Tyro Sharpening/refreshing a razor

Hi guys,

hoping for a bit of advice. I have a Thiers-Issard razor and a Boker. The Boker I bought online and it was delivered 'shave ready' after the attention of a Honemiester - it's very sharp! The Thiers-Issard I bought from 'The Art of Shaving' shop in San Francisco and although the salesman said it was 'shave ready' the box was factory sealed.

I've have a couple of months of use from the razors and have now bought a modular paddle strop and a 5/8/12000 Naniwa Super Stones set up from Straight Razor Designs.

My problem is this: I've used the diamond spray on the paddle strop with both razors, the Boker is super sharp and continues to give a great shave. On the other hand the Thiers-Issard feels as blunt as a butter knife. I've watched Lynn Abrams video on refreshing a razor - and used his demonstrated method with my Super Stones on the Thiers-Issard with the result - it's still as blunt as a butter knife! The question is, where to go from here?

for completeness! I've also bought a couple of cheap old razors from Whipped Dog for me to learn how to hone with. I don't want to risk my ham fisted talents on my main razors yet!

thanks for any help.

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Originally Posted by Alwill747

Hi guys,hoping for a bit of advice. I have a Thiers-Issard razor and a Boker. The Boker I bought online and it was delivered 'shave ready' after the attention of a Honemiester - it's very sharp! The Thiers-Issard I bought from 'The Art of Shaving' shop in San Francisco and although the salesman said it was 'shave ready' the box was factory sealed. I've have a couple of months of use from the razors and have now bought a modular paddle strop and a 5/8/12000 Naniwa Super Stones set up from Straight Razor Designs.My problem is this: I've used the diamond spray on the paddle strop with both razors, the Boker is super sharp and continues to give a great shave. On the other hand the Thiers-Issard feels as blunt as a butter knife. I've watched Lynn Abrams video on refreshing a razor - and used his demonstrated method with my Super Stones on the Thiers-Issard with the result - it's still as blunt as a butter knife! The question is, where to go from here?for completeness! I've also bought a couple of cheap old razors from Whipped Dog for me to learn how to hone with. I don't want to risk my ham fisted talents on my main razors yet!thanks for any help.

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Sounds like you already have a good plan in place. Get the hang of honing on a cheap razor and then if you're not satisfied with your TI, tickle it until its how you like it, maybe using the pyramid method until you get the hang of it. One piece of equipment that I found really useful when learning to hone (and still find useful) is a 400x digital microscope, just plug it into your laptop and you can see what's happening with your edge. You can buy them on ebay for around $40. As for your Boker being superior to your TI, this isn't surprising. As everyone knows, Bokers are superior to everything. Not only are they the easiest to hone, they also give the best shaves are the best looking razors and smell great too (does anyone else smell a troll? :).

Hi and welcome. It's generally considered that razors don't come shave ready from the factory. So the best bet is to start at the beginning and set the bevel and work your way up. Gssixgun has good vids on YouTube that goes through the entire process using super stones. Good luck

My main concern is that you've been a member only for two months. You didn't state how much experience you have with knowing your face, whipping up good lather and how to strop without dulling your edge. In truth, those need to be in place before the overwhelming involvement of honing a razor to shave ready condition. A lot to be said for learning to hone bevel to 8k shave ready. Anything after that clouds the issue of is it a good bevel and sharp enough to shave as if the razor didn't exist.

I would recommend you perform a sharpie test. Get a sharpie marker and mark the bevewl up on both sides (dont worry, it comes off with a bit of elbow grease). Then perform a few laps on the hone. Inspect the edge and see if you have any ink left on the edge of the blade. If you do no have clean shiny steel allong the entire bevel then you still need to work on setting that bevel.

The razors from AOS just have a factory bevel set on them. If you have never honed before, I'd send the TI out to be pro honed.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Razorfeld, I'm ok with whipping up a lather - I'm using AoS cream and it's very easy to lather. I'm getting used to my face, I'm not too ambitious about a BBS result (areas around the chin are a challenge) but I'm not nicking myself nearly as often and when I use the Boker I get a comfortable shave and a good result. Stropping is an issue. I've bought a SRD modular paddle strop to try and help with that, though I've a feeling a lot of the time I'm just polishing the spine.

It would seem the best idea may be to get the TI professionally honed and take it from there.

Can I ask a supplemental question? How long before shaving should I strop the razor. I tend to do it before I shower and then shave immediately afterwards, is that good practise. Is it important how long before you use the blade it is stropped, could I do it for instance after I shave ready for the next day?

Thanks again.

In my opinion that is good practice. You are opening a can of opinions with your last question!

Alwill747, just so we are clear, if you are going to use a razor just back from the honer for the first time all you want to do is wipe it carefully and shave with it. All shaves after that you should strop before you shave. I've tried stropping the night before, the morning of and between whipping up some lather and shaving. To be honest, I've found the later to be the best for me. Make lather, strop, apply pre-shave (if using), lather and shave. Its a what ever makes you happy situation. Some people will strop the night before, the morning of, just before shaving, during shaving and after shaving. Or any combination there of, depending on what level of OCD you've got going, as they say YMMV. Try different combinations till you find the one that lets you think you are improving your razor and shave every time you do the sequence.

I personally lather, strop, shave, lather, shave, and then shower. :D

I think what works for you is "good practice!"

And, opening the can of worms, I do all that AND after drying the razor well, I strop on linen or rough leather, then smooth leather post shave, but a reduced # of times (10/15 and 30/40), before putting the open razor on my dresser to dry thoroughly. That DOES NOT replace stropping before the next shave (15-20 and 40-60) or more if I lose count.