Thread: What constitutes a bad razor?

Not to stir the pot, but I don't know if I've ever checked at the 1000 grit level to see if hairs will just lay over without stropping, but coming off of a shapton and not spending an overly large amount of time on the 1000, I would guess that they don't (my razors never see this stone more than once).

I just like to make sure the bevel on the stones is created with *no* pressure and that the work is done all the way to the edge on both sides (with *no* pressure required).

Do folks here with experience really check their edges after the 1000 stone to see if the edge shaves there?

I usually don't do anything other than check the edges with my fingernail at the 1k level, and then with a loupe once I get to a stone that leaves a polish, and no real hair tests until the edge is finished.

I guess what I'm saying is I would imagine a lot of time is being spent on the 1k stone that doesn't need to be spent there once a decent bevel that goes all the way to the edge is already formed, especially on an aggressive stone like a shapton or something that will cut deeply with all but the lightest pressure.

As far as junk razors, I can think of a couple of things:
* Bad grind or warped (slightly warped is the biggest pain to me on a decent euro-origin razor, there should be no bad grinds at that level of quality)
* and in junk razors, the ones with unspecified and not so great steel that leads to unsatisfying sharpness or an overly fragile edge (that is if they aren't already warped or poorly ground, which is pretty common in my experience).

[QUOTE=Jp1munoz;857410]I went back to the John prince and tried a bit of atg. That was a nightmare. It felt like the blade was giving way it just felt flimsy and week, and a little like it was pulling. It was just horrible all the way around.

I tried a biedermeier wedge that I also honed Saturday and trimmed the beard on my checks and shaved my mustache. Got a great bbs shave with it. So now I'm confused as heck and frustrated.
QUOTE]

These two statements make me think you are using to much pressure, the wedge grind is much less critical of pressure...

Originally Posted by DaveW

Do folks here with experience really check their edges after the 1000 stone to see if the edge shaves there?

Yes but armhair, you could try the real shave and learn a ton about your honing if you dare...

I usually don't do anything other than check the edges with my fingernail at the 1k level, and then with a loupe once I get to a stone that leaves a polish, and no real hair tests until the edge is finished.

TNT is a great indicator too, and is also very nice for checking for roughness, either one works, and both can have downsides, Whichever works best for you is fine ....

Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

There is no magic number just stay on the 1k until every part of the razor (point to heel) Cuts hair. Colin

That is exactly what i did, and i got a horrible shave. so i thought making hair "pop" was the sweet spot. just didnt get what popping was. i'm going to give it another shot. should i go back to the 1k to make hair pop? or just continue on the 4k/8k?

Originally Posted by Jp1munoz

That is exactly what i did, and i got a horrible shave. so i thought making hair "pop" was the sweet spot. just didnt get what popping was. i'm going to give it another shot. should i go back to the 1k to make hair pop? or just continue on the 4k/8k?

If you have hair popping and a horrible shave, it would seem that you haven't done enough polishing, or that maybe you are doing something that's creating a fragile or torn edge.

Did you use anything after the stone to ease the aggressiveness of the edge? (i see you used a bare strop and canvas, maybe some something less aggressive than aluminum oxide stones would be a good step - a paste or a different hone - paste being much cheaper).

Don't discount the fact that you're mentioning the razor is super light. If you are used to the authority of a razor that has a hefty spine, or especially a wedge, a very very light razor can feel a bit jerky and dangerous even at the same sharpness. It can (in my experience) be a lot less forgiving to too much honing pressure if the grind is super delicate, too.

After on the 1k it should cut hair not "pop" it. Put up a few pics for us of the razor and maybe a few of you honing it. Something funny is goin on and i'd like to rule out the Newbie Factor.

[QUOTE=gssixgun;857590]

Originally Posted by Jp1munoz

I went back to the John prince and tried a bit of atg. That was a nightmare. It felt like the blade was giving way it just felt flimsy and week, and a little like it was pulling. It was just horrible all the way around.

I tried a biedermeier wedge that I also honed Saturday and trimmed the beard on my checks and shaved my mustache. Got a great bbs shave with it. So now I'm confused as heck and frustrated.
QUOTE]

if i used too much pressure, how do i remedy the issue? back to polishing? or rebeveling?

These two statements make me think you are using to much pressure, the wedge grind is much less critical of pressure...




TNT is a great indicator too, and is also very nice for checking for roughness, either one works, and both can have downsides, Whichever works best for you is fine ....

Originally Posted by TrilliumLT

After on the 1k it should cut hair not "pop" it. Put up a few pics for us of the razor and maybe a few of you honing it. Something funny is goin on and i'd like to rule out the Newbie Factor.

ill get that up when i get home around seven. thank you.

If you used too much pressure but got all the way to the edge, you should be able to hone the razor with your polish stone, or your semi-polish and then polish stone (you're using a norton, right?). You could take a few very light swipes with the 4k side, and do whatever you would do after you have the bevel set to finish the edge. With less pressure, you should already be working right on the edge because you're not flattening it out while you're honing.

Since it's the next day, you may have done this already.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I am going agree 99% with Joe on this, a crappy razor is a blade that will not take or will not hold an edge. That said, most vintage razors do not fall into this category. It sounds to me as if you need to go back to the 1k level, I like to get my razors to "popping hair" at this stage whereas Joe seems to like his to "poop". He must create one "scary sharp" edge to achieve this!


Joe, please do not edit your post, its just too funny!

LOL, yea fat fingers. Off topic: Why do sharks circle their prey before they attack? Answer: Because they taste better w/o the poop.

I am no expert but I had a very similar problem, try doing a search for microchipping..... when I saw the three microchips on my "slightly ucomfortable but agressively sharp" razor i couldnt believe my eyes!!