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Beginners Tips: November 2012
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I was reading this month about some issues with edge retention and thought I would give it some air time ..
There are so many variables involved that it is near impossible to answer the question " How long should my edge last between honings" but what I can do is point out some things I have learned..
Here is my exact answer when somebody asks me that in an e-mail or PM..
"As you go through your first shaving cycle, you are learning all the basics at the same time, your prep is weak, your pressure, angles, and strokes are tentative, your stropping is suspect, and you know nothing about maintenance... So let's just use an arbitrary time of 1 month before your edge needs to see a stone.
Now you get that back and start your second shaving cycle, things should be getting better, you actually should know what a good creamy lather is, you are not scared to death of the edge, and your stropping might actually be doing a little good to the edge.. This should double the time between honing, so if it was 1 month the first time it would be 2 months this time..
Now the third honing cycle should find you a true average for your face and beard as everything is clicking now, you have learned to lather, you are even pretty good at stropping and you are probably learning some scything action when using the blade, so this should double the time between honings again".
Now to take things in a different direction as you are a straight shaver after all that :)
Edge maintenance which consists of everyday stropping, pasted stropping and/or routine touch ups, all these things help to keep a shaving edge keen and smooth.. Bevels don't need to be re-set every time, in fact it might not need to be re-set for years...
You have to figure out things that work for your face, each face reacts differently to the various maintenance regimes. Some don't like using Pasted Strops for maintenance and might prefer a Barber's Hone or perhaps like me use the two last hones used on the razor, or just the Finisher depending on what was used .. You can also use combinations of all of them...
There was a good saying I read some time back that applies to near all edged tools "It is easier to keep a knife sharp, then to sharpen a knife" I find this very true with straight razors also.
So if you develop a set routine then it is possible to keep your razors going for years to come...
I hope this helps a bit, and as always I encourage the senior members to add any observations they have had over the years to help..
Beginners Tips: November 2012
Just a little story on razor maintenance. I personally found this hard to believe but... Few months ago bought a razor on eBay from a woman who was a small dealer in antiques. I alway try to email back and forth before placing a bid and the story was that she had just gotten it from an elderly woman who said it was her father's razor and that he had and used it for years. I bought it for a very low bit and wasn't sure what to expect. The razor came , a Boker in original box that looked almost new. And the razor was near perfect. Very sharp. Only Stropped it on leather~60X and a great shave.
Wrote back to the seller and expressed my surprise. Even more surprised when she told me the elderly women told her that her father 'only Stropped it to sharpen' and that she still had her father's strop but didn't want to sell it yet!
Hard to believe, but seeing was believing.
