Thread: Straight Razors Dull Despite Little Use

One of these razors was sent to me by PaulFLUS from here on SRP, the other is a Dovo Razor that I got sharpened by a local in my city. Both of them were sharpened to brand new condition in early 2021.

Long story short, I got sick and barely touched either of these for about 1.5 years, maybe 2-3 shaves each. Now neither of them will cut a piece of hair anywhere on the blade. If I take a hair off my head and drag it all the way down the blade, it comes off unscathed basically.

I have a 1k stone, 4k/8k naniwa stone, and a 3 micron cloth polishing wheel, as well as microscopes to look at edges with. I have no idea if they just dulled this much by existing for 1.5 years, or if they got rolled on a strop, or something similar, but if I needed to I could probably take a look at the edge with a microscope and see.

I have essentially no useful experience with sharpening razors. I had a zoom session with gssixgun about 2 years ago, but have never been able to get a useable edge on my own so far (haven't tried in a long time, though) so I'm more or less re-learning from scratch now.

Where should I start with restoring the edge on these razors?

Hey man! Glad to see you back in good shape. An edge will oxidize over time even if unused. I would recommend trying a pasted strop or flax linen first. If that fails to improve them I would consider a touch up.
Remember that one I sent you was honed with one layer of Scotch 700 electrical tape.

I agree with Paul. I think I see some micr chips on the edge in the middle picture.

Using a pasted strop after a good linen stropping might bring them back to shaving readiness.

If that does not work, I suggest breadknifing the edge by LIGHTLY running the edge over the edge of your 8K and then using several X strokes on the 8k to bring the edge back. Then follow up with the pasted strop and see if that helps

For guys new to honing... This takes a little time, touching back up a razor on your finishing hone. U may be looking at a 1/2 hour or more, depending on your abilities. Especially if theirs chipping.

Maybe send um back to Paul, have I'm touch them back up for ya.

I'll be glad to do that. I'll send you a PM.

Originally Posted by DZEC

I agree with Paul. I think I see some micr chips on the edge in the middle picture.

Using a pasted strop after a good linen stropping might bring them back to shaving readiness.

If that does not work, I suggest breadknifing the edge by LIGHTLY running the edge over the edge of your 8K and then using several X strokes on the 8k to bring the edge back. Then follow up with the pasted strop and see if that helps

By "LIGHTLY" should I assume you mean literally zero pressure other than gravity? Otherwise I don't see how you could do that at all without totally destroying the edge. I don't have a pasted strop, all I have is 1k stone, 4k/8k, micron cloth, strop with nice linen. I guess I could try the linen side of the strop and see if it helps.

Originally Posted by outback

For guys new to honing... This takes a little time, touching back up a razor on your finishing hone. U may be looking at a 1/2 hour or more, depending on your abilities. Especially if theirs chipping.

Maybe send um back to Paul, have I'm touch them back up for ya.

I don't have a finishing hone, I have a polishing wheel with 3 micron cloth (some people say not to try that). I could get one though.

Time is no object here, I bought these stones with the explicit goal of learning how to hone well myself, which is also why paul sent me the razor. I am more than happy to dump hours into this until I get decent at it.

It is pretty unfortunate though that half the point of that was to familiarize myself with what a properly honed blade feels like, so that it would be easier to evaluate the results of my own honing, only to then not be able to use it for a straight year. I did use it enough to get the idea though, I think.

Actually I just tried checked the blade again, it did catch and cut a loose piece of hair in a few areas, and did just fine shaving down my arm, so maybe I'm exaggerating how bad the edge is. This other cheap antique blade I'm trying to hone fails miserably at catching any hair at all, I will be much more aggressive trying to hone that one.

Try it the other way around have Paul watch you hone. Like put your camera so he can see your strokes and he'll be able to chime in and give tips.

Make doubly sure your local knife guy has a lot of experience with razors. Most "Knife Guys" don't have a clue when it comes to straights and worse think they are experts. The requirements for knives vs straights are very different.

Either that Dovo was sharpened with a secondary bevel or someone seriously rounded off the edge somehow.
Last photo shows a helluva glare coming off the edge that just shouldn't be there. The ideal would be some one on one time with somebody who knows how to assess & restore the edges.

Stored razors will dull unless oiled or stored in a vacuum. Iron and oxygen always react & things like high humidity will speed up the process.

Originally Posted by yondermountain91

Try it the other way around have Paul watch you hone. Like put your camera so he can see your strokes and he'll be able to chime in and give tips.

We did do this. I still use the same technique I did then, there's just only so much you can get out of that because he can't see with his eyes how much pressure I'm using, the exact position of my fingers, etc.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Make doubly sure your local knife guy has a lot of experience with razors. Most "Knife Guys" don't have a clue when it comes to straights and worse think they are experts. The requirements for knives vs straights are very different.

He does. In any case I work for a mad scientist of metal who looks at metal under a scanning electron microscope on a weekly basis, so I there is a lot of good knowledge around me.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Either that Dovo was sharpened with a secondary bevel or someone seriously rounded off the edge somehow.
Last photo shows a helluva glare coming off the edge that just shouldn't be there. The ideal would be some one on one time with somebody who knows how to assess & restore the edges.

Stored razors will dull unless oiled or stored in a vacuum. Iron and oxygen always react & things like high humidity will speed up the process.

I figured that oxidation would do that eventually. Good to know it's normal. The edge probably looks like that because he taped the spine. There is visible grinding marks on it that he did himself because it was so warped from the factory.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Technique is key for all aspects of straight shaving and maintenance including stropping.



Sorry, just threw that in for laughs.

I saw a stropping video here somewhere that is helpful to watch. I'll see if I can find it. You can roll a perfectly good edge by improper stropping. The good news is that you can usually correct that with proper stropping.

Crud, I forgot the WOO. It wouldn't surprise me if bad stropping isn't helping, every single time I strop a razor there is a point where my senses tell me "I think I just destroyed the edge woops" but I'm never sure. I try not to strop with significant pressure and always roll over on the spine.