Thread: Straight Razors Dull Despite Little Use

Originally Posted by outback

For years, the 8k was the bench mark edge.
You have the 8k Naniwa, it will produce a good shaving edge all by itself. Even better if stroped with razor grade Cr/Ox. Or buy a 12k Naniwa, the new benchmark.

Other than that,you need at least a 1k to set the bevel properly. If your bevel isn't right, the rest is wasted time.

Alright sounds good. What I'll do is keep learning on this 1k/4k/8k arrangement until I can get a really good edge on the 8k, and then if I find that slightly unsatisfying go even higher. For now my problem isn't that kind of precision anyway, this cheap razor I'm working on for example will not cut at all even after a lot of time on the 1k, so there is much learning to do yet.

A honing lesson will help. It's easy to get ambitious and go after it the wrong way. Be patient and at least maybe watch some good instructional videos first. Glen has a number of them on YouTube. Don't watch just any schmuck as there is a lot of bad information there also.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

A honing lesson will help. It's easy to get ambitious and go after it the wrong way. Be patient and at least maybe watch some good instructional videos first. Glen has a number of them on YouTube. Don't watch just any schmuck as there is a lot of bad information there also.

I did watch a couple of his videos and had a live session with him as well, most people seem to be doing basically the same thing anyway. soak 1k > make sure it stays wet > make sure the whole blade is touching stone > try to keep some pressure (5-10lbs) on the edge but not the spine, push down stone blade first, rotate around, push back. I did this after deliberately killing the blade on this cheap antique razor, probably 80 strokes back and forth at least so far not counting the circles that I stopped doing, it's much sharper but still won't cut hair, so obviously something is wrong.

Do a zoom call with Paul, have him go through a razor honing with you step by step. It really isn't as easy as just rubbing the razor on few different stones. There's a tactile sensation that has taken me years to really become aware of. That 'feedback' is critical when honing a razor to know when your done, if you've gone to far, or if you've destroyed the edge on an errant stroke. Even the shaving technique can make you suspect a dull edge when in reality it is just bad shaving. I would seriously link up with a member here and have them help you one on one. Tons of good advice, seems like your on the right track for sure. Happy shaves my friend!
-Laramie-

Originally Posted by yondermountain91

Do a zoom call with Paul, have him go through a razor honing with you step by step. It really isn't as easy as just rubbing the razor on few different stones. There's a tactile sensation that has taken me years to really become aware of. That 'feedback' is critical when honing a razor to know when your done, if you've gone to far, or if you've destroyed the edge on an errant stroke. Even the shaving technique can make you suspect a dull edge when in reality it is just bad shaving. I would seriously link up with a member here and have them help you one on one. Tons of good advice, seems like your on the right track for sure. Happy shaves my friend!
-Laramie-

I certainly would not be surprised if I have accidentally destroyed the edge on errant strokes numerous times. A big part of the learning can't be done over video is the issue, I had a 1 on 1 session with a different member here, which was helpful, but there's only so much you can see from a fixed camera angle. I have a local knife guy coming in to show me next week in person, so hopefully I can pick up some valuable knowledge from that, especially things like subtle feel/audio ques that don't come across well over video.

Also wouldn't surprise me if I have consistently underestimated the sharpness of my blades due to poor shaving technique, but sometimes it just got absurd, to the point where there's certain regions of coarser hair on my face that I *could not* cut. It wouldn't shave them, it would pull so severely that I think I ripped hairs clean out trying to shave there.

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.

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.