Thread: Gritty

I always seem to get my blades shave ready in other words they don't pull and shave very easily but i have to say now and again the odd blade has felt gritty any one else had this problem and why does this happen i'm never sure what hone to drop back to to solve the slight gritty ness if razor was still pulling then i would drop back to say 4k 8k then 12k but the gritty ness never sure any advice would be help ful when i say gritty it is only slight but enought to notice

Gritty on the stone or face? I'm having trouble following this thought.

Is it just one razor or random assortment ?

I think I get it: sharp and shave ready, but feels a little rough or gritty on the face. Am I right?

I have a few razors that respond that way, I end up messing around with pasted strops or different grit finishers to get it going right.

One razor, I even had to "drop" back to a coti to finish and it worked in that case.

I bet if you play with some different hones or pastes you will find the "magic" solution for your problem razors.

on the face

Originally Posted by joke1176

I think I get it: sharp and shave ready, but feels a little rough or gritty on the face. Am I right?

I have a few razors that respond that way, I end up messing around with pasted strops or different grit finishers to get it going right.

One razor, I even had to "drop" back to a coti to finish and it worked in that case.

I bet if you play with some different hones or pastes you will find the "magic" solution for your problem razors.

You've got it thats what i do try between natural;s and paste but i some times wonder has the paste caused this etc etc or is it just the metal. For example i droped back 5k 8k 12k .5 .5ch and it went from gritty to realy comfy i did 3/3 1/5 1/5 pyramid. i'd love to no what is causing this could it be slight over hone causing weak harsh edge i gues i should do less laps and creep up to sharpness instead of over doing these naniwas do cut pritty fast.

I dunno, in my limited experience it seems that some razors just don't respond well to the pastes.

Example: A Tilquin razor that I just use occasionally refused to be smooth until I hit it about 10-15 passes on a little barber hone and stop there.

If I go back to the pastes, it feels rough again. It also doesn't really respond well to my Japanese natural either.

I had a bismark new one it was fine coming of bbw/coti when i added .5 ch.ox it felt harsh so it was back to bbw/coti and it was fine.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I had a bismark new one it was fine coming of bbw/coti when i added .5 ch.ox it felt harsh so it was back to bbw/coti and it was fine.

I have done the same with the same results on some razors. A friend who loves "scary sharp" razors sold a couple to me. They were certainly scary sharp but felt abrasive to my face. The same friend bought a natural coticule from Howard and sold it to me because he felt it didn't get the razors sharp enough to suit him. It is my best coticule and I love the edges I get off of it.

Another thing that comes to mind is this quote from one of Lynn's old posts." What I always try to look for through the microscope is to see if the edge is even in distribution across the razor. Next I want to make sure that the striations are tight and in most cases they do look darker through the microscope. I also try to make sure no shading up toward the edge and no micro chips near the edge. These usually indicate overhoning and the chips indicate that even if the razor is shaving sharp, it usually won't be as comfy as it should be."

I'm not saying there are micro chips but if you haven't checked it out maybe it would be something to take a look at.

I have just dulled two razors very good ones of mine i did say 5o on my yellow coti i only use very milky slurry once the edge feels sticky sharp i gradualy dilute and i use ultra light strokes then finish on 25 to 50 on plain water strop realy nice and light linen and leather and to my surprismant they passed hht fairly good well goodinough with chest hair and the shave was very good and nice and smooth. I'm mastering these belgiums and i do think they take some beating i get good shave of my naniwas but still coti is a totaly differant shave much smoother but somtimes i get inconsistant results but not so often i'm getting there now. If slurry is right consistancy and gradualy lighter strokes are used a fine edge can be had without use of paste

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I have just dulled two razors very good ones of mine i did say 5o on my yellow coti i only use very milky slurry once the edge feels sticky sharp i gradualy dilute and i use ultra light strokes then finish on 25 to 50 on plain water strop realy nice and light linen and leather and to my surprismant they passed hht fairly good well goodinough with chest hair and the shave was very good and nice and smooth. I'm mastering these belgiums and i do think they take some beating i get good shave of my naniwas but still coti is a totaly differant shave much smoother but somtimes i get inconsistant results but not so often i'm getting there now. If slurry is right consistancy and gradualy lighter strokes are used a fine edge can be had without use of paste

Gary, I believe that the reason professional barbers favored coticules back in the old days when they shaved many customers was for exactly that reason. Other stones may have gotten the edge sharper but the coticule edge was more comfortable and especially more forgiving. Just IMHO.