Thread: Have I already dulled my razor?

I copied this from my "Beginner Purchase" thread, to get little more attention for this particular question.

Hello again!

Ok so now I have three straight razor shaves behind me, and I have managed to nick my self only three times so that barely any blood has been drawn. I think my stropping has gone somewhat decent, I learned the correct wrist movement and razor hold rather fast. The lather I have done with Proraso+MWF+Glycerin / Musco Real+MWF+Glycerin has been awesome.

My first shave took like an hour but now it´s down to 20-25 minutes or so, last shave I got no nicks at all which is a bonus.

Now I have a question for you guys. On the very first time I touched the strop with my blade, I managed to touch the polywebbing side with the edge of the blade. There was really no force applied at all, and the strop did not take any damage. It was the beginner mistake, where you flip the blade at the end of the stropping motion, and instead of starting motion towards the spine of the razor, I just layed the blade down on the strop and little twich from my wrist made the blade go towards on the edge side.

The question is; Can that cause damage to the edge? Roll it or something like that? Why I ask you is that I have felt that the razor is less sharp now, I can still shave the beard somewhat ok but there is alot tugging happening and I have to buff more in order to get clean results.

I can also see if I look very closely with a light reflecting on the bevel, two very small dark spots just above the very edge of the razor, like small dark spots on the bevel. What are those?

So basically have I managed the dull the blade already? I have shaven (due to little too much enthusiasm) every day, with a less than day old beard. My beard's individual hair is very thick, does that have something to do with the dull feeling?

Thank you already

Edit: Since the first shave I have done 60+40 on the strop, and outside the exact first time I touched the strop, the stropping has gone quite decent.
-Ymir

There's a couple factors at play here: newbie shaving technique and newbie stropping technique. It's almost impossible to determine which one dulled your blade (possibly both). However, premature dulling is normal for beginners.

Usually when an edge is rolled the razor becomes unshaveable. I suppose it's possible that the damage was minor enough to make it noticeably dull, but if it still shaves somewhat you can probably bring the edge back with your strop. The problem is that it takes experience to know how to use a strop for corrective purposes.

I would strop the crap out of it and see if that brings the edge back. If it doesn't then it probably needs to see a hone.

As well, what did you mean when you said "I have done 60+40 on the strop"?

You could also try one of the paste solutions- CrOx on balsa or fabric (I wouldn't recommend pasting the fabric on your only strop, though). There are threads on making your own; just do a search. Or, you could go to whipped dog and order his poor man's strop kit; it comes with a small leather strop and a piece of balsa charged with CrOx on one side and IrOx on the other. I have this kit, and while I don't really use the strop due to its small size and lack of fabric (it is quite handy for quick out-of-town trips), I find the pasted balsa to be really helpful.

I also have very thick individual beard hairs, and I've already gone through periods of wondering how much it effects the longevity of my edges. My experience seems to indicate, so far, that improved beard prep and improved stropping technique have more to do with edge longevity than beard type (except that these thick hairs may need more thorough prep- YMMV).

+1 on the advice above- try an extra long stropping session (perhaps put the strop on a counter or table to eliminate variables of pressure and strop tension). If that doesn't work, consider whipped dog's kit or a similar DIY solution; also, check out Lynn's video on blade maintenance. Good Luck!

Ymir it doesn't take much to dull the blade. A tip I picked up here is to carefully use a straight pin to see if you've rolled the edge. Use the tip of the pin and run it perpendicular to the edge in several different areas. Your light reflection seems to indicate a couple flat spots. I use a 20x loupe to inspect the edge and it's quite telling.

Stropping on linen then leather may work but I'm a big fan of the Naniwa 12K for starting the refresh. Actually there are a number of ways to refresh the edge, just depends on your preference.

Funny how this sport requires total concentration 100% of the time.

Whatever the cause, it does appear by your description that the razor is dull (tugging). This could be due to the incident you mention or it could be poor stropping in general.

When you say 60+40 are you meaning 60 canvas 40 leather? If so, I'd reverse that, i.e. 40 canvas 60 leather. I do 30/70 each and every time I shave with 10/10 after. As said above, another solution is a high grit hone or paste. Of course, another solution is to send it out for honing.

If you DO decide on honing, go very light and use only a few strokes. Depending on the hone you may need only 10 to 20; I can refresh very successfully on my 16k Shapton with ten laps. Also, try and find out if the razor was honed with or without tape. At this stage you may wish to copy that (i.e. if it was honed with tape use tape, if without use no tape). Later on, you may decide to re-set the bevel if you want to differ (i.e. use tape where none was used or vice versa).

The dark spots near the edge are probably water stains. Ensure you dry the razor very well and ensure you apply something to protect the edge, I use pure Eucalyptus oil. The 10/10 stropping post shave also cleans and dries the edge. Ensure you store the razor away from moisture, I store mine in two three-razor leather cases on the desk in my bedroom; sometimes a bathroom is the worst place to store a razor (wet and humid).

Carl