Thread: How often do you "refresh" your blade?

Hi all. Relatively new here (although I've been lurking a bit). Been straight razor shaving for almost a year, and honing most of my razors during that time gaining experience. The good news is that I am starting to get to that point of confidence that I can really get my razor sharp...beautiful shaves, very smooth, no pulling/irritation, etc. BUT, it seems after about 4 to 5 shaves my blades lose that "loving feeling"...not horrible, but not "good as new". So my question to you fellers...how often do you touch up the blade? How so (back to the finishing hone, paddle strop, hanging linen with compound)? Maybe my honing still needs work . I have definitely gotten where I expect the blades/shave to be so good whereas a few months ago I was just happy to be shaving and not nicking myself .
Greg

As often as you feel they need it is, imo, what you should go by. How long between refreshing will depend on (at least) the razor, your shave technique, your beard/beard prep, and what you consider "to dull."

Personally, I don't think I've ever had to touch up a razor that was previously shave ready, but I hardly shave with my own razors...

Mine varies depending on the blade. I have a Dovo full hollow that went nearly 6 months without a touch up-- it just kept going and going and going...

Whereas I have a Livi 1/2 hollow and a Wacker 1/4 hollow which need a touch up about once every 2 months

(I rotate through 3 razors)


-Chief

Personally, I don't think I've ever had to touch up a razor that was previously shave ready, but I hardly shave with my own razors...

Just wondering.... if you don't shave with your own razors, whose razors are you shaving with?

Originally Posted by mikedelo

Just wondering.... if you don't shave with your own razors, whose razors are you shaving with?

I'm always looking for more blades to add to my "keeper's," but they don't all make the cut. Those that don't go up on the classifieds, and I'm pretty selective. Lots of shave testing...

The question of how often blades are touched up is interesting to me. I use pasted balsa wood strops primarily, which requires an edge trailing pass. I didn't think much of it until a day or two ago when someone said they thought that honing on stone produced a more durable edge in comparison because it was less likely to have a metal burr at the edge because of the edge first passes. I don't know whether this is true or not. If so, it would have a bearing on the original posted question.

Originally Posted by Hawkins

Hi all. Relatively new here (although I've been lurking a bit). Been straight razor shaving for almost a year, and honing most of my razors during that time gaining experience. The good news is that I am starting to get to that point of confidence that I can really get my razor sharp...beautiful shaves, very smooth, no pulling/irritation, etc. BUT, it seems after about 4 to 5 shaves my blades lose that "loving feeling"...not horrible, but not "good as new". So my question to you fellers...how often do you touch up the blade? How so (back to the finishing hone, paddle strop, hanging linen with compound)? Maybe my honing still needs work . I have definitely gotten where I expect the blades/shave to be so good whereas a few months ago I was just happy to be shaving and not nicking myself .
Greg

I'm with Lee on this. I can't remember touching up any of my razors. I don't use mine often either but I know I can maintain an edge a long time with just my strop.
If it is happening with all your razors it is likely your honing , stropping, edge rusting between shaves & thus degrading or a tungsten beard or any combination of the above. Have a look under magnification of a fresh edge & your less fresh ones. It may tell you something.
If it only happens with some razors then it is possibly the razors fault.

I've only touched up one razor in the last 2 1/2 yrs (not counting the Hart for obvious reasons), but I don't use the same blade every day. Still, I've got a couple of razors with 100+ shaves on them that are still going, the one I used this morning has ~140 and still performed beautifully.

However when I was a freshman I also had to touch up my blades fairly frequently - usually somewhere between 5 and 15 days. Better prep helped, as did better shaving technique, but by far the biggest improvement came from stropping properly.

I dont really do it on a time table. if a razor starts to pull, i will hit one of the three, paste, nakayama, coticule. All depending on how i honed the razors.

/really need to utilize my honing blog....

Seems like every time I get ready to shave, my beard breaks out of its huddle and forms a defensive line. So I end up getting between 6 and 8 shaves before something, other than stropping on leather, has to be done. Usually I do 5-6 laps on a hard balsa strop with crox and then strop on leather and I am good to go again.
I think if it wasn't for good beard prep I would only see maybe 4 shaves out of a razor. Thank you Lynn for those great instructions on your video.

Ray