Thread: Straight Razors Dull Despite Little Use

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

I have to lather 5-6 times in a straight razor shave haha, gotta bring that shaving time down.

Why bring the time down? Seriously. That's part of why most of us do it. It's a ritual we enjoy and I would bet that most of us use a safety razor if we have to hurry. I know I do. I say take your time and enjoy it. That is not to say don't get better at it and more efficient. That just allows you to take your time and savor it more.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Why bring the time down? Seriously. That's part of why most of us do it. It's a ritual we enjoy and I would bet that most of us use a safety razor if we have to hurry. I know I do. I say take your time and enjoy it. That is not to say don't get better at it and more efficient. That just allows you to take your time and savor it more.

Exclusively because of shaving cream is not holding up lately. It's kind of unfortunate, Art of Shaving Sandalwood was hands down the best, creamiest, long lasting shaving cream I ever used when I bought it, but 2 years down the road it's very mediocre, after about 10 minutes the lather is thin and dries out immediately, no matter how creamy it was when I first mixed it. I guess most creams just don't have that long of a shelf life.

Maybe tonight I'll bust out the Tabac. That stuff lasts forever. Really at the end of the day, I think all of us are in this as an elaborate justification for buying nice shaving soaps.

Inteersting that you ned a long lasting shaving cream.

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

3M type 261x or type 262x (1µ grit is only in type 262x for some reason but AFAIK 261 and 262 are the same) NON PSA backing. DO NOT attempt to use PSA film.

Am I just looking for 1 micron aluminum oxide film from a reputable company?

I can't find this specific film anywhere reasonable, newark ships from the UK which quadruples the price. I'm going to hunt around for some other brand that I can find, or a 3M line that I can find.

Random but fine.

This stuff is a nightmare to search for. It's never listed as "262x" or the like, often it's not even called "lapping film" and doesn't really seem to have any consistent nomenclature. I think I just found the right stuff but it's not labeled thoroughly so I have no idea. This must be why all my searches have turned up empty so far, its just listed as aluminum oxide film. You can't even search for "1 micron" because it's in a menu.

I wonder if there's any good reason I couldn't just put this on top of my 8k stone, instead of getting a huge acrylic block.

So how did my post bring on this?

Excellent news, and the first really positive surprise so far! On the arm hair, my razor seemed to be substantially duller than Paul's razor, which led me to expect a rough, unpleasant shave.

I was wrong! That was easily one of the best shaves I've had so far. The toe was quite rough, though it did still cut, but the rest of it worked great, cut no problem at all. I'd say it felt about 80-85% as sharp as Paul's razor. Very very satisfactory results. I think with a little bit more work to even it out on the 4k/8k it will be fully ready to go.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

Really at the end of the day, I think all of us are in this as an elaborate justification for buying nice shaving soaps.

Really! I don't thinks so.I have 30 shaving soaps , they make my shaves nice.
I also have 4 strops, 11 stones and 25 razors. None of them are for anything but a nice shave not a justification.

I guess the main difference is, I can use them.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

Am I just looking for 1 micron aluminum oxide film from a reputable company?

I can't find this specific film anywhere reasonable, newark ships from the UK which quadruples the price. I'm going to hunt around for some other brand that I can find, or a 3M line that I can find.

Youre in Canada, right? Try Lee Valley.