Thread: Longer lasting edge?

Does stone progression, or rather stone type naniwa, coticule, Norton make a difference in how long the shaveable edge lasts or is it purely the razor material that would determine how many shaves you get between honings?

good question, I wood think it's only dependent on the steel but I did see the claim of longer lasting edges on labels of old hones but theb again, almost al old hones claimed to be the world's best hone on their label

It is going to depend on the hardness of the steel, the quality of the hone job, your stropping abilities, toughness of your beard and shaving technique.

IMO, partly steel, but, I find more often that shaving technique and stropping technique directly coorelate to edge keeness.

There are some razors(mentioned in the Avoid List on the wiki) that steel quality is THE singular reason for short life of a keen edge(*if* keen edge can even be attained).

Regards,

Siguy

Originally Posted by Splashone

It is going to depend on the hardness of the steel, the quality of the hone job, your stropping abilities, toughness of your beard and shaving technique.

I agree with this. A guy on YouTube suggests that your razor could hold an edge indefinitely if you stropped with .10 micron paste about 10 times after every shave. I tried that with a Dovo Best Quality blade but dulled it after 2-3 shaves.

As said from Bram, many vintage hones mention something about the "long lasting edges" they give, and from people I have talked to about this, some claim that stones offer the longest lasting edges, where, edges from paste stropping, lapping film and anything else last less than the one from stones.
It's a bit difficult question to answer.
The edge on razors when finished on stones, is flat, V shaped no matter how hollow the razor is.
The edge when finished on pastes lapping film or anything else, on a softer base (like leather), should be convex, as even the touch of the razor deforms the flatness of the surface, the moment they come in contact no matter its thickness. Some of this could be beneficial, before the edge starts to degrade.
On other cutting instruments, the convex edge lasts much longer than a V shaped one. Yet, I haven't seen any claims that pasted stropping instead of honing makes an edge last longer.

I also think that the quality of the steel, and the tempering process are the most important factors. And for testing how long an edge lasts on shaves, there are far too many variables.
But I don't think between stones of similar grit that there will be a significant difference.

I think the steel is the main factor however your shave technique and honing-stropping technique play important roles too. I don't think any particular hone will provide a longer lasting edge simply because of it's honing qualities.

However it's easy to test. Take two identical razors with identical physical qualities and hone them on different hones of equal grit and use them in exactly the same fashion with the precise same parameters and you will know.

Of course that is impossible to do.

I think I get a longer lasting edge from a barber hone than from finishing on cro-ox paste; based on using basically the same 2 razors for several years. I also think that stropping technique might easily make a bigger difference.

I agree with thebigspendur, Steel and technique foremost.
I would like to make a note, the angle of the finished bevel paired with the type of steel will have an impact on it.

I know most has been said but I would think bevel angle might alter the longevity of the edge as well as the steel and the coarsness/density of the hair, and the ability of the user to maintain the edge. Softer steel is easier to hone vs. Stainless which is very hard material but holds a great edge once shave ready. The tip of the edge of a bevel is probably tapered down to only a few atoms thick anyways if you could view it under a powerful enough microscope, the hairs themselves obviously will flex the edge in spots and maintenance is key to keeping them aligned.