Thread: post shave edge

I looked at my edge (60X)after shaving and was extremely surprised by the amount of damage.

My homemade 'green" strop fixed it right up. Next day I used only leather and the repair was not quite as complete.

When I first looked my thought was perhaps the edge is too thin or the razor -not so good. Even though the stropping put it back, which I know is what it's supposed to do,
I still have a nagging feeling I've made some mistakes- like using the CrO everyday and shaving off that without using a standard barber's strop-
which I'm still zeroing in on what I want.

Do you guys see the same what the froth! sorta damage after a shave?

What i'm doing seems to work- but i want to get better at all aspects of shaving

That happened to me in the early days of my shaving career. What I found was that I was using too steep an angle of the blade in relation to my face. After one shave the egde looked horrible under a scope.

After going to a flatter angle edge retention went up dramatically.

Use the crome ox to put a fine edge on the razor, but then work on plain leather stropping to maintain the egde. After you get a good strop technique it really works wonderfully to maintaina great edge.

I believe that repeated stropping on a surface treated with an abrasive like chrome-ox will thin the edge out over time. How much time depends on the number of strokes and the applied pressure. It forces you to return to a planar hone to re-establish the bevel.

Thanks

I find myself using slightly different angles here or there on the face... too noisy and i'll lower it. I'll do some work on that to see if there is a difference.

It's hard to make a direct comparison on strokes as i'm working with my mini-card strops -
to see how small and light I can get my travel kit. it's basically a 3x" square of 1/8" balsa / leather.

I'm sure I need a regular strop as well - if for no other reason than comparison; though I think it is a must have for shave den coolness factor.

I shave nearly everyday with at least a single pass and follow up- a combo of atg/xtg. There i've more to learn exactly how to get bbs with least effort

Originally Posted by kevint

Thanks

I find myself using slightly different angles here or there on the face... too noisy and i'll lower it. I'll do some work on that to see if there is a difference.

It's hard to make a direct comparison on strokes as i'm working with my mini-card strops -
to see how small and light I can get my travel kit. it's basically a 3x" square of 1/8" balsa / leather.

I'm sure I need a regular strop as well - if for no other reason than comparison; though I think it is a must have for shave den coolness factor.

I shave nearly everyday with at least a single pass and follow up- a combo of atg/xtg. There i've more to learn exactly how to get bbs with least effort

Um, you will never be able to actually strop on a tiny square of leather like that. You need some distance and some speed, thus an 18"+ long strop is standard.

If you want to travel light, get a DE razor. If you want to travel light with a straight, get a Tony Miller starter strop. Great for travel. I'm using one myself as I'm on a business trip to Osaka currently. The TM strater took up about zero room in my suitcase. It is also an excellent all around strop as well. Best $30 you can spend on caring for your razor's daily health!

As long as you're in Osaka.... why no offer to fill our shopping lists dearest friend

seriously though I appreciate the conversation

The leather card I made was converted to CrO after I nicked the original a few times so I never used it enough to say what it'd do.

The edge repair I mentioned earlier was on a piece of oak tan about 9 inch long on a flat surface with little speed. I didn't really count how many passes 20 or 30??? but the effect was obvious to the eye didnt shave it

Don't some guys use only a paddle? I'm unsure.

The issue isn't just lightweight. If I were still that bent I just wouldn't shave. I always hated shaving until I started this straight razor thing. Now I really like it.

The razor i've been using is marked WJ Donovan Sprinfield mass. Made in Germany and on the other side says GEEWHIZ. I honed it and then kept it running for 3 months on the 3x "green card" last time I used it I got my best shave ever. For the last week I've been using a Shumate hone on a barber and stropped on the same card

because it's so short I do 10 or 15 on one side then the other rather than flipping for each pass.

I haven't been able to ascertain what sort of off kilter effect that may have cause I don't always keep the #'s equal just close

Using the chrome ox before each shave is a mistake. It is only to be used after the razor is honed , as a final step, and when the razor starts to pull, as a edge refresher. Using it everyday simply makes the edge to thin and it degenerates into a wire edge that cannot be shaved with and needs rehoning on a coarse hone.

It is necessary to strop, for 30-50 round trip laps, on a plain leather strop, either hanging, loom or paddle strop, just before each and every shave. Your face will say thank you and the razors edge will last a lot longer than if you use the chrome ox every day. If you are using a loom or paddle strop then increase that number to 60-100 laps.


Hope this helps,

thanks Randy. I'll do that