Thread: Getting a straight as Sharp as an DE blade?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Please explain why you believe this ?

Because I have always had my razors honed by the best of of the best,all SRP pros.
Is not that I believe it, I know it to be a fact,If you think you can hone a straight better than a feather, A Kai or a balzano,you are the greatest honemeister on earth.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Because I have always had my razors honed by the best of of the best,all SRP pros.
Is not that I believe it, I know it to be a fact,If you think you can hone a straight better than a feather, A Kai or a balzano,you are the greatest honemeister on earth.

Good point. I have never used a feather, Kai or Balanzo but I can imagine.

Apples to Oranges?

I do think it's possible but it just doesn't seam practical or really necessary. I just need a blade sharp enough to comfortably cut my whiskers and maintain that sharpness with minimal efforts
A De blade is so delicate that it shaves 1-8 shaves, then is discarded.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Is not that I believe it, I know it to be a fact.

Respectfully, the conclusion you draw (i.e. the fact) cannot logically be arrived at from the sample you have.

Your sample suffers greatly from a selection bias.

I’ve had a number of pro honed edges and they all have been very very good, however the “pro’s” hone in a way that has to be commercially viable. That is to say they would look to balance edge quality and the time taken to do it.

I don’t envy them as I could never do what they do in the time they do for the money they charge.
That been said, they don’t have the luxury to spend hours, days or multiple honing sessions to extract the absolute maximum out of razor.

Accordingly it would be unwise to conclude that an edge produce commercially by a pro is the best possible edge attainable (i.e. it is the best that can be produced in the limited amount of time that the relatively small fee they charge buys).
The sharpest edges are probably been produced by the guys that spend heaps of time tinkering with one or two of their own razors (likely using nano grit strop powders or very expensive natural hones), who could never supply the edges commercially as they would be prohibitively expensive.

Originally Posted by DrDalton

Respectfully, the conclusion you draw (i.e. the fact) cannot logically be arrived at from the sample you have.

Your sample suffers greatly from a selection bias.

I’ve had a number of pro honed edges and they all have been very very good, however the “pro’s” hone in a way that has to be commercially viable. That is to say they would look to balance edge quality and the time taken to do it.

I don’t envy them as I could never do what they do in the time they do for the money they charge.
That been said, they don’t have the luxury to spend hours, days or multiple honing sessions to extract the absolute maximum out of razor.

Accordingly it would be unwise to conclude that an edge produce commercially by a pro is the best possible edge attainable (i.e. it is the best that can be produced in the limited amount of time that the relatively small fee they charge buys).
The sharpest edges are probably been produced by the guys that spend heaps of time tinkering with one or two of their own razors (likely using nano grit strop powders or very expensive natural hones), who could never supply the edges commercially as they would be prohibitively expensive.

Respectfully, the conclusion you draw is erroneous,,,

Any Pro Honer worth his salt is going to absolutely produce the best edge possible for the razor given to him, otherwise he isn't going to be honing professionally very long... And that Sir is a fact that you can "Take to the Bank"

Pun intended...

BTW Technically speaking Pixelfixed is correct, a SR cannot be "Keener" then a DE in absolute micron size.... everything else is YMMV... again read the Voerhaven paper for accurate numbers

Also you guys are glossing over so many facts that it is getting a bit crazy

DE blades are not Stropped so when their coating fails they fail
DE blades suffer more damage from Micro-corrosion then beard damge
Stropping helps erase Beard damage on a SR which is only one reason the edge lasts longer
Stropping eliminates Micro-corrosion on the edge another reason why the edge lasts longer


Basically there is much more here then simple Keenness

I think another way to look at this is to ask yourself if a SR can be honed to provide as close and comfortable shave as a DE. IMO the answer to that question is yes. Getting wound up in the technical aspects of sharpness, while they obviously are relevant to the discussion, are not everything.
Now it may be my lack of long experience with a DE, but I find my SR shaves every bit if not more comfortable than a DE. This is where YMMV comes in since I'm sure there are many out there that would say the opposite.

Edit: Regardless of the outcome of this discussion, there is no reason your SR can't be honed to provide a smooth and comfortable shave on par with your DE, and that's what you should shoot for.

I agree with davew - I can get an edge on a straight that matches a Feather DE, but I have trouble maintaining that edge beyond a couple of shaves. I want to avoid using abrasive on a regular basis - even though there's the temptation to go back to the stone (14k) every week. I suspect I could improve my stropping technique.

Maybe the question should be: can one get as close and comfortable a shave from a properly honed S.R
Of course you can,we all know that.
Can you measure the sharpness of any cutting tool? I do not think so.
With shaving,you have many variables,is not just the blade.

Ok so i shaved again with my DE razor at the gym. I've decided to go with a DE at the gym and keep my straight for home to skip the preemptive stropping required with bringing my straight to the gym (no way I'm stropping my razor at the gym).

So I'm still rather new at DE shaving and tried an Astra super platinum for the first time. As usual the shave was flawless on the first pass but man o man did I have some bleeding and irritation on my throat. A thorough washing and aftershave balm clean that all up. Chalk that up to incorrect use since I'm not used to the DE yet (second shave and 1st with that blade) but I must say that a DE doesn't give me the same feedback my straight does.

Although it eliminates the need for a second pass, maybe shaving with a DE isn't all that after all and my goal with sharpness has changed. Like others said above, matching the sharpness of a DE isn't necessary and perhaps not even all that desirable. My new objective is to get a blade that shaves better on the first pass rendering the second pass totally optional.

I've been wanting to buy a new razor for a while. Is perhaps a full hollow ground razor (compared to my semi hollow) exactly the kind of blade that will give me the sharpness I'm looking for?