How often do you touch up?

I know there are a myriad factors involved, but how often do you guys touch up your blade on a hone/chrome ox? Ie, assuming you use linen/canvas and leather stropping every day, how many shaves to you usually go with each razor before you touch it up beyond the linen/leather with a pasted paddle strop or finishing hone?

When I started, I had just a TM 4 sided (with 3 sides pasted) paddle strop and a non-professionally honed razor. I found myself going to paste every shave, and then learned on shaving websites that my bevel might not be right, and also figured out I just am not very good with paddle stropping. I also was using too extreme an angle when I shaved - basically I was doing stuff all wrong but still getting good shaves.

I recently got a Lynn-honed Filarmonica and TM hanging strop, and so far with that get up I'm at shave 12 and counting without needing a touch up, and could see going for a while without hone touch up based on how good and smooth the shaves still are at shave 12. I also found on the same lesser unprofessionally honed razor I'd used before I can now go about 8 shaves without need for some chrome ox touch up just by going from leather paddle to leather hanging plus canvas, but then it gets pretty scratchy. So for me, having a professionally honed razor made a huge difference, shaving with a less steep angle is probably helping, and also I just do a better job stropping with a hanging strop/canvas setup than I did with leather on paddle. I'm buying a yellow coticule from Howard soon as well and look forward to adding that to my "keep it sharp" program.

But to give myself some idea of what I'm shooting for, I'm curious from those with more experience, how long do you usually go before you decide to do a touch up on a swaty or 12k or coticule or chrome ox or whatever is your weapon of choice?

I think I've seen some say months, and some say every couple of weeks. And I'm not looking for the "how long can you stretch it between touch ups if you have to to prove your razor is forged from the same steel used on the Sword of Shannara" answer, but what do you generally do to make your shaves most comfortable. And just to be clear, I'm asking how many shaves you go on each razor before touching up - so if you only touch up a razor every eight weeks, but you only use each razor once a week, that's touching it up every 8 shaves, not every eight weeks - I only say that because I've seen posts saying you can go half a year but I know the poster has eight million razors so I'm not sure what that means in terms of how many shaves they are really going with a particular razor before touching up.

Thanks!

I haven't had a ton of experience, but I will say that it may depend on the razor itself.

I have a Dovo Renaissance that has gone about 20 shaves so far without needing a touchup at all. I was going to see if it was indeed made by the same blacksmith as the sword of Shanarra, but I'm in the process of re-scaling it, so I'll re-hone it while I'm at it too. After that I'll see how long it goes.

Most all of my other razors I find that I end up screwing around with touching them up sooner than that.

It really does depend on the razor. I have a very faint amount of chrome oxide on my canvas and this seems to keep most razors going a long time.

In my experience sheffields need touchups more frequently, but the feel of the blade is 'softer' against the skin than Solingens, so I prefer them (maybe someone who knows steel will step in here and tell me I'm talking nonsense, but this is my experience.:shrug:) My favorite sheffield I use chrome-on-canvas every fourth shave or so and take it to an escher every 15 shaves, approximately.

For what it's worth I have a few Fillies and they seem to keep their edge an unusually long time. I love those razors, the edge they take seems to have the perfect balance of very crisp and very smooth, and they last forever.

But in general with increased confidence in honing I care a lot less about which razor keeps its edge forever. Taking a razor to an escher takes about five minutes and it's part of the whole experience.

I'm about 18 shaves into a Lynn-honed blade and I haven't had to do anything but strop it so far. I was planning on touching it up after 25-30 shaves but that's up to the blade, not me.

Really, though, I just dropped in to give you props for the Sword of Shannara reference...one of the most beloved books of my youth. :D

Well, there is need and there is want. I do not NEED to touch up my razors all that often but I CHOOSE to do so about every 5 to 10 shaves depending on the razor. I like my razors the most when they are fresh off a honing session and while they still work well a week later and can probably go for quite some time after that, I don't enjoy the shave as much. I was the same way when I used DE's, I'd be tossing the blade after 3 shaves rather than a weeks worth.

My personal opinion is that a light touch up once a week or so on a CrO2 pasted strop, or maybe a few passes on my Coticule if it's not responding the way I want, will go a long ways towards avoiding major honing sessions. I feel that frequent, light touch ups help the edge last longer than letting it dull as once it begins to dull, the cutting pressure increases which causes additional wear on the edge which now will begin to dull faster which increases the cutting pressu....... In other words, not keeping on top of the edge allows the wear to snowball and while it will continue to shave well for a long period of time, the mounting wear and tear simply puts the blade closer and closer to a major honing session which does remove steel from the blade.

I hope that made sense....


Regards

Christian

"It's easier to keep your blade sharp than it is to sharpen your blade". I touch up about every 3 shaves with a bout I keep in the medicine cabinet solely for that purpose. By "touching up" I mean about 5 licks on each size of the razor.

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Originally Posted by DaveF

I'm about 18 shaves into a Lynn-honed blade and I haven't had to do anything but strop it so far. I was planning on touching it up after 25-30 shaves but that's up to the blade, not me.

Really, though, I just dropped in to give you props for the Sword of Shannara reference...one of the most beloved books of my youth. :D

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Me too on Shannara. I picked up the prequel [when the sword was actually forged] and read it last year, which took me back to reading the first one some thirty years ago.

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Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

Well, there is need and there is want. I do not NEED to touch up my razors all that often but I CHOOSE to do so about every 5 to 10 shaves depending on the razor. I like my razors the most when they are fresh off a honing session and while they still work well a week later and can probably go for quite some time after that, I don't enjoy the shave as much. I was the same way when I used DE's, I'd be tossing the blade after 3 shaves rather than a weeks worth.

My personal opinion is that a light touch up once a week or so on a CrO2 pasted strop, or maybe a few passes on my Coticule if it's not responding the way I want, will go a long ways towards avoiding major honing sessions. I feel that frequent, light touch ups help the edge last longer than letting it dull as once it begins to dull, the cutting pressure increases which causes additional wear on the edge which now will begin to dull faster which increases the cutting pressu....... In other words, not keeping on top of the edge allows the wear to snowball and while it will continue to shave well for a long period of time, the mounting wear and tear simply puts the blade closer and closer to a major honing session which does remove steel from the blade.

I hope that made sense....


Regards

Christian

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that makes a lot of sense, and the DE analogy resonates with me. I always chucked my M3 and DE cartridges after three uses for exactly the same reason.

I am firmly in kaptain_zero's camp on this one.

Depending on the razor, a touch-up is needed every 30 to 60 shaves.

By preference: about every 20 shaves, I do 5 to 15 laps on a barber hone.

There are just way to many variables to get an answer that means anything to any other person other than the person answering the question......

Wow was that confusing or what????

Just think about some of the more logical variables here

Razor, hone, honer, strops, pastes, shaving angle, beard thickness, hair thickness, lather, number of passes , and probably 10 more that I cant think of off hand.....

Depends on the razor, but for me, about every 5-10 shaves. I use a coticule w/ water and sometimes follow that w/ lather--for my beard it gives a slightly smoother edge that way.

Thats like saying how often do you fill your car with gas. There are so many variables. I find in general I get about 12-15 shaves before I do a touchup but I have some razors that can go far longer than that. My TI Damascus I've probably gotten 60-70 shaves from and its still going strong and has never been touched up. Its the long haul champ.

It varies for me, depending on the razor. Mostly when it's getting uncomfortable even after considerable stropping, I'll take it to a barber hone. If that doesn't solve the problem I'll drop down to a coticule. One of mine I just touched up, and it hadn't been honed since May. Others need it more often.


John P.

I love these kind of threads, you get so many great answers!

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Thats like saying how often do you fill your car with gas. There are so many variables. I find in general I get about 12-15 shaves before I do a touchup but I have some razors that can go far longer than that. My TI Damascus I've probably gotten 60-70 shaves from and its still going strong and has never been touched up. Its the long haul champ.

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That's a very helpful answer even if the question is silly (and many many of these answers have been helpful). These answers have helped me triangulate what the range of general practice is,and is very different from some things I'd seen on another site. To a relative newbie with straights this is very comforting as I'm hitting 12-15 myself on one razor.

It is hard to say exactly since I do not keep records of touchups. However, I freshen up on the CrO about once per month for the razors in my regular rotation. When I take a razor out of the rotation, I generally will give it some fine tuning on a yellow coticule. Otherwise, if I keep a razor in my rotation, then I freshen it up about once every 3 months on my coticule.

Would you guys say that Lynn's video is the best place to get info on honeing? I have my first razor on the way, and I want to make sure I dont screw it up with my "guessing" how to hone when the time comes.

Also, I have noticed a few of you like to use a barbers stone also. Where would you find something like that? I have found the coticule at www.theperfectedge.com., but im sure there are other good places to look also.

Love this thread by the way.

I haven't had to touch up any razors thus far that were shave ready to begin with. I've shaved with 4 or 5 different razors off and on, so none of my razors have seen more than 20 or 30 shaves

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Originally Posted by Basher052

Would you guys say that Lynn's video is the best place to get info on honeing?

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I think the honing section of Lynn's DVD gives you the best concentrated info on honing and, for that matter, most things pertaining to straight usage and ownership. There is more info on the forum itself if you are able to sort through it all but I think that when you are starting out it can be helpful to have an expert opinion and a visual demonstration available for a reference. Buying the DVD is probably the best investment you will make in your straight razor education.

I have the beard from hell! It is tough, multi-directional like a lot of people, and grows at warp speed. I touch up my razors about every 6 or 7 shaves with 1.0, 0.5,0.25 pastes on a paddle strop, about 10 passes on each. I like coming off diamond paste and I like my blades sick sharp. Every 3 months I take about 10 laps on a DMT8EE and then paste it when my edge drops to quickly.


Take Care,
Richard

I think it also has to do with how much and where you shave. I shave my head and find need for more frequent honing. I also recall pre RAD, having only one razor and fearing the hone. I was sure I would mess up the edge. I used that thing for ever. I didn't realize how bad it had gotten untill I got another razor. It is a slow eveloution to dull. If you have only one and you are new it could be dull as a hoe and you wont even know it. I now freshen my razors every 3 to 8 shaves depending on the razor. They all are different.

Don