Barely Hangin In There

Hey Maybe you guys could help. I've been at the whole st8 thing for about 3 months. I've been putting on a happy face and shaving and telling everyone that shaving with a str8 is the greatest thing ever. BUT, to be honest i shaved with a traditional razor the other day and i'm just about ready to swing back to the dark side.
At first when i bought a razor i wasn't impressed with the "shave-readiness" of the blade so i bought a yellow couticole. And decided to play with it to see if it would work to my satisfaction. At first it was going great, but as we know ignorance is bliss. Now i want to get this razor to "split hairs". Is it possible that the couticule isn't the way to go and i'm just wasting my time. I really want to get this razor in tip top shape. Also i feel this sucker can be much sharper. Also I want to go it alone with out the help of a pro honing it to perfection.(Just for reasons of nastalgia) I watched the video of the gent using the couticule on youtube. I noticed he presses fairly hard on the razor while honing. I would also like to know can i really damage the razor from too much pressure. Any help at this would be greatly appreciated.

:gthP.S. I don't wanna go back to shaving with the traditional, you never saw john wayne pullin out a mach3 razor from his saddle bags

I wouldn't say damage, unless you use a ton of pressure, but you will ruin the edge that is there with excess pressure on any surface, hone or strop. It is very possible to get almost any razor, especially one that was shave ready (or close), shaving well with the yellow coticle.

Honestly I would suggest sending it out for a professional job. Right now you actually have no concept of what sharp really is so it is very hard to achieve it.

Your shave ready razor, in fact probably was. Many beginners feel that their razor is dull when in fact their stropping, or even their shaving technique is responsible for the poor shave.

If I may? I started with straights about 5 month ago and at that time I decided that I wanted to go the whole way.

1. I got my razor done by a hone master.
2. While it was off getting sharpened I got a good strop
3. I ordered a 4 sided strop with 3.0,1.0,0.5, and 0.25 diamond pastes

When I got the razor back it still was not what I wanted from a blade. I have learned a long time ago go easy at first. I used the strop with extremely light touch with 20 laps on the 1.0, then 15 laps on the 0.5, then 15 laps on the 0.25. I used my wifes hair to check the sharpness along the entire length of the blade. It used a lot of hair but her brush had a lot on it. The tough on the the pasted strop is extremely light, so light that I wondered if it would make a difference. The blade was so sharp that I got a few small nicks because I was used to using a fairly dull razor. When you strop, hone, or shave, your "touch" has to be extremely light! This went on for about 3 months with me using the paste every week because my shaves were less than "really good". Guess what? My stropping technique was to heavy, now I get almost 2 weeks between going to the paste and I am still learning. I got a DMT8EE and when I had to use it I did 8 really light laps then went to the pasted strop 1.0 on down. My shaves are awesome and only now am I looking at a more "refined" stone.

I am sorry to be so long winded but to my never to be humble opinion, straights demand a certain logical game plan that includes proper sharpening by the user.
My brother can not and will not use a straight but has taken up a DE and loves it. It has the right amount of hassle and results that are really good and rival a straight shave that 85% of the guys get. I got off fairly cheap and it works for me. Some guys use a balsa wood strop with 0.5 Chromium and love that approach but you have to be able to do a little light honing and that is why I use the DMT because one does not have to lap the stone and it does a very good job.

In closing, yes the end is near, I feel that the most important thing for a newbie is to be able to shave with a really sharp razor and obtain the feeling that comes with a really good shave!:yI spend less than 15 minutes every couple of weeks sharpening the 3 razors that I have and shave sometimes twice a day to get the practice.;)


Take Care,
Richard

are you using a pasted strop as your everyday strop?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doc

are you using a pasted strop as your everyday strop?

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I am assuming that you are directing the question towards me since there is no mention of a pasted strop in Lanzo's original post. I use the 4 sided pasted strop to get the edge back about every other week. I use a standard stop every day for standard edge care before I shave.


later,
R

Ok sorry I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification

No worries!



Richard

The Coticule will take your edge from dull to popping hairs in half, the stone is not to blame.

This is just one of those things that takes time, and for some people, lots of time.

I have never had a blade professionally honed, so it is possible to do it yourself. But, having gone down that road, I wouldn't suggest it to anyone else. You'll spend far more time figuring out how to take the blade from it's current condition to where it ought to be than you realize, and in the meantime you'll be frustrated and poorly shaven.

How are you using the coticule?

Lanzo....I know how you feel. I was shaving with a straight since around Christmas, and some days were really good, others so-so, and others not worth a damn. I was ready to say the hell with it, when one day, an idea came into my head, and the straight shaving has been better than it ever was.

The idea was...don't be so scared of it. As long as you pay attention it will be fine. However, the key is having a really, really sharp blade. Honing takes practice and lots of time to learn...I'm still a honing newbie, but if you have a nice sharp razor, your shaves will be something you can compare others to more accurately.

Now, if straight razor shaving doesn't suit you, you can always unload your stuff here on the BST, and hang around just for fun:D Only within the last couple of months has straight shaving become my preferred method of shaving, and I got my first straight before Christmas...so it does take time.

To answer the question, of how am i using coticule, i am doing at most 5-10 laps when i feel the razor is really dull. I think the best thing to do is send it out and jump on board the honing train from there. And thank you to all you guys who took the time to give me some advice. It's greatly appreciated. Also the gentle touch could be part of it. Thanks fellas you have helped me realize it's not time to wave the white flag yet.:tu

You've been doing this for 3 months yet have been honing when you feel the razor is dull ? Personally I've been using my wapi for the last 2 months and it's not touched a hone or pasted strop since I got it shaving sharp and it has only got better with use. I shave every other day (I could do with shaving every day but never have the time) and strop about 25 laps on the cotton and about 60 laps on the leather before each shave. If you've needed several resharpenings in 3 months maybe you need to look to your stropping as Wildtim suggested.

Barney

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lanzo119

To answer the question, of how am i using coticule, i am doing at most 5-10 laps when i feel the razor is really dull. I think the best thing to do is send it out and jump on board the honing train from there. And thank you to all you guys who took the time to give me some advice. It's greatly appreciated. Also the gentle touch could be part of it. Thanks fellas you have helped me realize it's not time to wave the white flag yet.:tu

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I doubt that is enough strokes on the coticle if the razor is really dulling.

Good idea sending it out.

There really are three completely separate skill sets you need to learn to get good straight razor shaves for life.

First you have to learn the proper shaving technique. Things like blade angle, skin stretching, and various strokes. Failure in these areas make you razor feel less sharp than it is.

Second you need to know how to properly strop. Proper stroping smooths the shave and gives a better feeling shave the not doing it. Though it doesn't 'sharpen' the razor it can dull the heck out of it if done wrong, or less incorrectly leave the edge feeling harsher than it has too.

Third is honing. The art of actually putting an edge on a razor, this encompasses many stones and various other equipment that abrades the edge in some way. When done wrong this step can actually ruin a razor at the very least it will get duller than it was or more harsh. This is the hardest step.

The order I have them above is the order in which I think they will be mastered too. It doesn't matter how hard you try to learn to hone, if you can't shave with good technique or keep ruining your edge on the strop you will never even know how well you did. Same with stropping, you can't tell a properly stropped edge from one not well done unless your shaving technique is consistent enough to let you feel it. Thats why Lynn recommends that guys do at least one shave with a newly honed blade from him before they try to strop it.

I think your on the right track to success, good luck and keep at it you'll get great shaves before long.:D

You've gotten good advice here. I would send out your razor for professional honing so you have a benchmark. Then buy one or two less expensive razors to practice your honing on. Try to get something without too much hone wear. Have fun with the process.

Jordan