Thread: Sharpness after honed

I experience the same thing as the OP and tintin. A really sharp, smooth first/second shave after touch-up and initial stropping. A few shaves in the blade settles in and gives nice reliable enjoyable shaves, but not the same as the first few. I've come to expect this, am usually relieved when it happens, and take it as a sign that all is as it should be...

The kind of edge you enjoy will depend a lot upon the coarseness of your beard and the sensitivity of your face.

My beard is fast-growing and coarse. I have blue eyes and a ruddy complexion, so my face is sensitive. As you age, your beard becomes coarser and your skin becomes thinner and more sensitive. These are just some of the pitfalls of getting old.

As a senior citien, I want my edges to be very keen, yet smooth. Because of the coarseness of my beard, my edges dull quickly. Thus, my edges require frequent maintenance.

I strop on both cloth and leather before every shave. Every 2-3 shaves, I strop the blades on 0.5 micron, 0.25 micron, and 0.10 micron CBN paddle/bench strops before using my hanging strops. If that does not get me the edge I desire, I will refresh the edge on a finishing hone. I do that about every 5-6 shaves, so I keep a finishing hone in the bathroom so I can refresh the edge anytime I sense a need. It does not take more than 5-10 X-strokes to restore the edge.

If you have your razors professionally honed, you should never have to go back and reset the bevel. If you get a suitable finishing hone, and perhaps a pre-finisher, you should be able to keep your edge both keen and smooth.