Thread: Does it get this sharp?

Gents,

I've learned to hone well enough that I can shave with the grain and not feel the razor shaving. It just glides over the skin, making the tiniest bit of sound. Against the grain on the cheeks, I feel it but it's fairly smooth and one pass if I stretch correctly. But on the chin, neck and especially on the moustache area, it's definitely a 'scrape scrape scrape' sensation. Not painful, not 'tugging', but not what I would call 'comfortable' either.

Can a blade get sharp enough that on the moustache and other difficult regions the razor 'glides' the whiskers off with barely a pull? Or am I probably getting about as good as it gets?

There are a lot of variables here. Best I can say is to send it to a veteran shaver/honer for an evaluation. How does it compare to a pro-honed blade? I would be willing to do this if you cover return shipping.

So whatcher saying is that it could be the honing, or it could be a feature of the awesome manliness of my moustache area? I'm guessing the solution to the latter is grow handelbars!

:-)

The "manlier" the whisker is, the more resistance it provides to the edge. A truly shave ready blade will find no whisker that is a match for it. A well-honed blade doesn't give a damn what lies in its path. Anything standing in front of a well-honed blade is essentially "dead meat".

I keep seeing threads where people describe their whiskers as like steel and it makes me wonder whether it's their finger tips that are soft.

Sounds to me like you are not quite there with the honing and the way to test that is to send a razor to a recognised honer and use it in comparison to you others.

Another tip is to check your preparation - try a pre-shave and hot towels when you have the time and see if that makes a difference.

Originally Posted by UKRob

I keep seeing threads where people describe their whiskers as like steel and it makes me wonder whether it's their finger tips that are soft.

I totally agree that it's my finger tips that are too soft!


Cheers.

Originally Posted by ace

The "manlier" the whisker is, the more resistance it provides to the edge. A truly shave ready blade will find no whisker that is a match for it. A well-honed blade doesn't give a damn what lies in its path. Anything standing in front of a well-honed blade is essentially "dead meat".

I think this absolutely true; however, some of us have whiskers that will reduce that well-honed blade to dull in short order.

Originally Posted by fuzzychops

I think this absolutely true; however, some of us have whiskers that will reduce that well-honed blade to dull in short order.

+1 to this. For me, it's my head hair (though it is thinning in terms of population, my head hairs are thick, straight and wire-tough). I've learned quickly that if I don't shave my head every day, it will murder a straight (it probably murders my DE blades as well, but I'm not so concerned about those.) It doesn't totally wreck the edge, just makes it noticeably duller.

And yes, I'm careful about angles and stretching.

Originally Posted by fuzzychops

I think this absolutely true; however, some of us have whiskers that will reduce that well-honed blade to dull in short order.

This is what I have dealt with since day one of my straight razor journey. I have a fairly thick beard, so when I get a shave ready edge from a pro, it goes dull in a few shaves. So then I switch to another razor, same result. Then I started to invest in high quality strops, and mentorship from members here. The edges lasted a little longer, and I learned a lot and got a few more shaves out of my blades as my technique improved. After awhile longer the edges just didn't hold up and I moved into the honing world where I am still fairly baffled but learning every day, but that's just what is necessary for my beard, and every man has to figure out their own threshold. Good luck, I still send my blades out for professional attention when I can't get it right.

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

Can a blade get sharp enough that on the moustache and other difficult regions the razor 'glides' the whiskers off with barely a pull?

Yes it can!