Thread: Touch ups and shave strokes

I've noticed that a lot of people say they need to touch up pretty often (7-10 shaves) and many others say they need to touch up less often (every 25-30 shaves or more). All seem to agree that the steel and the beard play big roles. Just wondering if there is a correlation between the frequency of touch ups and whether a person does an atg pass or not. If this has been discussed before, sorry for bringing it up again. Also, I wasn't sure if this belonged here or in the general shaving forum, please move if necessary.

So, if you touch up frequently, do you do an atg pass? If you touch up less frequently, do you typically skip the atg?

Thanks,

Ken

I'm not so sure the ATG is the factor. I suspect it's a combination of how you hold the razor meaning angle of attack and your tolerance as the comfort level decreases and how sharp the razor started out. After that other things like beard toughness come into play.

I have a very tough beard. I find that if I watch my shave closely and get a good stretch on my skin, it minimizes touch-up.

Actually, I would theorize that an ATG pass is very hard on a razor's edge, especially if a beard is dense/coarse. Yes, stubble reduction has already taken place before ATG, but the angle at which the blade meets the stout whiskers still provides enough resistance to do some damage at the microscopic level. I don't have any microscope pics to back this up, only personal experience. But as our friend TBS pointed out there are many variables that contribute to the frequency of blade touch ups.

I have no idea if my beard counts as tough, but I can't get by without a light touchup on a barber's hone when I inch close to 7 shaves. I do WTG, XTG, ATG, and minor finishing touches.

That said, in January I got my razor honed at Rasage Poulin. I must have shaved 15+ times before the razor started to pull. After the first touchup on my barber's hone, I routinely touched up at a rate of 7 shaves.

I have no idea why the edge off a true honing stone (e.g. Norton) would be more durable than the edge off a barber hone, though.

I have only one straight, a DOVO Best 6/8, and shave 6 days a week with it. Strop on canvas+leather on my SRD 3" IV.

Originally Posted by MHV

That said, in January I got my razor honed at Rasage Poulin. I must have shaved 15+ times before the razor started to pull. After the first touchup on my barber's hone, I routinely touched up at a rate of 7 shaves.

I have no idea why the edge off a true honing stone (e.g. Norton) would be more durable than the edge off a barber hone, though.

Because the edge/bevel is smoother off of the higher grit stones/hones and it slices the hair with less friction, there by reducing the damage to the edge...

I know people keep attributing higher and higher grit to every hone out there, but I seriously doubt many Barber's Hones are over 8k they are designed to keep a shaving edge going on a razor just what you are doing with it...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Because the edge/bevel is smoother off of the higher grit stones/hones and it slices the hair with less friction, there by reducing the damage to the edge...

I know people keep attributing higher and higher grit to every hone out there, but I seriously doubt many Barber's Hones are over 8k they are designed to keep a shaving edge going on a razor just what you are doing with it...

I do have a paddle with CrOx laying around, so it could be a useful thing to do after a touchup, then?

What Glen said. I'm about a 2-3 weeker, but also beyond Norton's 8k (my finisher is a Spyderco Ultra-Fine). Beard does make a difference with wear and tear on the razor. How many strokes are made figures into edge degradation. Even if it's a shave with only ATG and XTG, if the shaver is not efficient and makes many strokes, a more gradual beard reduction than an experienced shaver, there will be more wear on the edge.

Yesterday I didn't stay loyal to the moist heat towel treatment, which for me usually isn't more than 3-4 minutes. I slapped a hot wet towel on my face and watched a movie on DVD while I let it soak for two, say.. five minute intervals. My hair was softer than the usual shave. The softer the beard hairs, the less wear on the edge. The more efficient the shaver (less strokes) the more shaves they get with a given edge. The better the stropping, the more shaves one can get.

ATG is only one factor, probably not the biggest factor either. I'd say, in the end, other factors are much bigger players in the whole "how many shaves per edge before refreshing" question.

Originally Posted by MHV

I do have a paddle with CrOx laying around, so it could be a useful thing to do after a touchup, then?

Yes, it could help with the friction, But if done wrong it would hurt on the wear of the edge..
This is what every post is basically saying, is that there are Sooooooo many variables to play with.. Once you get a baseline established then adjust one at a time and that should start extending in between honing times...
On the other hand, so what if you have to touch up every week or so to get a close/comfortable shave, so be it, that might be your routine... It isn't wrong if it works and you get good shaves, just so long as you keep improving go with it...

Great info! There are a lot of variables, that's true. That's one of the things that makes shaving with a straight so much fun. On another note, do you think atg shavers are more sensitive to changes in their razor's edge? That might make them feel like they need to sharpen sooner rather than later.

Ken