This sounds goofy, but on several of my razors, one side of my face feels like it shaves different than the other (razor seems sharper).
I switch hands, so the razor side is switched too.
Can the quality of the hone be different on each side?
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This sounds goofy, but on several of my razors, one side of my face feels like it shaves different than the other (razor seems sharper).
I switch hands, so the razor side is switched too.
Can the quality of the hone be different on each side?
nope, it's the difference between your hands, try to figure out what you're doing differently with the hand that works :)
If it was happening to only one razor of several then I would say that the blade might be warped, but since you are saying that it is happening on several razors then it is probably technique.
I have one razor that is out of balance from right to left. One side likes to rotate into my face, the other side likes to rotate away from my face. It shaves great as long as I remember to pay attention to my technique when using it. Some day I'll fix its balance issues.
Sounds like a stropping technique problem to me. If you use a hanging strop, in the future try laying it on a flat surface. However, it sounds like you've rolled the edges, so the first thing will be getting them re-honed.
I have heard guys claim this, but really I think it is your hand.
I shave with the same hand, changing to a knife type hold on my left side, I am right handed. It does feel different, don’t know that it feels less sharp.
It also can be stropping where the thin edge is leaning in one direction, that might cause a different feel and possibly in performance.
The edge should be equally sharp on either side.
I myself am rather heavy handed with my dominant hand and it can cause me to use too much pressure and make the shave somewhat uncomfortable on that side if I don't pay attention. I would suggest paying close attention to the amount of pressure you are using and make sure you stretch your skin well. If your skin is stretched well and you see the razor deflecting the skin then it is too much pressure.
Some of this speculation could be sorted out if one question could be answered. Is it always the same side of the face that seems to be receiving the sharper edge?
Although I did learn to shave with either hand, I just shave with my dominant right hand because I am so used to it, and didn't find using my left advantageous. That said, I early on found, using my right hand, I get the right side smoother/closer on my first down pass than I do the left side of my face. This is with any and all razors. I've come to the conclusion that it has to do with slight differences in blade angle and stroke.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
Outside of some sort of really unusual stropping technique that somehow gets one side better than the other without other detrimental problems with the edge, I have found that I actually have to shave differently between my dominant and non-dominant hands to get the same results. My grip is slightly different between the two, as is the pattern of shaving that I pursue on each side. It took me a while to realize that I needed to take a different approach with each hand to get the same result on both sides.
Yes, it's the same side.
I don't think it is blade pressure or angle.
It is the feel you get when an edge starts to degrade and thinking of pulling.
Seems to need a little more effort (push) to cut through the first pass of whiskers.
It sounds different too, but my two ears hear different, and can't be relied on.
Could maybe be a slightly different bevel on each side, but on so many razors?
It's just one of those quirks that is there on most shaves.
Another consideration might be differences in whiskers. I have areas on my phizzog that are coarser here and there, than other areas. A couple of patches on either side of my windpipe are tough as nails and require extra effort to get smooth.
If you haven't already, try shaving the side that feels off, first. See if it's still the same result, or does the effect reverse too? :thinking:Quote:
Originally Posted by Neckbone
Sounds like a rolled edge to me. Try palm stropping and see if you can feel a rolled edge.
Lets think about this logically. The edge is the edge. The two bevels meet at an angle, Ideally forming an Isosceles triangle. The sharpness is the apex and there is only one. If it is not an Isosceles triangle, it requires an adjustment of the angle of the blade to present the same "angle of attack" to the whiskers.
Stropped up some "pain" myself this morning. Was in there flying up and down the leather, and went from "Hero to zero" when I realized I was flipping it wrong and probably curled the edge. My concerns were validated when I spent the next 15 minutes pulling beard hair out instead of shaving it like it had done the day before. I'll fix it tonight but just a few moments of not paying attention to such detail and your headed down a "rabbit hole" on your shave.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoelLewicki
I consider myself pretty damn good at sharpening since I've been sharpening my own hunting knives, wives kitchen collection, and pretty much everyone else's knives since I can remember but razor sharpening is a whole new level of complexity. Cutting arm hairs is easy.....cutting a single hair placed on top of the blade...not so easy.
I was thinking along these lines. I'm a newbie so my opinion is not worth much. Not enough experience. I'm only posting about this now because a very similar discussion occurred on a knife forum. Someone said they could shave with his knife after sharpening it but only with one side on his arm. Flip the blade over and it wouldn't shave arm hair as well. Finally he determined he was leaving a microscopic burr on the edge. I don't know if it is relevant but the situations seemed similar. A high level of magnification would be nice (60x or higher) to examine the edge if only to eliminate the razor as a potential culprit.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesman7
If bevel is not very good, and the degree of polishing with higher grit stones is unequal, then could be.
I experience the same thing. I think it may be the blade, despite others' believing otherwise. But I think it may be more likely that your (and my) whiskers on that side of the face grow in a different direction.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neckbone
Been there done that. It was lack of experience for me
It has to be (in my mind, anyway) the difference in technique between the two sides of the face. As Splashone has pointed out, there is only one edge on the razor...or you don't have an "edge". My beard grows differently in direction on the two sides of my face, so I have to alter my strokes. Maybe yours does too. Have you mapped it?
If you switch hands is for sure a Diff in blade angle and a diff in Visual perspective.
Practice, the blade should shave the same on both sides.
It's happened with several razors, and always on the same side of your face. So either you've rolled the edges on several razors, all in the same direction, or it's just the difference in technique between your right hand and your left. Sometimes the easy answer is the right answer.........
I notice this too. There are some variables that have to be figure in. First, I do think the facial hair really is different on different sides of the face. Our faces are absolutely not symmetrical. Second, whether you switch hands or switch the grip of the same hand, there is a difference in technique. Third, if you shave one side first and the other second, there may be some small difference in moisture (this is not likely though, IMO).
The other part is that I do think uneven honing or stropping can have an impact. It will be consistent, if there is any impact, because of our constant use of the dominant hand. I notice in honing, for example, that any razor I hone, in the "push" half of the stroke, the water will consistently flow over the blade sooner, more evenly, and faster, than on the "pull" stroke. Reversing the stone doesn't change it. Obviously, the different stroke is changing the razor's contact with the hone. Then there is stropping. A Honemeister on this site was looking at one of my razors, and commented that he thought I was holding my strop too tight. One side of the bevel wasn't getting the same level of polish as the other. Since then, I notice that in stropping I can tend, on the "Towards me" stroke, not to let the edge stay in good contact with the strop. So now, honing and stropping, I'm more careful about that.
My point is, the two strokes on the hone and strop are not identical, and the symmetry of the two processes might bias you to have one "side" of the bevel less developed or polished than the other.
Would this actually affect the shave? I don't know. As was noted above, there is only one "edge"--but the way that edge cuts is directly a function of how well the two angles intersect at the edge. If one side is less developed, maybe the edge is defective at that point?
At any rate, I suspect in the end this will be about the differences in hair growth on the two sides of the face and the differences in technique and grip required on the two sides.
I've experienced the same. Not a huge difference, but enough to be felt to an experienced straight shaver with slightly sensitive skin.
Could be difference of technique from hand to hand. Could be difference in bevel on each side of the razor. Could be a mixture of both.
Remember, your skin is a soft, flexible, 'springy' surface, not a flat, rigid plate. Your skin contacts more than just the very edge of the blade, it also contacts at least some of the bevel behind it.
If the bevel is a little wider and/or less polished on one side versus the other - it's sensation on your skin will feel a touch different.