Thread: Razor problem? Or is it just me?

I made the following post in the beginners section, and one of the suggestions was that I repost it here in the honing section, and someone might be able to give me some guidance. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I have been straight shaving for about a month and a half. My shaves are getting better and better, but they are still pretty bad.

Problems
1. I have to do like four passes with two or three of them ATG. Some parts of my face are BBS, but on shaving day it feels like I am getting a big diaper rash! One time I did five passes, that's my max...

2. The toe of my razor fails to cut my beard regardless of the cutting angle. So I have whiskers that I can never seem to cut near my ears and sideburns.

Solutions/ Corrective Actions?
It occurred to me that I might have messed up my razor, either through closing it on the scales or through bad stropping. My lather is really good, as well as my beard prep. So I think we can eliminate those two variables.

One of the things that I have done to correct my problems is to get a microscope from Radio Shack and examine the blade at X100 magnification. I noticed that the edge is had some small diagonal markings going from the edge, but was very smooth compared to some other non-shave ready razors that I have. So I took my razor to the barber hone for 5 laps and re-checked. the small markings had lessened. So I repeated the process. In all I did 15 laps on the barber hone. After a shave test, I have gotten my smoothest shave yet, however, I still had to do 4 passes.

Upon further inspection of the blade under the microscope, I noticed, very very tiny inconsistencies along the edge of the blade. Could this be micro-chipping? Also I notice that the light reflects off the edge of the razor. At first I thought that might be a rolled edge, but I notice the same thing on the other side of the razor. It makes me think that the edges of the razor are not coming together seamlessly. Could this be a wire edge? or a double bevel? I don't think it is a double bevel because it is so tiny. So I did some more work on it with the barber hone, and am going to shave test it tomorrow.

Any advice you could give me would be great! Also if anyone could shed light on the observations about my razor I would appreciate it!Here is a picture of my barber's hone.

The only advice I can give is to send the razor off to one of the many fine honing masters we have here on this site, do a search in the classifieds and when you get the razor back just shave with it, no stroping first, that would take any poor stroping technique out of the equatiion, and then you will know what a good shave should feel like.
Just my opinion, what to see what other advise you on this thread.

tinkersd

The only advice I can give is to send the razor off to one of the many fine honing masters we have here on this site, do a search in the classifieds and when you get the razor back just shave with it, no stroping first, that would take any poor stroping technique out of the equatiion, and then you will know what a good shave should feel like.
Just my opinion, what to see what other advise you on this thread.

tinkersd

sorry for the double post, hitch in computer I suppose

[SIZE=4]I concur with sending the razor off to a honemaster. That way you know that when you get it back that the bevel is right. Once the bevel is right, it is easy to keep the edge up. Also, then you will know what a sharp razor is supposed to feel like. Don't strop it when you get it back so that you don't dull it again./SIZE]

. . . Also I notice that the light reflects off the edge of the razor. At first I thought that might be a rolled edge, but I notice the same thing on the other side of the razor. It makes me think that the edges of the razor are not coming together seamlessly.

Here's a test I use:

Get under a good, point-source of light -- the sun works nicely. Or use a single long flourescent tube, with the blade of the razor aligned with the tube.

Rotate the razor so that you can see the light reflected off one bevel. Rotate it _slowly_ so that you can see the light reflected off the other bevel.

In between those two positions, there should be _no_ reflection off the edge. If you see a reflection, the bevel hasn't been set properly.

A honed edge should be "invisible", or it should "cut the light". Any flashes are a sign of an imperfect bevel.

If you can feel that a part of the edge is sharp (that is, it shaves OK) and another part is dull (that is, it doesn't shave OK), believe your senses.

More honing is needed, most likely.

. . Charles

The big trick to this is that you've not been at it for very long. All the best information in the world isn't as helpful to you now, as it will be in 6 months. This is just my experience. Reading back through things people helped me with, there's a lot of it that I just didn't understand as well then, as I do now.

For new shavers, I think about the worst thing a person can do is start self remedies. Lynn honed your razor initially, so the fastest answer would come from him. It'd get there in a day from where you're at. I don't know what his turnaround time is though. I don't really think a new guy is going to be able to fix something they messed up. I could be all wet, but it's just the way it went for me. I spent a TON of time and effort trying to self remedy. There are some tactile things that need to be learned. And those things can't be taught or explained very well. It comes with practice. It comes faster with guided practice. At any rate, I think it'd be a good investment of your two dollars to wrap the razor up and send it to Lynn to check out.

In addition, your barber hone needs some love.

Originally Posted by regularjoe

In addition, your barber hone needs some love.

How do you go about fixing the hone? I read somewhere that you shouldn't lap barber hones...

Easy fix mate! It's great that you actually looked at the edge under a microscope rather than guessing. What you're looking at is your not getting to the edge. Put a piece of tape on the spine and try the hone again then look under the scope. Look for the diagonal lines to run out to the edge of the edge.

Don't worry about rolling the edge. Very difficult to do and I'm almost going to say its a myth as I've never seen it under the scope.

Lapping barber hones is kinda one of those YMMV things. Some don't see any point in it. Some do. I do, especially in this case. I'm not saying you need to break out a DMT and start grinding away. What works best for me is another barber hone actually. I rub two together under running water, until I've got a nice blemish free honing surface. Yours appears to have some breaks and cuts in the honing surface. This stuff isn't good for the edge. It should be smooth and shiny, with no blemishes. This isn't a ceramic barber hone, but it should give you an idea for what yours oughta look like when you're ready to use it. There is water on this little stone, but the perfect, blemish free surface is key IMHO. If you don't have another barber hone, just use sandpaper and water. Barber hones are hard. It's going to take time. But I think the efforts are worth it. There are threads on lapping barber hones available here on SRP. Type" barber hone lapping" into the google search in the top right, and off you'll go. Oh, and you'll notice pretty soon, that everything you read somewhere can be refuted by someone else, somewhere else. lol. The list of universally accepted rules when it comes to hones, razors, honing, or shaving, is very, very short. And the it's reason you'll see the letters YMMV attached to just about every suggestion you read. So before you take my advice, go on a short search, and read what other people say. If you come away feeling like your hone is just fine, then that's cool. Use it as is. There are a lot of different reasons why your shave isn't as good as it could be just yet. It really could be anything at this point. But, I wouldn't use that barber hone in that condition. That's me. Don't put it at the top of the to do list though. I'd say first on that list is packaging your razor, or calling Lynn or Don at SRD and letting them sort you out over the phone. Oh...sandpaper grits...220, 320, 400, 800, 1000, 2000, and then some Micromesh if you got it. But like I said, Your Mileage May Vary.