Thread: Keeping edge on razor

Originally Posted by binder

I have a razor and am about to start straight shaving. The razor edge has a slight raise on the ends: about 1 millimetre the last 1/2 inch or so at the toe and heel. Will this be good to start shaving with?

How will I maintain the edge; can I use a regular x stroke? I don't have experience with sharpening, so would like to start with the easiest.

I also need to know what is the highest level of grit I need to use for maintaining the razor; I might get a barber hone or water stone. What grit do I need if I use the the stone on its own? or before chromium oxide paste? From what I've read around 0.5 is a good finish. I know from looking at grit comparison charts that there is a difference between stones, but I'm trying to get an idea of what to look for.

For now I thought I would start with an abrasive sheet I can get from Lee Valley. They have 0.5 Silicon Carbide and Chromium Oxide. Would this work?

What do you mean a raise on the ends of the razor? Do you mean it is a smiling razor or the edge itself is warped? Did the razor come shave ready from someone we know in the forums to tell you the edge is already good enough to start with?

When you first learn this hobby it is a good idea to learn how to use the razor and strop correctly before honing, for several months, to learn how to get a good shaving result. Not knowing how to strop or shave can dull an edge on it's own and then you're going to be confused and frustrated as to what happened to the razor you paid for.
As far as what hones will touch up a razor, anything 8K or above will work depending on the edge condition.

Please learn to strop and shave properly with the razor, if it was honed by a pro, before asking about sharpening razors, it will lead to problems if you jump ahead to hones. Chromium oxide paste is good to refresh an edge and so are old Barber's hones found on Ebay.

A beginners strop sold by Ken of ruprazor has Chromium Oxide on the back for razor touch ups.

Hope this helps you.

Originally Posted by Disburden

What do you mean a raise on the ends of the razor? Do you mean it is a smiling razor or the edge itself is warped? Did the razor come shave ready from someone we know in the forums to tell you the edge is already good enough to start with?

Yes I meant a smiling edge. I was wondering if this was a good razor to learn on? The razor is shave ready.

When you first learn this hobby it is a good idea to learn how to use the razor and strop correctly before honing, for several months, to learn how to get a good shaving result. Not knowing how to strop or shave can dull an edge on it's own and then you're going to be confused and frustrated as to what happened to the razor you paid for.

I was referring to keeping the razor sharp. Don't I need to touch it up regularly with a hone or strop or both?

Sorry if my question was unclear.

A smiling edge is fine to shave with. You should strop the razor everytime you use it to refine and realign the edge on it. You should only need to touch up the razor on something like a barbers hone or fine finisher every few months depending on your beard type, how often you shave etc. Your razor will get to a point where it can't be just touched up anymore and will need a proper honeing. Hope this helps

A smiling razor is just as good as any to learn to shave with. To keep it ready you can use just a swaty or a strop with chromium oxide and you'll be fine. Now stropping, which you do every shave, takes practice and if don't incorrectly can dull and edge.

Just to clarify something:

If the razor is "shave-ready" (it has a "known-good" edge), you should use a plain leather strop to keep it sharp.

When a plain leather strop doesn't keep it sharp -- after many shaves -- that will be the time to investigate pasted strops and/or microabrasive paper.

I strongly suggest that, if you want to learn honing, you learn it on a different razor -- preferably a really inexpensive one.

Charles

PS -- I've used sandpaper and the 5-micron Lee Valley microabrasive sheets for sharpening; they work fine, _if_ you have a dead-flat surface to support them. There's an article in the Wiki on using micro-abrasive sheets that you should read.

I thought I would need to touch up the razor about once a week. Using a DE I changed the blades that often and thought the straight razor would loose its edge that soon as well. I also thought it would be a good idea to keep the angle of the bevel, so I thought a barbers hone/abrasive paper would be a good idea so I wouldn't need to hone it later with more coarser grits. Would this not be a good idea for a beginner? Or would it be better to use abrasive pastes when the edge dulls a bit and when that no longer works have it honed?


Would the smile in the razor affect the way I strop or sharpen? Would it be better to keep the smile or let it straighten out?

Thanks for the advice

Correct stropping will keep your edge beyond the week. You should get 2-3 months before it needs a tune up, maybe longer than that. As the others have said, learning how to strop and use the razor correctly is more of a priority for you at the moment.