Thread: Existential Funk?

So my straight razor game is fairly accomplished and generally, cuts, even small ones are few and far between. That is until this week. Although Monday and Tuesday's shaves seemed pretty good at first glance (freshly honed razors for both) I nicked my right jaw bone area on Monday. This was totally my fault (a breech of proper attention to technique) no big, just a small nick the alum block staunched the bleeding in a jiffy. The two cuts on Tuesday were very unusual though. In fact, I didn't even really notice them except for a slight sting upon the application of alum block/AS. Little to no bleeding but very long nicks on the left side of my face (almost like really minor paper cuts.) In fact it wasn't until lunchtime today that I saw the cuts on my face. None of the cuts were particulary alarming or dangerous (except of course for my ego). I suspect the two razors in question need a bit more smoothing of the edge. They're both plenty sharp but I suspect the edge may be just a little toothier than normal (I know a crappy carpenter always blames his tools.)

I'm really on the fence about what to do next. Touch up hones would seem necessary regardless but do I touch them up tonight and re-engage with those razors in the morning (and again on Friday)? Or would it be more prudent to simply do the touch up hones and write the rest of the week off as a safety razor sabatical (thus giving my cuts a few days to recover)? What would you do (WWYD?)

I went through a very similar experience recently. Noticed some extra sting as I applied the post shave witch hazel and saw what looked like a hair on my cheek. It was a very clean shallow cut I hadn't even felt. I had just shaved with a freshly honed Hart Steel. Being willing to blame something other than my technique, that night I did some easy polishing strokes on a 12k and some extra stropping. I had the same question about letting it heal but was so anxious to try that razor again that I went ahead and shaved with it the next morning. In my case there were no ill effects. I didn't reopen the cut and it healed fine. That razor has given me nothing but great shaves since. I am sure you have a feeling about whether to jump back on that horse again or wait a bit. I would trust that feeling.

OK, the Fred Reynolds Skinny is up tomorrow. This was Monday's razor. I took it back to the fine stone for a couple laps and did about 300 laps on a horsehide strop. I think it's probably good to go. Tomorrow night, I'll work on the Cosmo (Tuesday's razor) and plan on giving that a test drive on Friday. My 3rd straight this week was up this morning but I shaved with a safety razor instead (in a hurry). I'll give the 3rd straight (a WC Horn and Bros) a test drive on Saturday.

NOTE: I've never tried a super lather before. I think I'll do a MWF and C.O. Bigelow super lather tomorrow. I'll also pay particular attention to my technique.

Gentlemen,

I know exactly the type of cut you are referring to; it is usually caused by an edge suitably sharp for shaving. Unfortunately I believe this is a case of operator error, not the equipment. What likely happened was the blade was stalled on your face (even for a milisecond) as opposed to remaining in motion during a stroke. With a sharp razor that's all it takes to get a very fine cut such as this.

On the bright side they do heal very quickly

Straight razors are insidious creatures. They have the patience of a saint. They just sit back and wait for YOU to lose focus or make the wrong move or a millisecond of inattentiveness and then zowee they strike.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Straight razors are insidious creatures. They have the patience of a saint. They just sit back and wait for YOU to lose focus or make the wrong move or a millisecond of inattentiveness and then zowee they strike.

With a cold and calculating malice!