Should my razor stay sharp through one complete shave?

I started shaving only my cheeks, down around my jaw on both sides and neck all the was around. This left my mustache and beard on my chin. I never got a hint of the razor getting dull. I have finished 3 shaves which included my chin and the razor seems to not be very sharp as I finish up. My chin is the last place I shave. My beard in not very thick or my whiskars aren't very thick individually I don't think. My hair has always been considered fine. The only thing that changed in addition to now shaving my chin is I have only been using the $41 sight unseen razor I got on whippeddog.com. My other razor (Boker) has no handle right now. I'm waiting on material to make a new one. I just held it and I think I could still shave with it though.
So looking at the possibilities:

Razor is not really sharp to begin with and I need to improve my honing ability.
The blade steel on the razor I have used is not the best.
My beard is thicker than I thought it is.
My shaving ability is not very good.
Some or all of the above.

I've only been shaving about 3 months or so and I haven't shaved every day. So maybe it's my skill or ability that needs work.

The next shave I'll use the Boker to see if anything is different. I may be able to put the old handle on it temporarily.

I could use both razors for each shave but I haven't heard anyone say they need two razors on hand for one shave.

Any help or advise is appreciated.

Any ideas guys?

Jack

Exactly what makes me think the razor is dull is when shaving the thicker whiskars on my chin the edge will cut into the whiskars and then pull my skin. Sometimes a stroke goes smoother than other times. I have not found a good way to hold my skin still. I pull up at the top of my cheeks but don't know exactly where or how to pull the skin on my chin to make it tighter so it can't be pulled as easily. Maybe that info helps someone understand what's happening.

Jack

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Originally Posted by jackknifeh

Exactly what makes me think the razor is dull is when shaving the thicker whiskars on my chin the edge will cut into the whiskars and then pull my skin. Sometimes a stroke goes smoother than other times. I have not found a good way to hold my skin still. I pull up at the top of my cheeks but don't know exactly where or how to pull the skin on my chin to make it tighter so it can't be pulled as easily. Maybe that info helps someone understand what's happening.

Jack

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Sounds a bit like you just haven't figured out the right technique for your chin yet since it's sometimes smoother. Try to take notice and remember what you do/did the times it was smoother and try copying that the next time.

For me using my facial muscles works best for stretching, I look like a fish on dry land when shaving sometimes :)

I am guessing it is in the "some or all of the above" category. When you say you may need to improve your honing skills I take that to mean you have honed the razor after you got it from the vendor and you could be right on that. I think the chin and neck just below it have some of the toughest parts of anyone's beard and will really test the sharpness of a razo particularly going against the grain. A razor that is adequate doing the cheeks could be a bit dull for that area. Being a relative beginner to straight shaving and not doing it every day could also mean that your shaving technique is a little iffy too. Put all or some of that together and you could have some trouble on one of the harder sections of the face to shave.

Bob

Yeh it kind of sounds like youse need to take your blades to a stone for just a touch up. It's not difficult and is always a skill that everyone should learn. I normally may hit it on a 8k for a few licks and then to my naniwa 10k.

2 things come to mind, first is the stretching I push my teeth out and pull my cheeks back sometimes. This is done with my jaw muscles. Sometimes i will sort of do a bit of that and pull my cheek diagonally up my face. I also shave accross the point of my chin and diagonally down from the outsides inwards and then just a short north south down the flat.
The second thing is angle, due to all of the small angles that a chin is made of Holding consistent angles Is hard to acheive

Im my first few weeks of shaving I managed to dull two perfectly good razors with bad (leather) stropping technique. I overpressured blades on my strop and made them duller, not sharper. After a professional rehoning I went back to stropping on leather with attention to a smooth stroke and a very light touch - end of problems. It took me a couple of weeks to sort it out. My thoughts, as always, no charge. :)

Start with your chin. Then see how it works on your cheek. Could be any number of things but if you start with the hard area first that will eliminate some of the variables. This way you can discover if it's your skill at shaving or at the hone. Maybe spend some more time on the strop ?


Ed, are you looking in the fun house mirror again or is that just my imagination ?

Yeh moo you are most definitely right!!! I have dulled a blade or two while learning my stropping technique. It's really not anything anyone can explain to you. You would just have to see someone do it. Anyways as far as the stretch, that shouldn't dull the blade. That will merely affect the closeness of your shave.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

2 things come to mind, first is the stretching I push my teeth out and pull my cheeks back sometimes. This is done with my jaw muscles. Sometimes i will sort of do a bit of that and pull my cheek diagonally up my face. I also shave accross the point of my chin and diagonally down from the outsides inwards and then just a short north south down the flat.

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Ed, can we get a step by step demonstration of the facial contortion's - pic's preferred.........heheehe

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

Start with your chin. Then see how it works on your cheek. Could be any number of things but if you start with the hard area first that will eliminate some of the variables. This way you can discover if it's your skill at shaving or at the hone. Maybe spend some more time on the strop ?


Ed, are you looking in the fun house mirror again or is that just my imagination ?

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Yeah it did sound a bit confusing in hindsight :)

Does the razor feel dull when shaving your cheeks. If so it is.
If dull only when doing the chin. It may be dull &/or it is a technique issue.
You may have stropped the razor dull.
You may have allowed the edge to corrode into dullness, yes even in a short time.

I always keep two ready to go. I often strop my razor when I switch from left side to right as well. If I've jacked up the strop I can usually tell right away so i don't mess around and go to my back up.

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Originally Posted by Nspencer

I always keep two ready to go. I often strop my razor when I switch from left side to right as well. If I've jacked up the strop I can usually tell right away so i don't mess around and go to my back up.

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Agree, I have been doing this since I started playing around with hones, trying first with the honed-by-me razor and if it gives me trouble I revert to a pro-honed blade to compare it to. This gives you a better idea whether it's the blade, or technique, prep, whatever. Starting out its all about isolating variables when you get hung-up.

If, during each shave, your razor feels sharp to begin with and then feels dull by the end try stropping mid-shave. A lot of us have had to do that at some point. It's not something that is required when you gain experience but for now if it gets you through a shave comfortably then so be it.

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Originally Posted by Bamasamson

Yeh it kind of sounds like youse need to take your blades to a stone for just a touch up. It's not difficult and is always a skill that everyone should learn. I normally may hit it on a 8k for a few licks and then to my naniwa 10k.

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The finest grit stone I have now is an 8k Shapton glass. I have considered getting a finer grit (10 or 12k) but haven't decided which stone or grit. Any suggestions are appreciated on a finer grit stone. Is there a stone you like other than the naniwa or is that what you recommend? I've been told the 8k is acceptable as the finest grit for honing just my razors. I'm sure my honing technique needs improvement. I'm doing good so far and the only way I'm going to get any better rather quickly is to practice. Therefore I've been using the stones after every 2 or 3 shaves. Just for practice. I may be in a hard place trying to get started at shaving and shaving with my razors that I hone as I'm learning that as well. I'm making a handle for one on my razors now. When I get it done I may send one to be professionally honed. Then I'll just use it and strop, shave, strop like you are supposed to. The other I'll use to practice honing and use it also to see how I'm doing. Can't imagine going through all this just to remove hair from my face. :) I know it will be satisfying when it all comes together.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

2 things come to mind, first is the stretching I push my teeth out and pull my cheeks back sometimes. This is done with my jaw muscles. Sometimes i will sort of do a bit of that and pull my cheek diagonally up my face. I also shave accross the point of my chin and diagonally down from the outsides inwards and then just a short north south down the flat.
The second thing is angle, due to all of the small angles that a chin is made of Holding consistent angles Is hard to acheive

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The angle is a killer. Especially looking in a mirror. Also, I have to FORCE myself to go slow. Aftter a few slow, controlled, well excecuted strokes I feel cocky (sub-conciously) and speed up. Then, oops. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MisterMoo

Im my first few weeks of shaving I managed to dull two perfectly good razors with bad (leather) stropping technique. I overpressured blades on my strop and made them duller, not sharper. After a professional rehoning I went back to stropping on leather with attention to a smooth stroke and a very light touch - end of problems. It took me a couple of weeks to sort it out. My thoughts, as always, no charge. :)

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I bought a hanging strop and couldn't even come close to getting the hang of it. So now I only use bench strops I've used for knives with very high grit sprays as low as .1 micron. Also, the hanging strop I lay on a piece of wood. I think I may be complicating the stropping. I'm going to start doing one progression. I'm going to finish with my 8k stone, strop with a .5 micron strop since I don't have a finer grit stone and then the hanging strop. I may also use a bare kangaroo strop. It refines knive edges like nothing else I've seen. Don't see why it wouldn't put a very smooth edge on a razor.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Does the razor feel dull when shaving your cheeks. If so it is.
If dull only when doing the chin. It may be dull &/or it is a technique issue.
You may have stropped the razor dull.
You may have allowed the edge to corrode into dullness, yes even in a short time.

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About corrosion. After each shave I strop the edge then wipe the blade off with a tuf-cloth which I keep treated with Tuf-glide. This stuff prevents corrosion really well. So, I don't think that's an issue. Tuf-glide has made it HARD to force a patina on non-stainless knife blades.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

Start with your chin. Then see how it works on your cheek. Could be any number of things but if you start with the hard area first that will eliminate some of the variables. This way you can discover if it's your skill at shaving or at the hone. Maybe spend some more time on the strop ?

Ed, are you looking in the fun house mirror again or is that just my imagination ?

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I'll try starting with my chin. Sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the help and suggestions guys. I appreciate it more than you know. The only thing better than help from a forum would be if we all could get into a room and shave. But then we would have to watch Ed make faces. :)

Jack

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jackknifeh

The finest grit stone I have now is an 8k Shapton glass. I have considered getting a finer grit (10 or 12k) but haven't decided which stone or grit. Any suggestions are appreciated on a finer grit stone. Is there a stone you like other than the naniwa or is that what you recommend? I've been told the 8k is acceptable as the finest grit for honing just my razors. I'm sure my honing technique needs improvement. I'm doing good so far and the only way I'm going to get any better rather quickly is to practice. Therefore I've been using the stones after every 2 or 3 shaves. Just for practice. I may be in a hard place trying to get started at shaving and shaving with my razors that I hone as I'm learning that as well. I'm making a handle for one on my razors now. When I get it done I may send one to be professionally honed. Then I'll just use it and strop, shave, strop like you are supposed to. The other I'll use to practice honing and use it also to see how I'm doing. Can't imagine going through all this just to remove hair from my face. :) I know it will be satisfying when it all comes together.



The angle is a killer. Especially looking in a mirror. Also, I have to FORCE myself to go slow. Aftter a few slow, controlled, well excecuted strokes I feel cocky (sub-conciously) and speed up. Then, oops. :)



I bought a hanging strop and couldn't even come close to getting the hang of it. So now I only use bench strops I've used for knives with very high grit sprays as low as .1 micron. Also, the hanging strop I lay on a piece of wood. I think I may be complicating the stropping. I'm going to start doing one progression. I'm going to finish with my 8k stone, strop with a .5 micron strop since I don't have a finer grit stone and then the hanging strop. I may also use a bare kangaroo strop. It refines knive edges like nothing else I've seen. Don't see why it wouldn't put a very smooth edge on a razor.



About corrosion. After each shave I strop the edge then wipe the blade off with a tuf-cloth which I keep treated with Tuf-glide. This stuff prevents corrosion really well. So, I don't think that's an issue. Tuf-glide has made it HARD to force a patina on non-stainless knife blades.



I'll try starting with my chin. Sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the help and suggestions guys. I appreciate it more than you know. The only thing better than help from a forum would be if we all could get into a room and shave. But then we would have to watch Ed make faces. :)

Jack

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Cheeky, what's wrong with my faces :) roo strops work, I have one, but nothing else leatherwise to compare it to.
The naniwa 12k is a popular stone, I have that and a 10k (dont ask), along with some natural slates, the naniwas have a different feel to the slates but the naniwa edge is nice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jackknifeh

The finest grit stone I have now is an 8k Shapton glass. I have considered getting a finer grit (10 or 12k) but haven't decided which stone or grit. Any suggestions are appreciated on a finer grit stone. Is there a stone you like other than the naniwa or is that what you recommend? I've been told the 8k is acceptable as the finest grit for honing just my razors. I'm sure my honing technique needs improvement. I'm doing good so far and the only way I'm going to get any better rather quickly is to practice. Therefore I've been using the stones after every 2 or 3 shaves. Just for practice.

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I can't see how you could get any practice this way. After 2-3 shaves 4-7 strokes would bring the edge back. Any more could make things worse rather than better. And if the razor was finished on finer than 8k originally you may dislike the new edge.

A Naniwa 12k is relatively affordable and should bring a more comfortable edge than an 8k.
I have done more damage from poor stroking through the years than anything else...
Take it slow and steady. Good luck.

I have recently benefited from using a small 'microscope' though any bit of magnification may help you check/monitor your edges (I bought a 60x-100x scope off Amazon for <10 usd). My first thought on the chin is skin stretching (as others have stated)--it consistently seems to be the most difficult area for me to get a clean shave.

Might want to talk to Larry and find out what grit he uses to finish. My guess is that you are using an 8k edge of yours and his was much more refined. If this is the case then you won't get back to that with your current setup.

Good Luck!

I bought a Dovo Diamont, and I'm very interested in this, as I've yet to be able to shave a single whisker even after a professional honing.

My goal is to shave my face and head with the straight razor, but so far I've only tried shaving my cheeks to get comfortable with the technique. I've tried 3 different times, varying pressure, blade angle and skin stretch, and I don't feel any reduction of whiskers.

I'm worried also about my strop - frankly afraid to do this and risk dulling after the professional honing (which is a couple hours away from home), so I've only tried minimal stropping after the honing. I also wonder is it a problem if the strop is not at least as wide as or wider than the blade?

I'll likely try to find a professional barber who strops his own blades, and pay him to shave me with mine.

Any other novices have and overcome the same experience? If so, how?