Thread: Ever have a razor that will not sharpen?

Hello all,
I'm more or less just venting here but I have this one razor that will not take an edge. Let me first say that I am not new to straight shaving and have about 70 razors (all shave ready) and generally takes me about 15 minutes to take an ebay razor from dull to sharp. Tools used are Norton 4k/8k, two different paddle strops (one with 1 micron-1/2 micron diamond and the other with half micron chromium oxide, 1/2 micron diamond) and 8 different hanging strops.
The razor in question is a Herb Charlton 6/8 stainless "german steel" manufactured by Mudgee. Spine is grinding evenly as is the bezel. All normal things were done (as far as making sure hone is level etc...) the bevel is a large 1 1/2 mm in width. I've gotten it to pop hairs a few times but nothing close to shave ready (and no it's not over honed). I'm thinking that the steel is just crap and the spine to bevel angle is a bit long. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Otherwise I'm chucking this thing in the trash. So I don't have to look at it anymore.............
Thanks,
Christopher
Brooklyn, NY

Hi Christopher

Is it an older blade? I haven't any personal experience of this (yet) but several members have mentioned rotten/degraded steel can be present in older blades, particularly on the edge. And there's nothing to say some of these razors weren't the vintage equivalents of the Pakistani type blades either, I guess.

But if that's not the case, and what you suggest is true re the angle being too shallow, have you tried increasing the angle using a layer (or more) of electrical tape on the spine? Sorry, that's all I've got

James.

Actually, I had a Robeson that acted that way. Inspection with a microscope showed lots of micro-chipping. (And mine wasn't over sharpened either.)

I put it aside with the intent someday of honing off the existing bevel and then set a new bevel with a course grit and then work up through the 4/8K to see if it was just the edge that was bad or if the whole blade is likely "rotten".

Christopher,

Without pics of the bevel it is hard to tell what's wrong. As you are an experienced honer I think you might want to send it to a more experienced honer (e.g. Lynn, SRP alias: adjustme69, 1000s of razors under his belt) for diagnosis and treatment/recommendations.

I have a Genco razor that is in pretty nice shape except that it won't take an edge... Another, wiser member examined it for me and suggested that it seemed to have a subtle twist. He thought this was keeping it from taking an ultra-fine edge.

It lives in my project drawer.

The moral is that there could be some not-so-obvious factors that are keeping it from getting sharp. Have you tried recutting the bevel with a coarser hone? Have you checked for warping with the magic marker test? Just a couple of suggestions...

Josh

There always seems to be one of these out there no matter how many razors you've honed. I always find it better to take it on a little at a time vs. spending hours on it out of frustration. If you finish with a coticule or escher type stone, try just finishing on the Norton. Try finishing without the pastes. Try mixing up your number of strokes (less is better). Usually they will all come around unless Pakistani or some other junk out there, but the drawer is not a bad place sometimes for a try at a later time.

Have fun,

Lynn

Some razors are just going to be duds. The heat treatment could have been blown. There could be structural problems in the steel. The steel might have had impurities in it that caused unexpected results. Or it could be one someone got too zealous with on a buffer and overheated the blade, softening the steel to a point where it's not practical any more. The steel must be quite hard to take an edge as thin and fine as we have with a razor and maintain that geometry through use.

Stainless steels, contrary to popular belief are not harder than carbon steel. Invariably, high carbon steel can be treated to a higher hardness because it is less alloyed than stainless steel. Stainless can be very hard to sharpen because it's more ductile and doesn't always hone as cleanly or easily, so it can be more tricky, particularly if you're used to honing high carbon blades.

So that's my $0.02

Just tell everyone in the neighbourhood that your garden used to be the area where a chemical plant tipped their waste and that you were advised never ever to grow vegetables for human nor animal consumption in your own garden!