Thread: Problems with Carbon Steel?

The only time I have heard of people having a reaction to metal was with the pins/screws used to hold breaks in bone together. In that case it was a reaction to the nickel in the stainless steel pins. I have my doubts that there would be a reaction from just passing a blade over your face but could be wrong on that.

My first thought, like bluesman7, is that the honing is off on the blade giving you trouble. I know when I first started to learn how to hone I could put an edge on a blade that would irritate the hell out of my skin. Too much pressure and a wrong angle really added to that really magnified the irritation. There is not a blade that is properly honed that won't make easy work of any beard type.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

The only time I have heard of people having a reaction to metal was with the pins/screws used to hold breaks in bone together. In that case it was a reaction to the nickel in the stainless steel pins. I have my doubts that there would be a reaction from just passing a blade over your face but could be wrong on that.

My first thought, like bluesman7, is that the honing is off on the blade giving you trouble. I know when I first started to learn how to hone I could put an edge on a blade that would irritate the hell out of my skin. Too much pressure and a wrong angle really added to that really magnified the irritation. There is not a blade that is properly honed that won't make easy work of any beard type.

Bob

I was thinking of nickel too, but it looks like stainless blades have their share of nickel too.

FYI
I have a skin condition (most likely psoriasis judging by the breakouts) and washing my face with natural goat's milk soap I bought from an Amish soap maker has really helped. If I go back to another soap I can see the red patches start coming back. Next time I go there I'm stocking up!

Originally Posted by JP5

I was thinking of nickel too, but it looks like stainless blades have their share of nickel too.

My bad! I was thinking of nickle allergies too. Not chromium though chromium is also a dangerous heavy metal.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

My bad! I was thinking of nickle allergies too. Not chromium though chromium is also a dangerous heavy metal.

That's what confused me from what I read.

Originally Posted by JP5

I was thinking of nickel too, but it looks like stainless blades have their share of nickel too.

FYI
I have a skin condition (most likely psoriasis judging by the breakouts) and washing my face with natural goat's milk soap I bought from an Amish soap maker has really helped. If I go back to another soap I can see the red patches start coming back. Next time I go there I'm stocking up!

I'd still have the blade that is giving you trouble honed by a reputable honemeister to be sure it is not the edge that is giving you grief. There are shaving creams/soaps made with goats milk too.

If you haven't tried Enstilar for your psoriasis it may be worth checking out. You may need a prescription to get but seems to work well for the boss. It is quite a bit cheaper if you can get it from Canada or England.

Bob

There is a pretty easy way to figure out if it is a metal allergy or your edge or a reaction between your skin, soap, and blade.
Run the spine of the blade across your dry face in one place. If you get a reaction, then you are allergic to the metal. If not then it might not be the metal.
Run the spine of the blade across a wet part of your face on the other side. If you get a reaction, then you are having a galvanic skin reaction to the metal. If no reaction then run the spine of the blade across a soaped area of your face in a third spot. I guess we know that is going to react, but if the other two tests above don't react then this will prove it is a reaction between the metal, soap, and your skin - changing soaps might be the answer.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

There is a pretty easy way to figure out if it is a metal allergy or your edge or a reaction between your skin, soap, and blade.
Run the spine of the blade across your dry face in one place. If you get a reaction, then you are allergic to the metal. If not then it might not be the metal.
Run the spine of the blade across a wet part of your face on the other side. If you get a reaction, then you are having a galvanic skin reaction to the metal. If no reaction then run the spine of the blade across a soaped area of your face in a third spot. I guess we know that is going to react, but if the other two tests above don't react then this will prove it is a reaction between the metal, soap, and your skin - changing soaps might be the answer.

Genius - thank you! I will try this.

Several folks have commented on whether the carbon steel blade is sharp enough.

Another thing to consider is beard prep before shaving. Dry human hair is similar to copper wire of the same size, so the beard needs moisture to soften it.

Many men can shower and shave afterwards with no more prep. I'm not one of them. After a really short shower, I get out and hold a warm wet wash cloth on my face for a couple of minutes.

I also use pre-shave oil and let it work on my beard further while I take care of some other tasks.

The symptoms you are describing could be an allergy to the steel. They are also similar to the symptoms when effective beard prep and a sufficiently sharp razor are the issue.

Thanks. I am quite meticulous with prep and I have tried to keep consistent between razors, but I am mindful of the points you make.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

There is a pretty easy way to figure out if it is a metal allergy or your edge or a reaction between your skin, soap, and blade.
Run the spine of the blade across your dry face in one place. If you get a reaction, then you are allergic to the metal. If not then it might not be the metal.
Run the spine of the blade across a wet part of your face on the other side. If you get a reaction, then you are having a galvanic skin reaction to the metal. If no reaction then run the spine of the blade across a soaped area of your face in a third spot. I guess we know that is going to react, but if the other two tests above don't react then this will prove it is a reaction between the metal, soap, and your skin - changing soaps might be the answer.

So I tried this.

Spine of the razor back and forth on my neck.
No water: nothing.
Wet neck and back of razor: Thiers Issard - slight irritation. Swedish steel custom: it came up bright red.

So now I am confused - surely two carbon steels are the same?

I tried to shave with that TI razor and made only one pass ATG. I got out alive with little or no irritation. Diving straight in ATG goes against the grain (!) of everything I learnt when I was taught to shave years and years ago.

My gut is telling me that, regardless of reaction to metal, the posts on this thread about sharpness make sense. I am going to study all the honing guides and try to take one carbon blade as sharp as I can, and then shave with it.