still feels dull...

Hoping for some advice... I just got my straight back from having it honed by a professional. Not sure what the guy did to it because after stropping (I did 20 passes on the linen strop, and then 50 on the leather) it still feels as though it pulls the hair. Now, I have a Norton 4000/8000 stone. Should I go back to that and continue honing myself, or should I just strop until it passes the hair test? I'm fairly new, so I thought I'd send the razor out to be honed professionally in order to feel what shave ready means, and then maintain the razor from there. The razor does not feel shave ready... I don't think shave ready should be pulling the hairs. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm pretty new myself but I think I can answer this. Assuming the person who honed your razor knew what he was doing, it is probably one of three things. #1. The razor itself is subpar and won't ever take a good edge (what kind of razor do you own?) #2. Your stropping might be bad and could very well dull the razor instead of keeping it sharp. You should have just shaved right after the honing instead of stropping. #3 You need to work on your technique when shaving. (angle, pressure, etc)

first contact the person who honed it.
even a very sharp razor will tug if the blade angle is too steep. the hht is extremely subjective and very little to me.
tell us about your stropping, beard prep and razor angle.

Thanks for the advice. My stropping I thought was pretty good. I have a 3 inch English Bridal, and hold the strop taught with very little pressure if any pressure on the razor as I pass it up and down the strop. I put just enough pressure on the razor to keep it on the strop. My razor is a Timor Blue Steel 6/8. Beard prep, I put Proraso cream on before my shaving soap. As for the angle, I hold the razor at the same angle as my double edge razor. I think at about a 30 degree angle? Should I be doing some passes on the 8000 Norton?

I think Paul is probably right with his #2 and #3 answers. If you stropped the pro honed razor before your first shave with it you will not know if it was sharp or not because you introduced the stropping variable into it. Not saying your stropping is bad but it is there between the edge you received and the edge you shaved with.

I don't know what angle you are using on a DE but when I first started and estimated what an angle of 30 degrees was on a straight I was way off with too big a gap between the face and spine of the straight. Someone on here advised to use about 1 to 2 spine widths between face and the spine of the straight. I tried that and things went much more smoothly.

I would try changing your angle and without stropping the razor try a shave to see if that helps. This early into straight razor shaving I would stay away from the honing stones for a bit, no sense in introducing another unknown into the equation.

Bob

alright, thanks Bob. I will try shaving with a distance of 1-2 spine widths. I thought you had to strop after it was honed? no?

If I hone a razor for someone else, I strop it, shave test, strop it again and tell them to shave with it and not to strop it for the first shave - it takes one more variable out of the equation

Pretty likely that whoever honed it, stropped afterward.

Michael

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Originally Posted by Ian2051

alright, thanks Bob. I will try shaving with a distance of 1-2 spine widths. I thought you had to strop after it was honed? no?

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Try short light strokes when you do. I take it you were using a bigger gap than 1 to 2 spine widths?

Like the others have said, more than likely a pro honed razor comes honed and strop ready for use. I have shave tested some blades that I have honed without stropping just to see what difference stropping would make. Generally though I strop before a shave but you would not believe how easy it is to dull a blade stropping it poorly. I did just that when I was starting out straight shaving. It is just that shaving with a pro honed shave ready razor without stropping will give you a good idea of what sharp is and when you strop it before use on the next shave if it feels duller in use you then know your stropping is not up to par.

Let us know how you make out.

Bob

Was the razor honed by one of our members , with years of experience , or did you have it honed by your local knife sharpening shop ?

i'm pretty new myself, only been at it for a year or so. I had a few subpar first shaves and hated the experience. so i sent my razor to get professionally sharpened because i heard that new razors often are not shave ready. after i received it back and shaved (without stropping) i was also less than happy with the experience. but i still kept trying. the shaves did get better after a while even though it was not freshly honed. recently i just honed the razor myself on a norton 4/8 and had the best shaving experience yet.

now i do not think it was because my very novice honing was the sharpest the razor had been, lynn honed it originally. i think it was because i needed the time to learn my face and also how to handle the razor. im sure if i sent it to lynn again it would be even better. my suggestion would be to give it time. somewhere on this forum i read that a dull razor in the hands of an experienced shaver is better than a sharp one in the hands of a novice.

As a recent straight razor shaver, my first shave I thought tugged a lot as well. This was a DOVO shave ready, no stropping. But I came to realize I was overestimating what 30 degrees is. I would say that is probably your culprit there. Really try to go for 1 or 2 spine widths and I think you'll see it'll work out better.

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Originally Posted by jgrease

my suggestion would be to give it time. somewhere on this forum i read that "A dull razor in the hands of an experienced shaver is better than a sharp one in the hands of a novice".

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Say that just one more time please :)

I was just having a discussion this morning about the fact that a 1k bevel set will produce a shaving edge,, One of the remarks made was "Wow that certainly makes me re-think the term "Shave Ready"
The truth of the matter is it should make you re-think the fact that there is much more importance placed on the Honing then the Shaving by beginners.. :)

I think there is a very humanitarian reason why some members who hone razors will offer several free re-hones if the rookie pays for shipping both ways. I also had a razor professionally honed and was told when I received it to wipe off the oil and shave with it....it worked. But I almost immediately found a less than satisfactory shaving experience after my stropping. I followed as closely as I could the recommendations for stropping. But, guess what....blade was 'Shave Ready.' I wasn't. My solution was not to drop the coin on further professional honing, it was to purchase a 12K Naniwa and a 325 plate....and I had to refer back to the 12K more than a couple of times after one shave. Finally, the stropping skill is getting better. I have also 'discovered' the shortcut of the TPT. All of this, by the way was not frustrating but fun...yep, expect it to get more fun. The Tiger right above me has said that a lot of things have to come together for that mythical shave. Having a shave ready razor is just one of them.

If one of the pros on this site honed the blade,he also stropped the blade before sending it back,It will be in perfect condition,shave ready out of the box (do not touch it) Shave with it,it will be perfect in all respects.
Than go thru your newly aquired/Learned stropping regimen,Than shave again,if the shave is not as good,what have we learned here??,just sayin:)

This brand of razor is normally one that I will not hone. They are not very good razors in my opinion. I have tested them annually for improvement the last few years and there has not been much. I also met with the owner of the company who makes them and so far still no improvement. They usually can eventually become able to shave, but I find the shave uncomfortable and the edge not to last. YMMV

Sorry.

Have fun

Timor blue steel? where are they made??

I'm pretty sure Timors are made in Solingen, aren't they?

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Originally Posted by Ian2051

. . . My razor is a Timor Blue Steel 6/8. . . .

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Do a search for "Timor" on this Forum. As I remember it, the new Timor's have a very mixed reputation.

. charles