difference. No matter the steel any quality razor should give you a great shave. if one is far better than the other first check out the razor with some mag and then consider if you are wielding it differently and then consider the poorer shaver probably needs more honing. Having said that there are some razors that are just perfection in steel and they will outshave others. These are rare and if you have one the test is if someone used the razor on you and you were blindfolded you would never guess a razor was being used on you. It's that smooth. Many think they have a razor like that but in reality few do.

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+1 to that....or does mine make it +2 at this point?:p
but seriously, welcome! and kudos to you for getting your razors to shave early on. many struggle at first getting a "passable" edge that shaves. on the dovo, you may have been popping hairs from forming a wire edge on the diamond stone, easy to have that happen and as you hone with progressively finer stones the wire edge breaks off, leaving the edge a bit ragged which will cause irritation. the continued honing surely polished the bevel you set on the diamond hone and possibly a lot of the cutting edge was fully formed but those little jagged spots from the wire edge breaking off would not come out easily with higher grits. try lightly dragging the cutting edge across the tip of your thumb nail. the nail is able to detect very fine irregularities in the cutting edge and it may turn out that you feel a couple. if that's the case maybe try dropping back to the 4k, do sets circles on both sides and retest with the fingernail. when it glides along the nail without even the tiniest catch then follow up with x-strokes and continue through the hones as usual.
I prefer Sheffield steel to most others and you may end up feeling the same. but after a while you should be getting crisp edges on anything you touch and (arguably) equally good shaves from different steel types, blade sizes and geometries. have fun, keep sharing the process!

Go figure. I tried a lot of straight razor sizes and types looking to find "THEE" difference. The good ones are all good. The big ones are too big and the small ones are too small. I honed a brand new Dovo for a guy and it was the best shave I ever had. Then I hone my el-cheap-o 6/8 Sheffield flea market find and thought the same thing. The pingy Henckels Inox? The quiet old wedge? The really worn unbranded notched half-hollow Torrey look-alike? Proper edge set off the stones, 50 laps on leather and they each seem magnificent.

That said, either of my 6/8 full hollow Sheffields are the best. :D

Well, except for the Heljestrand.

Hi and welcome. The answer may lie in the size and grinds. The dovo being 6/8 full hollow and the W&B being 5/8 and likely a heavier grind. Then again some razors just take a better egde or your honing may have been better. Try touching up the dovo and comparing again.

Welcome aboard to SPR
I can also relate to your dilemma Superfresh
I started with 13/16 W&B probably ¼ hollow

got a cheap 5/8 W&B probably ½ to ¾ hollow from of the bay for $21 AUD delivered to practice stropping & refreshing with a barbers hone
it looked like a dog in the photos (due to bad eBay photos) so thought for $21 it won’t hurt if I bugger it up practicing, when got it was in great shape compared to what I was expecting (I love bad eBay photo surprises when in my favour)

so I gave a clean-up with a bit of Autosol polish only, disinfected it, then about 30 laps on my Crown Barbers hone, if that, then about 50/100 laps on the felt & leather
I found it shaved a lot better & easier than the 13/16 that I started with
I found it was a lot lighter with the wedgeless horn scales & a lot easier to manoeuvre whilst I was still new, so I used it exclusively for a couple of weeks improving shaving skills.

this also made me realise just how much I had dulled my 13/16 with bad stropping technique, so went back to the hone with the bigger blade & got it right
still love that $21 5/8” W&B and is a definite keeper in my rotation
Attachment 166955

I too had a similar experience. Bought a W&B off the bay, had a hell of a time getting it honed. The planets must of lined up right or I was holding my tongue just right and finally got it sharp. It's one of my best shavers. Good job getting it right the first time.