Thread: Self honing razor

OK, here it is. I haven't shaved w/ a regular straight in months! My honing skills are negligible. Last time I honed my 4 straights they seemed to be duller than when I started & I cut a chunk out of my thumb! So I've been using DE's, SE & Injector mainly. Also a Monsieur Charles injector blade barber's straight razor.
Anyway, on a whim I got out my Henckels 78 1/2 round point, gave it a good stropping, & it shaved like a dream. It got sharper just sitting for a good long time in it's cigar box. An old timer in a barber supply store where I bought my first straight 30 odd yrs ago told me that sometimes just letting them sit for awhile would improve the edge. It seems he was right. Now I'll have to try the other 3 & see if they have improved as well.

Could it be that your stropping improved. Or your beard prep and technique improved?

I wish my razor would hone itself!

I suspect that elves are responsible for your sharp razor.

Elves sound like the best explanation to me. Prep was nothing different. Stropping is something I've been doing for nearly 40 yrs, no improvement there. Yes, elves.

i herd that once before to letting your blades "rest" lets the steel harden after shaving/honeing/stroping. that may be why most people have more than one razor in a rotation to give them time to rest.


here is another thread i saw once talking about it:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ing-razor.html

Maybe it's those Indiana Autumns!

Kev

I have no idea what to attribute this phenomenon to but I will swear that I have observed the same behavior. I will generally pick one of my razors and shave with it for a long time. When I become tired of trying to hone it to a nice edge (my honing skills lack something that I've never been able to pinpoint), I will switch back to another razor and notice that it shaves much better than when I left off with it.

where can i find me some of them honing elves or gremlins? i could really use them.

I'm guessing that...before opening the cigar box the razor was neither sharp or dull.