Thread: How many shaves on a straight razor before the edge needs a refresh?

Shave #145, the edge is still quite good. I’m a dozen beyond what Alfredo did with his vintage TI, but I am also using fabric/linen where he did not, he used Kanoyama suede and cordovan only.

This isn’t really surprising, Iwasaki said in his book chapter for barbers that use of linen would make an edge last longer than leather only, and could bring back an edge that was falling off. That’s exactly what I’ve experienced. It will be interesting to see how much further it will go, but I can tell you that the edge is seems stable and its shaving very well after adding the Latvian linen each shave.

I’ve used the Latvian linen with both roo and Kanoyama cordovan, and based on limited use, cannot tell a difference between the roo and cordovan. I can tell a difference between the Latvian linen and the Kanoyama canvas, with the linen doing better, again based on limited use.

Shave 153 today. and I’m making an executive decision to call it done. The edge still shaves well enough, but it’s lost enough closeness and smoothness to be close to the point where I ended my other edge longevity tests. I gave it a few extra shaves just the be sure, and a Filly 14 can shave better than this one is shaving. Still, quite the run and a darned impressive piece of steel! Tip of the hat to Stefan!

That was most impressive, Steve. Thanks for taking one for the team, and sharing with us.

Hey, Steve.
Is the bevel convexed.?

Originally Posted by outback

Hey, Steve.
Is the bevel convexed.?

Hi Mike,

No not that I can see with a loupe, the bevel looks flat. A lot of the original kasumi from the jnat appears to be there.too. What’s taken the beating is the cutting edge, the actual apex of the bevels, It’s just worn down. It looks pretty bad, but it shaves better than the edge looks!

This is what got me interested in straight razors to start with. There was a gent who was looking for a razor after he chipped his puma that he had been using for 25 years or so.
Got 50+ shaves each off a bengall and a puma. Both were still shaving well, but had accumulated a lot of other razors that I wanted to try.
Well done for sticking at it.