Thread: First good shave with a razor I honed

Yep, nothing better than getting great shaves off of your own edges. Now you can really work on tweaking that 8k Norton edge before falling down the rabbit hole of more finishing stones.

For instance, when I think I'm done on the 8k, I like to add a drop of dish soap, then do about 10-12 more perfect, ultralight laps on soapy water. That and a vigorous stropping session is all you need.

I have found that my stropping has had the most significant effect on my shaving. When I first started I wasn't stropping the razor enough and it felt like I needed to have the blades redone, but it turned out that I was under stropping and the blades were just fine. Same with the honing now, when I feel I've done enough passes I do a bunch more lol.

Yep you crossed one of those milestones for sure. I stayed where your at for a year and don't regret it one bit. Once you get the basics down you won't be posting """ What did I do wrong? I took it to the 16k but.... """ Those that skip the curriculum and test out miss a lot of the little lessons you learn along the way. Most of which is learning good habits and motor skills. Good luck with the rest of the learning. :<0)

Originally Posted by JosephHoffer

I have found that my stropping has had the most significant effect on my shaving. When I first started I wasn't stropping the razor enough and it felt like I needed to have the blades redone, but it turned out that I was under stropping and the blades were just fine. Same with the honing now, when I feel I've done enough passes I do a bunch more lol.

I totally agree! Since I got a custom English Bridle strop made by Kevin/Hidestoart and just started stropping more for the sheer joy of it (150 laps minimum between shaves on each blade), I've gotten the best shaves of my life.