Thread: Is it my honing or my Wapi?

I've been working for a few weeks with a Wapi to try to improve my honing skills. I've had it in passable shaving condition for several weeks and I've been playing around with different finishing hones (thuringen, coticule and Chinese 12K) to see what I like best. The shave before last, after some strokes on a coticule and plain leather stropping, I got beautiful shaves on both cheeks and a decent shave around my mouth and chin (which I do last). This morning, I got a decent shave on my first cheek, a mediocre shave on my second cheek, and a poor shave around my mouth and chin.

I'm surprised the edge seems to deteriorate so much from the first to the second shave and during each shave, particularly since I didn't use pastes to refine the edge. What do you gents think: do Wapi edges degrade this quickly, or is my honing somehow deficient?

I'm getting similar results with my Wapi but iv'e started to use the linen side of the strop fist & this does seem to be helping. Iv'e just ordered an ultrafine spyderco hone to see if this will help.
Joel at badger& blade has just given the spyderco ceramic hone a massive thumbs up .Got the fine &medium already so we will see.Paul
Ive just had my daily shave with the Wapi.Iused fine Spyderco pocket hone to touch up edge & now it passes the HHT easily .It seems that the wapi prefersatouch on the hone & strop on plain leathr.Iv'e just started to try & get my razors shave ready with hones & plain leather strop.
Before i used spyderco fine I was trying to put a fine polished edge on it .Not with alot of success.Paul

I received a Wapi about 3 weeks ago now I wrote about my first impressions in this thread "Ramblin' Thoughts on my new Wapienica"
I noticed a lot of hone wear on the first sharpening as compared to other new razors.... My thought was that if these Wapis really are "surgical" razors maybe they were not designed for a lifetime of use like other razors are. Now I have used mine three times now and the shaves were all excellent but I have never tried shaving with any razor without my morning ritual of 20 laps on linen then 25 on leather. Maybe some other Wapi owners will chime in with more results over a longer period of time...

I think that was in your razor a wire edge that has been removed during shaving!

That occurred to me, but I thought a wire edge was unlikely since it shaved my first two cheeks so comfortably.

I have honed and shaved with many of these razors and have not found the edge to deteriorate any more rapidly than with other razors.

Maybe a poor stropping?

Originally Posted by dylandog

Maybe a poor stropping?

Maybe, but the edge seemed to deteriorate within each shave and from the first shave to the second. I figured if I hadn't stropped well, both shaves would have started badly.

Originally Posted by SteveS

Maybe, but the edge seemed to deteriorate within each shave and from the first shave to the second. I figured if I hadn't stropped well, both shaves would have started badly.

Deteriorating within the shave sounds like you were overhoned. I guess I didn't gather that part from your previous posts. I wasn't suggesting that your stropping technique is off per se, only that maybe you were sloppy once, hence the sense of deterioration between shave one and shave two.

I had a razor that I put a great edge on and it gave me a great shave, and then one shave later was lousy. I was on the verge of touching it up and then thought, I wonder if I've just done a half-assed job stropping it. And sure enough the next shave was great. I've since begun to pay a lot more attention to stropping, and read through threads by Scott (honedright), JoshEarl, and Alan Davis.

There is remarkable variation in how long different razors will hold an edge, but I've never heard of a properly honed, properly stropped razor losing its edge after one shave. I suppose it's possible, but I would think steel that soft wouldn't be taking a good edge in the first place.

I just honed my Wapi for the first time today, and did notice that the spine did take a lot of wear considering...but then again, it was the first time I ever honed a razor, so it could very well be my techinique.

It shaved alright, but not quite as well as the razor I got from HeavyDuty, but I don't know whether that is because I shaved off the 4k/8k stone and not a coticule or pasted strop.

I also found that one side of the razor was perfectly flat while the other was a little bowed...but again, could just be me ...worked itself out after the first pyramid.

Hope this helps...

Mark