The next step for me.

I have been shaving with a straight for about six months now. I have become pretty good at shaving, maintaining and honing my razors. But the next step in my straight razor evolution involves my ridiculously coarse beard growth and the damage that it does to my hard earned edges. I find that if I get too heavy handed with my razors I can actually see damage to the edge after shaving. being a machinist by trade, I have access to a multitude of precision measurement instruments. So, I recently pulled a hair from my beard and measured it with a micrometer. .0055 thick. That explains a lot. Apparently the average human hair is around .003 thick.


As a result I have been working on my technique. not just getting a good shave, but getting a good shave without damage to the edge of the razor. Angle seems to be everything. By reducing the angle and taking shorter polishing strokes I seem to be achieving my desired result.


I am sure that others have struggled with this issue. What have you come up with to solve this problem?

Do you use any type of beard softening product in your shaving routine. I would recommend applying this neutrogena product into your wet whiskers by hand. Using your shaving brush, apply your favorite shaving cream or soap over the top and make your first razor pass. Rinse and repeat the process before each pass with your razor.

Neutrogena Men® Sensitive Skin Shave Cream | Neutrogena®

The first things that come to mind are angle and make sure your hairs are well hydrated.

You should not be damaging the edge no matter how thick your whiskers are or what type of razor you are using. Watch your technique. I think that's your issue. Like you said, it's the angle.

Is it possible that you have tiny metal particles left on your face?

If I had an edge that was getting battered, I'd be looking to find something that would be a little more brisk on stropping, like a vintage linen (which have good stiffness and should help with alignment of the edge more than just leather stropping).

I agree with TBS, there shouldn't be any reason that uncontaminated beard would visually damage an edge.

Lately, especially since this post, I have been very conscious of my razor angles. As a result I believe I have pinpointed the problem. I maintain a goatee and work around it with the razor. I believe that the dulling has been a result of near 90 deg angles while maintaining straight lines.

I have since adjusted my technique and seen a big improvement. It's funny how my straight razor shaves have evolved over the last several months. It was a rough start but I reached a point of success fairly early on. As I got comfortable my technique slowly changed, not exactly for the better. I now have to backtrack and refine. What a wonderful journey!

Thanks again for the advice.

It's great that you've figured out some of the issues with your shaves.

You've probably figured this out, but here's the 2-1-0 tip that worked for me:

1) When going WTG, try to keep the spine of the blade about 2 spine widths off the skin
2) When going XTG, keep the spine about 1 spine width off the skin
3) When going ATG, keep the spine against the skin.

This worked wonders for my shave when I was starting out. Angles are hard to maintain when using multiple razors, but spine widths are easier to gauge.

Good luck.