me vs. the fabric...

Welcome... we've been waiting for ya.

It is certainly salvageable. How much work it needs can only be determined from honing experience. You have a nice razor. For my money, I would send it out and have it honed. Your first stab at honing may be as bad or worse than the stropping to date. I have honed 9 razors so far (junktique store finds) and am glad I didn't start with a really nice one. The learning curve can be steep. Reading about it, and putting in the time to "get the feel" for honing are miles apart IMHO.

This may be the perfect excuse to get that second, inexpensive travel razor to practice on! Let the RAD begin! :)

My 2 cents worth.

+1 to shooter1

Welcome to the fold, and learning to hone a razor can be a lot of fun, but I don't know that I would use that razor to learn on. I would pick up 1 or 2 razors off ebay. You can easily find good old razors there for a fraction of what yours cost.

Some others may offer, but let me be the first to offer my services to get yours sharp again.

If a more experienced honer offers, I would say go for it, but my offer stands, the only thing you would need would be to take care of the shipping (times are tough here :()

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Originally Posted by SirkleZero

I noticed that after about 8 or 10 shaves my razor was starting to pull a bit. It always pulls on my chin, mostly I think because my beard appears to be made of titanium and my chin would rather move than my whiskers give way to the blade.

I know it was my technique using the cloth side, but I'm unsure exactly what I did wrong. I took 20 strokes with about the same presure and technique that I use on the leather side, so right now I'm thinking that I either did too many strokes or used too much presure... or both. One thing that might have affected this is that I have a light coat of .5 micron diamond spray on the cloth that I applied about a month ago in preparation for eventually using the cloth side.
Joshua

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So many variables.
Your angles & technique could be contributing to the edge failing as could your stropping. I really think you may have overdone it with the diamond paste . You need to establish what is correct pressure for stropping too or you won't have cosistency.
If you had a couple of spare razors you could see if its something you've done as they would all behave the same way.
If you really think you have a tough beard you could buy a Zowada razor or similar. You'll see your stubble aint that tough.....:)

Welcome to SRP. Hard to say what the deal is. Could be too much of a good thing with the diamond on the strop or you could have miscued and rolled the edge. Try 50 on the leather and see if it improves. If not send it out. I think SRD offers a second honing free ? Nice stuff you have there to start with.

Here is an excerpt from a 1961 barber manual on honing and stropping. The last couple of pages are on stropping. I had to relearn stropping after reading it. I wasn't messing my razors up but I wasn't doing it the way the manual suggested. With some difficulty I broke my stropping habits and began to use the tip of the forefinger and thumb without bending the wrist. A real PITA to relearn but I think it improved my stropping. :gl:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

So many variables.

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this does sum it up really well. I fully recognize that my technique with shaving probably isn't that great. Enough for a decent shave, not good enough yet to be called "great".

I'd almost like to hit up one of the shaving conventions, just to meet other people who can SHOW you what you're doing wrong in a more interactive environment.

as a person who hones razors, are the hones that I posted originally decent to learn on? I'm kinda cruising ebay right now, looking for some decent practice razors based on the suggestion of others. I'm looking forward to learning how to do all of this stuff!

Thanks for your input!

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Originally Posted by SirkleZero

as a person who hones razors, are the hones that I posted originally decent to learn on? I'm kinda cruising ebay right now, looking for some decent practice razors based on the suggestion of others. I'm looking forward to learning how to do all of this stuff!

Thanks for your input!

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First rate. That is what I use most of the time and I have a selection to choose from. I would add a 1k and a 3k to that set and you'll need a lapping plate. A DMTC 325 continuous diamond plate is ideal IME.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I would add a 1k and a 3k to that set and you'll need a lapping plate. A DMTC 325 continuous diamond plate is ideal IME.

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Would it be safe to assume that I could "start" with the kit that i linked to and add those other stones at a later date as I find I need them?

Its kinda funny as I think about it. I've watched Lynn's DVD and other video resources on honing. Man, they make it look so EASY! I'm fully expecting to do exactly what the video says, get all excited, and then find that my razor is fit for cutting grass... at best!

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Originally Posted by SirkleZero

Would it be safe to assume that I could "start" with the kit that i linked to and add those other stones at a later date as I find I need them?

Its kinda funny as I think about it. I've watched Lynn's DVD and other video resources on honing. Man, they make it look so EASY! I'm fully expecting to do exactly what the video says, get all excited, and then find that my razor is fit for cutting grass... at best!

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If the razors you're honing have decent bevel setting to begin with yes. A 1k is a whole lot easier to correct and set a bevel than a 5k though. Try the set and if you find you need something coarser for bevel setting and correction you can always add more later. You will need something to flatten them initially and to continue to lap them as you use them though.

I find a problem with many newbies that never seems to get answered in a post like this. If we are stropping incorrectly, there seems to be no way of knowing exactly what we did to screw up the razor. Visually you should be able to see if you are rolling the edge (letting the strop hang in a U shape or pressing too hard). You can also tell when you accidently grab the strop with the edge, and see it on the strop. But, when you watch the videos and feel you are doing it right, how do you know if the problem is a bad stropping, tough beard, or you just need to hone "your" razor more often.

Also, rather than a complete sharpening, wouldn't a few passes on something like a Swaty give you a good idea of how bad things are and what it would take to correct it?

Okay, so I am by no means an expert, but one thing I believe I have gathered here thus far is that putting spray or paste on a hanging strop is a bad idea for a newbie (I am a newbie myself so I am not throwing stones). I seem to remember people talking about putting it on a paddle strop so it won't flex and roll your edge. Just a thought. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by ziggy925

I find a problem with many newbies that never seems to get answered in a post like this. If we are stropping incorrectly, there seems to be no way of knowing exactly what we did to screw up the razor. Visually you should be able to see if you are rolling the edge (letting the strop hang in a U shape or pressing too hard). You can also tell when you accidently grab the strop with the edge, and see it on the strop. But, when you watch the videos and feel you are doing it right, how do you know if the problem is a bad stropping, tough beard, or you just need to hone "your" razor more often.

Also, rather than a complete sharpening, wouldn't a few passes on something like a Swaty give you a good idea of how bad things are and what it would take to correct it?

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I could suggest viewing the edge under magnification may tell a lot about your techniques but unless you know what you're looking for that may not help. If you're really stumped sending your razor to someone for assessment may give you answers.
Using a Swaty will tell you little about possible stropping problems but it may well mask them. Also if you have issues using leather a stone may actually magnify them.

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Originally Posted by TTfireman

Okay, so I am by no means an expert, but one thing I believe I have gathered here thus far is that putting spray or paste on a hanging strop is a bad idea for a newbie (I am a newbie myself so I am not throwing stones). I seem to remember people talking about putting it on a paddle strop so it won't flex and roll your edge. Just a thought. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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I personally prefer a paddle for pastes but it's just that... a preference.

It's not so much about the strop flexing & 'rolling the edge'. It's more about your pressure, #of strokes (with pastes) & whether you lift the spine.

This sounds to me like you are getting some good information about your dilema. I would definately read and re-read that 1961 barbers manual of Jimmy's, about stropping. Pay close attention to the wording, it is spot on for the beginner and the technique to use.
I would also consider taking avatar up on his offer. It does sound like you might have overdone the diamond spray as opposed to rolling the edge. It seems to me that after 3 months usage, you would have rolled the edge earlier than this. That diamond spray, in fact any paste or spray, can be very agressive on the edge and takes some getting use to.
If you are going to try to learn how to hone, I would advise getting your practice razors in the classifieds here, as opposed to eBay. At least here, you won't get some junk someone is trying to dump on a new guy.

Good luck!

Enjoy!

Ray

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