Thread: How many shaves?

How many shaves are you getting after a honing before you need anything other than linen or leather?

Originally Posted by dan656

How many shaves are you getting after a honing before you need anything other than linen or leather?

I have 14 straight razors in rotation. Several of my razors are going on a year without honing. Some just touch ups.

I enjoy honing, even if just for the sake of it. So it's pretty rare that my razors get to the point where they need a touch up. The longest I've gone without honing a blade is a month of stropping on linen/leather and shaving with just that one blade. And it was still fine, I just broke down and honed it out of boredom. So they can go quite a while if you care for them right.

There is no simple answer to your question. Variables to consider include, but are by no means limited to, the following:

1. Grind: Rule of thumb, the hollower the grind, the faster the edge needs a refresher.
2. Hardness of steel: Should be self explanatory. Except that extremel hard steels may be more brittle. That is a known unknown.
3. Angle on blade against face: Yes, that. Too steep an angle will put unnecessary stress on the edge.
4. Angle on razor on strop: Again, this should be self explanatory, and goes hand in hand with the previous point.
5. Quality and consistency of beard preparation: The resistance to cutting of an untreated whisker is the same as that of copper wire of the same diameter. Skimp on the beard prep, and pay with shorter lasting edges.
6. Finishing hone used: Some people like Feather DE blades. I hate them. Some people like edges "refined" on high grit hones. I hate them too. The edges, not necessarily the people who put them on razors. Call me old school, but anthing beyond a Coticule edge will lead to shorter lasting edges. YMMV and all that.

I have 7 razors in my rotation. Other than linen with paste and leather I touch them up once a year.

You will find your edges lasting longer the more experienced you get with shaving. Have a couple of razors with over 70 shaves on them that still shave fine. Was going to see how many I could get before a touch up, got bored with the experiment.
Iwasaki are reputed to have shaved more than 1000 customers with just a strop in the hands of a professional.

Sent from a moto x far far away...

I just touched up the Dovo Best Quality 5/8" half-hollow I had been using. I got 46 shaves out of it with only stropping on linen (25) and leather(80), after shaving. It was getting a little more irritation, so I switched to the next razor in my lineup and checked the Dovo and honed it.

I could have stropped with cr-ox to extend the life, but I really wanted to get to the next razor.

I have 7 razors that I rotate. I touch up each of them after every 10 shaves. I've never tried using it until it's tugging as I don't want to deal with it. Been doing this since I started 3 years ago and so far all my razors are still shaving well, including the one I own the longest which is 3 years old.

I have seven in my rotation, but I love the zen-like experience of honing. I think I usually go 7-10 shaves on a razor before I touch it up on my jnat, but I've been playing with diamond spray for the last month or so with good results also. I think any reason to hone is a good one!

I got 11 that are shave ready and I grab whatever looks good that day. Got these honed by others, not by me as I'm not quite ready to screw with a sharp, ready, razor yet. Been at this daily for the last two months with these and have not needed to mess with them yet. All still shave ready. I keep checking but they still stay sharp. Hoping some day to hone them but I'll keep waiting.