Understanding Sharpness

Coming up on a week at this, and I'd say all things considered it's going pretty well. While I wouldn't classify today's shave as the most comfortable shave I've had, I only had two nicks, both of which were clearly angle issues on my part. Results though, I'd say some parts are actually better than my typical DE results, some parts are on par with my DE and some parts are about on par with what I used to get with a cartridge. So, I think not bad for the first week.

I am concerned that I have a sharpness issue with my razor. Being a newb, it's hard to know for sure. I can say that I can shave the hair on my arm fairly easily, but if I lift the blade off my arm a bit, the hairs won't pop. I don't know if this is too high an expectation for a newb, if I have hair that just doesn't pop, if I've destroyed the hone (I did do a TNT on it - rookie mistake) or if my honing skills just aren't developed yet. I'm thinking about getting a second razor as a reference razor. Probably something from a vendor like Vintage Blades rather than off the Classifieds so I can be sure it's as shave ready as it can be. I don't relish the added expense, but I think I'm going to stick with for the foreseeable future, so it's probably a good investment.

Thoughts?

Hang in there! The reference blade is a good idea, because you can compare your results with a known shave ready blade. Hope this helps

I think getting a shave ready razor from a vendor is a great idea. Aside from another razor to have a rotation you'll have a benchmark to shoot for in your own honing. I have a friend who tried popping hair on his arm at an SRP meet where other guys were popping hair on their arms with the same razor and it would not do it on his arm. He has never been able to get hair to 'pop' on his arm with any razor regardless of who honed it. OTOH, take a new DE blade and see if it pops the hair. Also use the new DE blade to become acquainted with the thumb pad test (TPT). BTW, Straight Razor Designs if offering honing for the life of the razor to the original owner until the end of the month.

I'm in a similar boat, though I don't plan on trying to hone my own razor for a while. I can't ever get my razor to "pop" hairs off my arm. Instead, I use the TPT. Here are the instructions from the wiki and this is how I do it: Very lightly touch the edge with your thumb and barely (BARELY!) move it WITH the edge. If it sticks at all, take your thumb off the blade and try a part further along the blade. Afterwards, I do another few passes on the strop. This gets me a great shave that feels smooth and doesn't tug.

If you wanna guarantee a sharp razor, listen to JimmyHAD:

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

BTW, Straight Razor Designs if offering honing for the life of the razor to the original owner until the end of the month.

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Also, I switched from a Mach 3 to a Straight Razor and my results for the first few shaves have been like you said: either slightly better or on par with what I was getting with the cartridges. This is actually great news! It took me a week to get the shave I was getting after years with a Mach 3. Makes me proud of what I learned so far and excited that I'm on my way to getting some awesome shaves as I improve.

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

if I've destroyed the hone (I did do a TNT on it - rookie mistake)

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Yes, your razor is not very sharp anymore even if it can still shave.

Thanks gugi. I'm figuring this is probably the case, but the other thing I'm trying to figure out is how do I fix it? Do I need to send it in for a hone or can it be stropped out of it's current condition? Even if it's the latter, it might take a seasoned stropper. WDYT?

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

......... Probably something from a vendor like Vintage Blades rather than off the Classifieds so I can be sure it's as shave ready as it can be. I don't relish the added expense, but I think I'm going to stick with for the foreseeable future, so it's probably a good investment.

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My advice is this..... Buy a blade from SRD or Vintage. Both are great companies. I have dealt with both and highly recommend Lynn or Jim. Lynn hones Jim's razors as well so you will get a great hone no matter who you get one from. I bought 5 from the classifieds here and was only able to shave with one without additional work. Now I have gotten better at honing and think I will be able to do my own from now on but a $75 investment in a new DOVO (with lifetime honing from SRD) will get you well on your way. :gwh:Get some good soap from SRD or cream from Vintage. I have both and LOVE them.

Good luck and welcome.... You will enjoy your experience......

Barry

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

Thanks gugi. I'm figuring this is probably the case, but the other thing I'm trying to figure out is how do I fix it? Do I need to send it in for a hone or can it be stropped out of it's current condition? Even if it's the latter, it might take a seasoned stropper. WDYT?

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I don't know what Gugi thinks but I would say try it. It will either work or it won't. If it does your in business and if it doesn't you can send it out. FWIW, mparker762 said,

" I've thought for awhile that the strop was abrasive, at least the linen side. I have sharpened a dulled blade with the linen, though it took a *lot* of laps and my arm needed a few days to recover. But in normal use all the strop needs to do is knock off the rust and polish the weakened-but-not-fully-rusted steel below it; it doesn't need to remove hardened steel. But even so, it *is* abrasive in a meaningful way."

That was said in this thread here if you want to read it in the full context. Also take into consideration that he is expert in stropping.

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Originally Posted by mbrossar

Thanks gugi. I'm figuring this is probably the case, but the other thing I'm trying to figure out is how do I fix it? Do I need to send it in for a hone or can it be stropped out of it's current condition? Even if it's the latter, it might take a seasoned stropper. WDYT?

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Well, if you can still shave with it it's likely that it can be stropped back, but that'll be a lot of work and as you supposed good experience with stropping.
You could send it for honing, but if I were you I would get another razor and use this one to learn how to maintain your razors sharp. It should be pretty much the ideal razor for the purpose as the bevel is properly set and it just needs a bit of work on high grit hones to get it up to speed.
What hone is a whole other topic, there are many options there. Norton 4k/8k will most certainly suffice and it's a good not too expensive all around hone for razors, I think the naniwa 3k/8k combo would work well too, but I use naniwa 5k and naniwa 8k. It is very likely that you don't need a hone coarser than 8k, but if I'm to pick an 8k hone, I'd go for the combo, since the extra cost is not too much and you're also covered in case it needs something slightly coarser.
It could be even fixable with an escher or barber hone, but that really depends on how much damage the nail test did.

Edit: Yes, mparker762 was able to strop a dull razor back to shaving, but he's really good and it took him about 1500 laps on the linen :)

You need to have the right tool for the right job. If I'm driving on a 100 mile trip I can drive 10 mph. I'll get there and save on gas but what's my time worth? Just as a point of reference you could put a blade as dull as a butterknife under running water for a few hundred years and you'll have the sharpest razor going but you wouldn't want to do that.

You match the hone or strop to the job you need to do. You want to make your life as easy as possible.