Thread: Better feedback (and better shave) from full hollow?

I've been shaving with a straight for about six weeks. Until last week, I'd been shaving exclusively with a 11/16" Super Kama full hollow grind that seems quite light. I'd really been getting superb shaves everywhere except around my mouth and below my chin, where I had some problems cutting cleanly through the tough whiskers. The razor also made a lot of noise, during my shave, which I attributed to the grind. Hoping to to get a quieter razor that would cut better through the tough whiskers, I got a half-hollow (I think) 5/8" Henckels 55 and sent it to Lynn to be honed.

Last week, I got that back from Lynn and looked forward to my first shave Saturday morning. On the first cheek, I immediately noticed that it was quieter and very smooth shaving. When I got to my tough whiskers it pulled a little, but seemed to be cutting well. But when I rinsed my face in preparation for lathering up for a second pass, I was surprised to feel lots of stubble everywhere. I proceeded with a second (XTG) pass, which was also quite smooth and quiet. Until this shave, two passes have been consistently leaving me well-shaven, but I still had patches of stubble, particularly near my ears and near the back of my jawline. I've now shaved with the razor four times and my results are improving, but I still have stubbly patches.

So what's the problem? The razor is unambiguously sharp and feels very smooth during the shave, so it seems like it should be cutting hairs well and shaving close. But it's not . . . at least in some areas. Since the areas it's not shaving well are difficult to see in the mirror, my current thinking is that the lack of feedback from the half-hollow means that I'm not hitting the angles quite right. Does anyone else have similar experience? Does anyone have alternative theories?

I'm guessing you might need a little more angle on it, particularly if it's a thicker blade with a wider bevel than the full hollow.

I also received my Lynn honed blade, but the blade still needed to be paddle stroped on the 1.0 them 0.5 micron to give that real close shave I was looking for.

Good Luck.

I've noticed an on going theme here at SRP concerning Lynns honing and the comments. It seems that those who have been shaving with a straight for sometime are generally quite happy with Lynns services, but those who are in the beginning stages of straight razor using complain that their razors aren't quite sharp enough.
I have never used a honing service for my razors , but I did receive a Lynn honed razor through a third party and if I wasn't so self sufficient minded I would have no problem sending my blades to lynn all the time!!
After saying all that let me get to the point. I believe that either your stropping is inadequate (maybe your not stropping enough or you need a tad more pressure or you are lifting the spine a tad) and possibly your shaving angles are off!
EDIT: I have also noticed that when I shave with a freshly honed razor it is not as comfortable the first shave but by the second or third shave it is much nicer!


I hope this helps,
Mark Avery

JMS - I agree with your diagnosis.

I've sold a few razors as "shave-ready" with the disclaimer that I'm not a honemeister and have always told the buyers to give the razor a good stropping after cleaning of the mineral oil I use to prevent rust during shipping. The caveat I add to this is that newbies might be better served by shaving first given the real possiblity of screwing the edge up with improper stropping.

I also agree that my freshly honed razors shave better after a couple of shaves/a really good stropping. I also find that my razors that I finish on a fine barber's hone tend to have a slightly smoother edge than the ones I finish on diamond paste - but that's likely just my perception.

To get to the point, I think newbies should consider whether they might be screwing up a freshly honed edge by improper technique (this is not directed to anyone in specific - just a general comment) as opposed to the razor not being sharp enough.

Regarding shaving with a heavier grind, I do find they shave differently and that you need to adjust your technique to suit the particular razor you're shaving with.

To be clear, gents, I was not trying to imply that Lynn's honing was less than excellent. I think he did a superb job and I tried to make that clear by pointing out that it shaved "very smoothly" and "close [most places]." My objective in starting this thread was to figure out whether I'm getting less than satisfactory closeness because my technique is bad (in which case, I'd appreciate tips!) or that full hollows are just better razors for me than stiffer grinds.

I don't think the problem is in my stropping for two reasons:
(1) I shaved the first time with this razor before I stropped and the second time after I stropped and my second shave was better.
(2) I've stopped my other razor many times and get excellent shaves from it (though this makes me wonder if different stropping techniques apply to stiffer grinds?).

As I said in my first post on this thread, I think it's likely that my shaving angles are bad. Can anyone think of other reasons I'd get less good results with the new razor with a stiffer grind?

I am always amazed to hear that someone would use a razor, which has not been stropped right before use (Ilija says 15 min but I like to keep this window shorter)! But if you get good results like this - more poweer to you!

If you used a full hollow before and got decent shaves - unlikely that you dulled it stropping.

Is the wedge a smiling edge? this can explain some missed areas. Also - is it significantly bigger? This might need adjustments. By the way - check out the photo on JL's avatar - I specifically asked him about it - because for a good shave he uses a monstrous angle with a huge blade from Bill Ellis (10/8 or 12/8, forgot which one)

Cheers
Ivo

Thanks for your thoughts, Ivo. The Henckels is actually a little smaller at 5/8", while my Kama is 11/16". Neither has any more than a very slight smile.

I shaved with the Henckels again this morning. I held the razor at a steeper angle than I have previously and got better results. I still have some rough patches at the back of my jawline, near my ears, but I think that's just an indication I'm not getting the right blade angle back there.

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and suggestions!

Just to add my 2 cents to the discussion - I prefer the heavier grinds as they seem to suit my beard type better than the hollows. Having bought a couple of hollows recently, I have noticed that there's a definite technique change required to achieve the same shave performance. In fact, for me the first couple of times with a hollow grind after using say a wedge give me worse shaves unless I'm attentive.

So I'm definitely in the "different strokes for different grinds" camp on this one. Probably with a bit of time and practice your fuller grind razor will give you better shaves.

James.

I like a razor that has some steel in it. I have two daily shavers I made. One is a full hollow and one is a 1/4 hollow. Both are excellent shavers and I get baby-butt smooth shaves with either one. I've come to prefer the more solid 1/4 hollow, though.... just because I like the weight better.