Thread: Getting more shaves between sharpenings

I just posted this in response to someone's question about what types of steel or hardness levels would give more shaves bewteen sharpenings. The person noted that other people were getting 2-4x more shaves between sharpenings than he was.
I thought the beginners forum may also be able to benefit from the answer I posted (below).

Your trouble is likely just that you are a beginner, and not the steel or heat treat of your razor. I'm getting 2-3x more shaves between touch-ups now that I have 2 years of experience than I did when I had 3-6 months of experience. I also tried harder razors (including the TI 135 steel). It gave me about a 20-25% more shaves between touch-ups. Not 200-300% more...

Here's some things to try:
Make better lather. Double the amount of soap you are using, and use 1.5 times more water. You should end up with very wet, but thick lather.
Do better prep. Let the lather sit on your face for about 2-3 minutes before shaving. For me, this is the amount of time it takes to strop.
Strop better. Use just enough pressure you can feel the leather's texture. Do 30-40 round-trip laps on the nylon webbing, and 50-60 on latigo leather. Then do 10-15 more very lightly on the leather.
Shave better. Keep the spine 2 spine widths away from your face on WTG, and 1.5 widths away on XTG. Hold the heel 1/2-3/4" lower than the toe, but shave straight up and down (this puts the blade at a slight angle to the path of the shave). Concentrate on using no pressure.
Touch up the razor with 20 laps on a paddle strop with a light dusting of .5 micron paste when you start to get a little irritation (skin feels sensitive after shaving). If you wait longer, you'll start to feel pulling when you shave. If you wait even longer, you'll eventually get a rash-like razor burn.

Good Luck.

Thanks, I'm new to straight shaving. I'll try some of these things. Just wondering, I have alot of custom knives, some of the best steel that stays sharp is ATS34 and some that was cryogenically frozen to re-align the molecules in the steel. Have you tried any of this type of steel?
Thanks, Dave

Originally Posted by SteelNeckTie

Thanks, I'm new to straight shaving. I'll try some of these things. Just wondering, I have alot of custom knives, some of the best steel that stays sharp is ATS34 and some that was cryogenically frozen to re-align the molecules in the steel. Have you tried any of this type of steel?
Thanks, Dave

This might be a better question for the forge subforum in "the workshop". However, steel used for knives may not be ideal for straight razors, as the qualities that you're looking for differ between the tools.

To the OP, great post. These are all things that caused problems for me as I was learning. It's a little catch-22 though, as now that I'm getting into honing I don't need to hone as often.

Originally Posted by SteelNeckTie

Thanks, I'm new to straight shaving. I'll try some of these things. Just wondering, I have alot of custom knives, some of the best steel that stays sharp is ATS34 and some that was cryogenically frozen to re-align the molecules in the steel. Have you tried any of this type of steel?
Thanks, Dave

'-
just IMO, you do not want a steel that necessarily stays sharp for so long, because this also means that it is much harder to hone. Ain't nothin' wrong with a little honing here and there...

So long as you don't let it get so dull it has to go back to lower grit hones, a touch up here and there isn't going to prematurely wear your razor out.

Excellent advice, John. Thanks for the tips! I will take several of yours to heart next time I shave, especially in regards to how far I'm holding the spine away from my face while shaving. That tip is extremely helpful and easy to visualize.