Thread: How many shaves?

Hello, just wondering how many shaves can you get from a straight razor before it has to be honed? Just ordered my first straight razor..waiting for it to arrive sometime this week.

Depends on the quality of the razor, the quality of the hone when done and the maintenance of the hone. I had mine sharpened about. I had mine sharpened about 7 months ago. I strop before each use with fabric then leather. If i feel the edge getting a bit dull i touch up with CrOx on a leather strop.

Stropping is going to be key to keep the razor sharp. A narrow x pattern over your entire strop will ensure that the whole blade is being stropped evenly.

Some CrOx on a strop or balsa will extend the time between honing.

I would recommend waiting about 4-8 months before shipping it out to get honed.

This is always a tough question to answer, as there are so many factors affecting edge longevity that there can not be a set time. You will often hear "you should be able to get XX (shaves or time frame) before having to hone again", which doesn't help because "should" is very subjective.

So the best answer is if your razor needs just a touch up (either with a hone or paste) do it when your razor tugs or shaves less comfortably. If your razor isn't responding well to touch ups anymore, then more honing work may be required.

I hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

This is always a tough question to answer, as there are so many factors affecting edge longevity that there can not be a set time. You will often hear "you should be able to get XX (shaves or time frame) before having to hone again", which doesn't help because "should" is very subjective.

So the best answer is if your razor needs just a touch up (either with a hone or paste) do it when your razor tugs or shaves less comfortably. If your razor isn't responding well to touch ups anymore, then more honing work may be required.

I hope this helps.

+1
The short answer to this question is always 'it depends'.
Like Ryan said you should touch up your razor when it starts tugging and the shaves become less comfortable. I touch mine up on Crox or diamond paste these days, but I used to do it on my 16K hone. You can maintain an edge a long time with touch ups, and if you touch up on a finishing hone, you can almost maintain an edge indefinately (if you do it often enough).
Being that you are starting out I would recommend getting your razor honed when the shaves become uncomfortable (keeping in mind that when you start shaving the shaves will likely be somewhat uncomfortable even with a sharp razor due to you developing your technique).