Do I need a better razor?

I've been shaving with a straight razor for a few years now, and love it. My first try was with a Dovo Shavette, and I still use that occasionally for travelling etc. The thing is, I have yet to be able to achieve the same sharpness with my normal razor, an old Swedish Eskilstuna blade which I am very fond of. It is a C.V. Heljestrand MK no 24, which is 14mm (9/16¨) across the blade.

So, question; do you guys achieve better sharpness than an industrial safety razor blade on your straight razors?

My gut feeling tells me it should be sharper. Should I buy a new razor with a known good edge to start with? Should I try to get the old blade honed? (I've had it sent off once, it helped, but not enough.)

Any feed back is appreciated!

i too started out with a shavette and have a 3/8 Eskilstuna. both will give you a great shave. honeing is just one ( although a big one) step . its your strop that will make or break your shave. i would if in your shoes send it to get honed and then read and watch everything i could find on stropping.you dont need a better razor, Eskilstuna made great razors.are my razors as sharp a say feather blade? no but they are smoother and more comfortable to shave with. hope this helps

In my opinion (i might be wrong as well) it is really difficult if not impossible to get straight razor sharper than industrially produced DE blade. But there is no even need to.
Comparing straight razor and DE is difficult as there are few differences to consider: DE blade is thinner and flexible. Bevel angle is also different. That is why they behave differently when shaving. Using these two require whole different techniques.
Now, again in my opinion, you can get better shaves with straight if your razor is sharp and your technique is ok. And as Cutalot said, you need a strop to give the final edge to your straight. Send your razor somewhere to get honed and get yourself a strop. You will find a world full of good advices and information here on SRP.

And no: You don't need another straight if you want to stick with only one straight razor.Your Heljestrand is an excellent razor. I have 2 Swedes myself and they are probably my best shavers. At least my favorites.

I have several Eskilstuna razors and they are fine shavers. I have never used a feather shavette so I can't compare them to a straight. I would suggest stropping on newspaper and see if that improves your edge. Other options are CrOx, diamond paste and diamond spray. Either of these three can be tried on newspaper (use the Cr Ox and diamond stuff sparingly) or apply it to a second linen or leather strop. Try some of these if you don;t want to sent out for re-honing again.

Good luck.

+1 for what Sailor said. At least with my setup [1], my straights are less sharp than a DE, but much more highly polished [2]. That's why the DE tends to irritate me more ATG, even though it produces a fine result.

[1] My setup is a W&B wedge honed on Swaty, finished on hard paddle with CR02.

[2] Sharpness refers to acuteness of cross-sectional angle, whereas polish refers to depth of abrasive scratches

Thats a good razor you have there, and you dont need another one. Wanting another one is a different story though..! :D

Feather and DE blades are coated in teflon which gives them that over-sharp feeling that some people like or dont like. This adds to the glide of the blade.

Its certainly possible to get a straight razor to shave as well as a DE blade and in fact I get better shaves with my straights than I do with my DE. They are different beasts, with different bevel angles, but I prefer the straight razor to the DE.

You can try strop pastes if you dont want to send the razor off to be honed, as Joed suggested, or get yourself a barber hone for use in touch ups. You can get barber hones on eBay.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Seconding what others have said...

I've used straights honed by three of the top honemeisters here, and none of them were as sharp as a commercial razor in my opinion. That being said, we're talking apples and oranges here. The cutting action of both is entirely different.

(I think the straight edge is slightly more rounded, especially after stropping, and it rides along on the skin. This pushes the skin down exposing the whisker a little lower before cutting. By riding on the skin, the blade edge doesn't shave off a layer or two of dead skin cells like Shavettes. That's my theory.)

I prefer a straight shave to a Shavette-like shave. Just feels so much better.

Thanks for the input! I think I really need the inspiration! My Merkur Classic has gotten too much use lately (might be all those rushed early mornings...)

I started writing a reply, but I got so inspired I just had to go strop and shave instead! :D I really like this razor.

I have a german leather strop, and I've generally used the more abrasive side of it to get a shaving edge quicker, but now I tried to use the other side longer to achieve more of a polished edge, I think it was nice. I generally use X-strokes, as I learned from an old barber here in town (Gothenburg, Sweden). He said that especially for these slimmer blades, a paddle and X-strokes is best. I try to be patient enough to be able to cut a hair an inch from my fingers when held. I haven't though about how the fine side could polish the edge. I'll try that more.

The thing is that the razor tugs a bit in the mustache, and in what could become a goatee. I've previously given the razor a few strokes on the strop before going there, and it helps. But that shouldn't be necessary, right? Also, some thinner hairs tend to be left even after shaving, when using the straight.

Generally, I shave after a hot shower, start with some organic almond oil, lather up, shave, and use the same oil as after shave. It's by far the best after shave I've tried, I have very sensitive skin.

I have another Swedish razor, but it turned out to be in much worse shape. (these things are not expensive) It would be nice to have something to hone with, but I need something of a set, right? What would be a good place to start? If I skip a new knife, I might as well get some honing equipment instead. :)

Are there people on this forum that could help getting a new edge on the second knife?

Really, thanks for answering my forum newbie questions! I've tried to inspire my friends, most now use brush and soap, but none have gotten to the straight razor. Yet, I hope.

*Found the Wiki, am reading!*