Thread: Is my razor sharp enough?

Yeah, every shave I seem to notice less irritation and better results. I must be doing something right. I'm going to eventually purchase some hones so I can sharpen my blade myself. I'm just scared of ruining such a beautiful razor. I think I 'll pick up a used one that I'll use to practice on when i get to that point.

I've been rather careful with my stropping technique. It's quite the learning curve, but I think I'm getting it.

My mom bought me the set so I wouldn't have to spend so much on cartridges. HA! If she only knew the truth...

Buy one hone to start, a 12k nani or something similar, will be al you need for touch ups and you will be able to get the honing strokes down without putting too much wear on your blade

If don't want to "ruin" the Thiers Issard, look for a cheap razor you can practice honing on - something in the $25 or less range that's in good shape. Having a "reference" razor is also a good idea. I have one Lynn honed for me that I only use every 6 months or so as a reference. When the ones I hone start to shave better that that one, I'll send it back to Lynn for a fresh reference.

I'm only a month into this so I don't know much, but I noticed a big improvement in the performance of my TI after I lapped 40 on linen, and then 40 on leather. Yesterday I didn't to the linen and it was a rougher shave. I think linen is now a daily thing for me.

What issues are you having? Forget the HHT, it's IMHO very unreliable, the shave test is what matters.

Is the razor pulling when shaving when it doesn't normally? This could indicate it's time for a "touch up" on the blade, I do my touch ups with a pasted piece of balsa (5 - 10 laps each green and red then strop 75 times polyweb and 100 - 150 leather)

The HHT is seductively unreliable. Only the shave test is definitive. 60-80 strops on leather is my routine on a shave ready edge. This should be all you need on a freshly honed razor from SRD or any other reputable honemeister. The linen has never improved my edge. It just does nothing until I use the leather so I skip the linen.

The HHT was a useful tool for me in the beginning, but I hear you can get banned for saying it could be of any use. So.......... don't use the HHT. It is very very bad.

Originally Posted by bhorsoft

If don't want to "ruin" the Thiers Issard, look for a cheap razor you can practice honing on - something in the $25 or less range that's in good shape. Having a "reference" razor is also a good idea. I have one Lynn honed for me that I only use every 6 months or so as a reference. When the ones I hone start to shave better that that one, I'll send it back to Lynn for a fresh reference.

I'm a complete idiot with tools, I use a cast iron doorstop as a hammer, have about three screwdrivers, 5 spanners and 1 rusty electric drill to my name make a mess of every handyman job I tackle (I've used chewing gum for putty in the wall before) and I learnt to hone from this site without doing any damage at all. I think you'd have to be pretty unlucky with a tricky razor as your first or really careless to wreck a razor honing it. The trick is the same as shaving:

1. respect the razor for the dangerously sharp, finely crafted tool it is
2. learn as much as you can from here and don't be afraid to ask questions
3. start out really slowly, small steps, start with just a little bit first
4. be gentle
5. be precise
6. document and test