Sharp Razor

Thought I would share a recent shave story.

As a new to straights person I have been reading a bunch about honing and shaving. Recently I have purchased a set of Norton hones and the Hand American strop set. Along with help from other SRP members and practice I have began to learn how to hone and shave.

I now have 9 razors that were purchased from EBay. They all have been honed by me and shaved with. I have become comfortable shaving with these razors, doing a pretty good job I thought.

Yesterday I received my new Henckels Friodur razor. I was pretty excited about getting it so I quickly put i on the .5 chrome Ox and then the .25 diamond and then a leather stropping. It popped hair easier than any other razors I had honed, way easier.

My first pass down my right cheek brought blood right out in the middle of my cheek. My first thoughts were WOW. I backed off on pressure and went further down my face and brought more blood at the chin line. By this time I really new I needed to back off on pressure. Went over to the left side and brought more blood exactly where I did on the left side. By now I am wondering if I even know how to shave. While shaving my neck and chin area I had blood running down both sides of my face. I thought it looked pretty wild with red blood and white shaving cream.

I managed to stop cutting myself and finish my second pass shave. This shave was definitely the smoothest shave yet!

I now know what sharp is! I will give it another try in a couple days, after healing up!

Wouldn't it be great if lather could incorporate styptic. Don't you just hate it when you get a bleeder that needs pressure and you still have 1 or 2 passes to go. Happened to me this AM. Oh ,and your new Henkles Friodur, is it NOS, didn't know they were still making them today?

Over a year ago when I was relatively new to straight razor shaving I bought a Friodur from TstebinsB. I couldn't believe how sharp it was. It was the sharpest razor I had ever encountered up until that time. I asked Telly if he had honed it and what he had used. He said that he hadn't. It came to him from Japan and he had no idea who had honed it or what they had used. Anyway, those Friodurs can be brought to scary sharp if someone has the chops.

You are right.
The razor is new to me. It could be NOS, looks new. It is the 451 series, 5/8 spike, a 3 pin razor.

Just wanted to pass on a funny story. I was grinning ear to ear with blood running down my face.:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mkevenson

Wouldn't it be great if lather could incorporate styptic. Don't you just hate it when you get a bleeder that needs pressure and you still have 1 or 2 passes to go. Happened to me this AM. Oh ,and your new Henkles Friodur, is it NOS, didn't know they were still making them today?

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have set bevel on that blade? it could be sharp and shave but without bevel setting it will scratch face and bleed.just my 0.2 cent

I did not set a bevel.

Curious, how can a razor be this sharp and not have a bevel set? I thought the Chromium Oxide would smooth out any rough/scratchy edges.

Thanks for the help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

have set bevel on that blade? it could be sharp and shave but without bevel setting it will scratch face and bleed.just my 0.2 cent

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The edge can be very sharp but the bevel can still be uneven. The bevel is where two sides of the blade meet and form the edge. One side can be slightly off when meeting the other, although very sharp.

But don't get that idea in your head. If you can get Smooth shaves out of it and not cut yourself by being careful, then you're fine.

if there is a burr or a nick at only one or two points along the edge that could scratch you. The the Thumbnail test, CAREFULLY! to see if there are any catches.

X

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xman

if there is a burr or a nick at only one or two points along the edge that could scratch you. The the Thumbnail test, CAREFULLY! to see if there are any catches.

X

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Otherwise you will have a bloody face and half your thumb will be gone as well. :nono:

yes, one of the friodurs i had seemed fairly sharp, but the edge was like a band saw from microchips.
as x said, do the thumbnail test, if you have magnification you can use that as well.
i don't think the problem is too much sharpness, probably not enough of it.

Thanks to all for the comments. I have thumb nail checked the blade, it is very, very smooth.

I believe I have found a very sharp razor, sharper than any others I have shaved with. Between that and being new to straight shaving, I feel it is a pressure issue. As mentioned I was able to shave my neck, chin, above mustache and other hard areas without getting blood.

I am very excited about this new found sharp razor. It will be another learning experience and higher standard of expertise. My crude shaving habits will have to improve or I will bleed to death.:D

Thanks again.

Just an update.

I healed up and shaved again with this Friodur. This time I used very, very little pressure. Absolutely no cuts this time and an exceptionally smooth shave with 2 passes.

This is very exciting to me. A major step in the right direction as far as straight razor shaving goes.

Having fun!

Rick