To rehone or not?

I know I've been a little wishy-washy lately regarding the sharpness of my razor...so if I'm just being paranoid or whatever, please let me know.

I'm trying to decide if I should send my razor out to be rehoned or not. I had been dealing with a dull blade for a while, and it improved as my technique improved, but I'm afraid I've dulled it to the point that I need a fresh start. But there's another part of me that thinks it's technique and lather. While I was doing great with lathering, it seems lately I've been struggling to recreate my earlier successes.

What's stopping me from just flat out shipping the thing out and paying the 20 bucks is that it's still removing quite a bit of hair...I'm still getting BBS shaves on the cheeks and jawline, but struggling mightily under the jaw and below. Lots of razor burn on my neck that I wasn't getting before...but at the same time I'm removing more hair than I did before.

Also, the razor doesn't glide very well. It pulls and stops. I know this is the hallmark of a dull blade...but even after a few passes on the barber hone and a lot of stropping I still have that issue...could it be subpar lather?

I'm noticing some dark spots near the edge of the razor too. I oil the blade after every use, so I'm not sure why I'm getting this corrosion...it doesn't appear to be on the bevel though.

I'm also hesitant to have it rehoned because money's tight and that's $20 or more best spent elsewhere...so any other suggestions of what I can do to either improve or freshen my edge would be appreciated.

How much stropping are you doing after using the barbers hone? I would use at least 75 laps linen then leather after a touch up. As for lather which you have admitted is on the poor side, get in the bathroom and practice, practice, practice, until you can get consistently good results. Soap is cheap. Be sure the blade is bone dry before you oil it, so that you do not seal any moisture into the pores of the metal with the oil.

Try these things and then see what happens. Let us know the results and we will go from there.

I don't yet have a linen strop. After the hone I did maybe 50 laps. Obviously I need to revisit my barber-honing...so, should I just spend a lot of time doing a lot of stropping to compensate? Or should I give it another 2 laps on the hone and then strop until my arms fall off? Tomorrow's an off-day for shaving so I'll be more than happy to spend the time working on the razor once the little one's asleep.

In another thread, I mentioned I have a vintage linen/leather strop I just started restoring. Maybe that could help me. Hopefully it'll be done by the weekend.

As for the lather, I'm practicing when I can. Even as it is now, it's miles better than it was when I started. I think I'm being a little hard on my lathering skills, but it can definitely be improved. I did my final pass tonight with a very wet lather and it seemed smoother, but it didn't last at all.

And finally, I dry the razor very thoroughly before I oil. Tonight I opted to not oil it as I keep it in a box that is somewhat moisture controlled.

You wouldnt happen to have an old strip of denim laying around would you, the approximate length and width of the strop? Some extra strokes may be needed. You mentioned a wet lather and that it was smooth but did not last. That sounds like too much water. Next time get the brush soaking wet, give a good flick or two of the wrist and then commence to building the soap on the brush. I usually shave right out of the shower when the beard is nice and soft, lather immediately, strop and shave. As you are new to this, it may be a simple matter of technique. There are 10,000 variables, some big, some small, but in the end when it all comes together you be simply amazed with what you can do. Dont forget to stretch the skin taut and get that vintage strop in order, the sooner the better.

No denim, unless I chopped up my jeans.

I think what I'll do is really work to get the strop fixed up in the next day or two. If it's not ready by Wednesday, I'll shave with one of my new single edge safety razors. I need to learn how to use those anyway.

I think my biggest issue with the lather (I use cream) is that I get a nice froth and I think it's fine and I don't add enough water. I'm getting there.

I usually shave before a shower because in my experience shaving after a shower is difficult. I get more irritation and a rougher shave, for some reason. But I do wash and exfoliate my face and apply hair conditioner before I shave.

It sounds as if you are on your way to finding out what works best for you, keep plugging away and experimenting, sooner or later you are going to nail it!

Since you don't have a linen componant and are hesitant to cut up a good pair of jeans, try stropping on some newspaper. Put it on a flat surface an strop as you would normally. The ink acts as a mild abrasive and the paper itself basically works the same as a cloth strop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by U2Bono269

In another thread, I mentioned I have a vintage linen/leather strop I just started restoring.

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If the linen is a separate piece, just wash it, then dry and iron it and use it. Most likely you don't need to 'restore' the whole strop to use the linen part of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by U2Bono269

I don't yet have a linen strop. After the hone I did maybe 50 laps.
.....snip...
Tonight I opted to not oil it as I keep it in a box that is somewhat moisture controlled.

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Hmmm no linen... and tight budget.
Take a give away yard stick (paint store) and tightly roll
one full sheet of the local news paper on it. After no more
than 6 licks on the barber hone strop slow and deliberately.
About 20 times perhaps 60 just depends.

A yard stick is narrow so you will need to review the X stroke.

If you have a scrap of denim and a 2.5" to 3" wide strip of 1/4' plywood
sand it and staple the denim on it. Staples on the back not so long
that they poke through. Glue works too. You want a nice
smooth tight surface to strop on. Try to make the surface as
long as your leather strop.

After a visit to a hone canvas does help a lot.

I stayed up a little later last night and spent some time with the new (old) strop to get it back in working condition, as it seemed to be really important that I do that. So after a lot of cleaning, washing, sanding, pressing and oiling I've got a new strop. I cleaned a lot of gunk out of the linen strop. It's still stained and discolored, but it's not cardboard-stiff anymore. I straightened it out a bit too. The leather strop was sanded down, 95% of the marks came off of it and it's one of the smoothest pieces of leather I've ever felt. It sucked up the mineral oil I applied like you wouldn't believe, so I hope I didn't over-oil it. I don't think I did, but it's certainly supple soft and smooth.

Tonight I plan on giving it a lap or two (no more) on the barber hone just to refresh, followed by 100 on the linen and another hundred on the leather.

1 lap on the hone, 100 on linen, 100 on leather (and another 20 on my poor man's to feel the difference between the two leathers) and things look great. The bevel looks as shiny as it did when I got it back from the honer. It even looks sharper in profile than it did before I started.

I'm pretty optimistic.

The blade seemed much better. It was easier to cut the hair on my face and I accidentally took off half a sideburn. That's some pretty long, course hair there and it took it off like butter. Took off my cheek hair very smoothly too.

So, that leaves technique. I think I've got too-wet lather. I think my biggest issue is pressure. I still have a little bit of the mindset that I need to go in there and annihilate every hair on my face. So I keep getting some decent burn on my neck and under the jaw. I need to refine my scything motion on the neck swirls, with a nice delicate touch.

Now that I feel better about the blade and bevel, I'll focus on having almost no pressure and good shaving direction on my next shave.