Closeness of shave increasing???

Hi All

Didn't know where to put this at all, so decided on here as it is a noobie question...

After lapping my stones for a second time last night, thanks to the genius idea of putting a grid onto the stone with a pencil to make sure its flat, I sharpened up my practice blade and got it popping arm hairs with no trouble. Its a really thin blade - 4/8s - and I am used to bigger.

I did one pass only because the shave was pretty terible - scratchy and it bumped around my face everywhere. I guess my honing aint there yet. I know it takes lots of time to get there though, so I am patient over it. At least I shaved with a self honed blade - which is another nice milestone.

Anyway - I digress - the shave felt rough this morning. Is was uneven and felt spiky. Now (just after lunch) it actually feels really nice - smooth, even, almost soft, and actually much the same as after my decent pro-honed razor after two passes at this time of day. How can that be???

Si

I actually have learned to shave and walk away from the mirror instead of examining my face too much because right after the shave, my face doesn't look smooth and it feels a little rough. About 5 minutes later, everything is nice and smooth and purdy.

I think it has to do with (1) the skin starting to heal after a shave and (2) the whiskers retract back into the skin

Hair retraction seems likeliest to me.

X

The craziest thing is that now, some 16 ours after the shave, my face still feels great and smooth.

If the hairs have retracted, this could mean one of two things;
1. the razor was blunt and therefore tugged the hairs out a little - and now that they skin has relaxed they have gone back in
2. the razor was so sharp that my hairs are actually growing back inside to avoid having to be exposed to it again.

As it was my first hone, i'm going with 1.

Si

Or the razor was dull so you used more pressure and cut the hairs below the skin. Some of my longest-lasting shaves have come this way.

Alot of times you'll find that when you shave, your face is dry from the exfoliation and then as the oil comes back, the shave will even feel smoother. What you want is that when you put aftershave or balm on that your face feels baby butt smooth and you can't even feel the smallest part of a whisker although there will usually be a spot or two that are not perfect. Your face will almost feel sticky. Then you're there. If the shave is uncomfy but close, you may want to try some .5 micron paste. If the razor is pulling, it is probably not sharp enough.

Have fun.

Lynn

Thanks for the explanations guys.

I thought about the pressure thing - it was a teeny tiny razor like I say. I realise I put 4/8's but its smaller then that even. 42 is the number on the handle but I am thinking its prolly 3/8s or smaller. Really skinny little thing. Where I am used to slightly bigger, I was very aware about the pressure and was really light as I shaved - anticipating that the lack of weight in my hand might encourage me to grip harder therefore apply more pressure. We can eliminate that from our enquiries, but definitely a good call.

I dont have access to a pasted strop, and won't any time soon. I took this up to save money, and I am already splashing cash around with a bad case of RAD. I do have solingen black and red pastes, and the german's all say that black is the finest grit paste you can get. What's your experiences?

I just honed on the tam, then the coticule, twice. First time no success, second time it popped arm hairs like crazy. Then 60 on linen 30 on leather, rested the blade overnight, same again in the morning and shaved with it.

Still feels great this morning. Strange. Such a terrible shaving experience, such a great shave...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunsi

I do have solingen black and red pastes, and the german's all say that black is the finest grit paste you can get. What's your experiences?

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There are some awfully fine grit pastes out there, and I really really doubt the solingen black is the finest. There's a place on the net that sells 0.1 micron diamond abrasive if you really wanna get fine, though most of us stop at .5 micron diamond or chrome oxide.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunsi

Still feels great this morning. Strange. Such a terrible shaving experience, such a great shave...

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Let your beard grow a bit then get it waxed. You'll really know a terrible experience with a long lasting smoothness to be compared to nothing else ;).

I prefer to have a really nice shaving experience with the need to shave more often than I'd wax. Besides, I'm afraid my lips would come off or my nose hair would get caught up in it all :eek:

I've experienced what Lynn's mentioned with the oils returning quite a few times. It took me a bit to realize what it was.

I had my back waxed a few times FUD, and that was bad enough. It hurt way more then my tattoos did - and at least I got to keep them. The damn hair just grew straight back again thicker. Noone is coming anywhere near my face with wax.

The returning oils theory sounds the most likely explanation, but I thought I would post the experience for you guys to hear about.

BTW - I have asked before, but does anyone actually know the correct usage and grit size of the solingen pastes?

I think the hair under the skin would shorten as well as it dried.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by steve

I actually have learned to shave and walk away from the mirror instead of examining my face too much because right after the shave, my face doesn't look smooth and it feels a little rough. About 5 minutes later, everything is nice and smooth and purdy.

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I do the same...just walk away and take a look in 10 minutes. I think it has to do with the hair retracting and pores closing. I use an alum block which for me makes a significant difference on how my face looks say a half hour after i shave.

JR

I have asked a few times about these pastes but nobody else seems to use them. I have used them, but as I have no other pastes as a comparison I guess my opinion isn't particularly useful.
After the 8k i use the red, which I am not sure is the right thing, as some people have said that red paste is coarser than then 8k. I didn't notice a great improvment anyway. The black paste I do use regularly, as it is the only way I can get my razor sharp enough for a comfortable shave. Apparently it is graphite based and somewhere I read that it is 1 micron but don't quote me on that. I find it does help my edge, but I will certainly be looking at Tony's pasted strops in the summer as I can't help but feel it is a little insufficient. It is also messy and difficult to store without it melting.
Have you used the pastes yet? What did you find if you did?

Nick

Hi Nick

I already wrote this post and realised reading it back that its controversial. I am only expressing my opinion and findings so far - and I am very much still in the noob section so bare with me.

I have the red and the black on hanging strops, and I use the red after the coticule for enough passes that it starts to draw (normally only a handful or so) then I move to the black until the same thing happens (usually 10-15). Knowing when the draw happens is the key I think - at first it feels oddly rough, but as you work the blade through it starts to stick - much like it does with a hone.

As for what they are, I beleive that the black is an ash compound, and a really tight polish, the red is an unknown quantity - but who cares it works! It seems to me that its about the same cut as the coticule, but because its on a hanging strop it has a more polishing action then a cutting action.

I do not use nortons, as I want to use natural stones. Speed and fast cutting are things that I actually do not want. I think that the natural stones are much more suited to razor work as they apppear not to allow overhoned positions to be reached. Yes - they are more work. On the other hand, I am not honing 20-30 razors a day.

Just to note, I have not used this blade since. Somewhat controversially, I have decided that this blade is too thin, and that my coarse beard needs something thicker. I know that there are folks who will say that a 3/8s will shave just as well as a 8/8, but my experiences so far are that anything less then a 5/8s jumps and skips all over my face.

Cheers

Si

I think that if I could afford it I would be going the same route with the natural stones, unfortunately I started shaving with a budget!
Where did you hear about it being ash? I have looked for info on these pastes everywhere I can but couldn't find them anywhere. Does it appear on the german razor sites? Unfortunately my german is not polished enough for me to read effectively!
I have both pastes on hanging strops, but I would prefer them on a paddle. I'll keep using them as I am now until I can afford to exp[eriment with other options as they are still improving my shave.
As for the razor size, I also find that 5/8 is the minimum size I find comfortable. It seems easier to get and angle and the blade is heavy enough for the stroke to be smooth. When I use a 4/8, it doesn't seem to balance well in my hand, and struggles to push through the stubble and therefore skips. I guess the edge is just as good, it just requires a different technique to handle effectively. I'm sure that everybody has a 'comfort zone' with razor size in mind, I am not sure what my upper limit in size is yet though.
Nick