Thread: Shaves but corse

I've just finished honing a straight razor, test shaved and the razor does shave with out any pulling but the blade feels corse on my skin especialy when shaving against the grain under my chin and neck area.I've finished honing the razor on my 12k kitiyama and chr.oxide gave a good stroping. Has any one else experiance this. I've repeated the honing process twice now and blade is the same just wondering what to try with out over doing i use the 4k 8k and the 12k kitiyama plus chr or .5 diamond paste i have apair of these razors the other razor which is the same brand but a differant size is realy smooth that is what i carn't under stand. I shaved a customer today with the razor and he said it did'nt tug but you could feel the blade's edge. any advice would be great. i'm just looking to improve the comfort of the razor. cheers gary

Are you stropping on plain leather very much before the shave?

Sometimes 100 or so passes on plain leather will ease an edge.

(you're sanitizing the razor before an after use on customers right?)

I would say at some point in your honing process you need either more trips or a technique adjustment. With all that media its hard to tell where the problem lies. That's why I always say get the most that you possibly can from the 8K and then move on to higher grits.

Yes i am stropping a good 50 to 1 hundred laps on a tony miller strop i also did another 100 last night i will try again on my self may be tomorrow when i have regrowth. And yes i use barbicide and barbicide spray even though the razor is my customers own personal razor he is the local doctor so i'm sure he will be aware of hygene. I use shavette on m y clients with a brand new blade everty time.

I've heard that 20 laps on the 8k should be plenty to polish the edge but how would i be able to tell if i have got enough out of the 8k i have even gone back to the 8k and perfprmed 20 again the 12 k and another 20 very light strokes i'm just wondering if with a few shaves of this razor and that might tame it .I could always try again how many strokes would aprox perform on the 8k before moving on thanxs gary.

I've gone back to the 4k 8k i must of done a good 35 laps on the 8k and 35 laps on my 12k 15 to 20 on chr and 150 t0 200 strops. just shaved tonight and a totally differant razor as smooth as it gets so igues i did'nt get enough out of my 8k like you said thanxs very much for advice. just out of curiosoty how many strokes would normaly perform on 8k cheers gary.

I have found that sometimes after honing a blade it might take a shave or two to break in the edge and get that smooth feeling.

Its hard to give numbers because all razors are different. If I'm doing a touchup I'll do about 30 strokes on the coticule and then test. If its a new razor it can take a variety of hones and strokes to do the job and if its an eboy special it can really vary. Usually you start with the highest grit and if you don't get a result after a reasonable number of strokes you back up to a coarser hone.