Thread: Is my razor sharp enough? HHT says NO! Your thoughts?

This of course was written in all humor and does not reflect on any one person ....

What's the Ole fart thing about then?

Originally Posted by MykelDR

I like the idea... I'm thinking more heading toward a standard type monofilament of yet to be identified gauge or spec to replace each of our individual arm/head/leg/pubic hairs being used in each of our own hard-worn processes. This would effectively kill all argument surely.
Not sure if I want that really

It's already been done.

That's where I got the idea of using thread. Like he says on the page, actually doing measurements is tricky because you have to account for how much slack is in the thread.

Small differences in thread tension can result in large differences in cutting force. This problem can be greatly reduced by putting a known amount of slack in the thread.

His rig is nice, but I built a makeshift little rig out of a Tums container that also accounts for slack and got repeatable results. What I mean by that is that I could test a blade and see that it consistently required 70 grams of force to cut the thread, then do 100 strokes on a C12k and see that it now required 60 grams of force. That sort of thing. Ultimately, the testing took a little more time than I cared to do on a regular basis, and I found that after a while I could get a pretty good idea of how much force it took to cut the thread just by holding it.

Still, if anyone's interested in the kind of testing that yields actual data, I don't mind explaining how I did it. Like you said, though, the numbers one person gets would only be meaningful if everyone used the same thread (and under the same tension). I believe this could be doable. I'll post more details about my testing here if people think it's relevant to this thread. Otherwise, I'll start another one sometime.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Here is what I read about though time after time..


IIRC Alan wrote something similar or maybe another of the Ole' farts...

1. New shaver gets razor
2. New shaver immediately strums thumb across edge
3. Ooooooo Sharp !!!!
4. Newb quickly lathers face
5. Lather half dries out as Newb takes 10 minutes to figure out how to actually touch razor to face
6. Newb finally does a half hearted attempt at the Side-burn to Jawline stroke (The Shave Test) this attempt is done with zero confidence in the half dried lather at the wrong angle...
7. This sux, the razor must be dull..
8. Newb strops razor and re-lathers
9. Tries the "Shave test again after of course rolling the edge with that great half a$$ed stropping attempt...
10. God this razor really sux, it is so dull...
11. Posts all this...
12. Gets 20 posts explaining every test there is... and GO READ THE WIKI from Robin...
13. Reads and asks more and starts to learn all the mistakes that he made..
14. Learns to strop gently and slowly and gets a semi sharp edge back on the razor and manages to get a real shave in....
15. Has the razor re-honed and realizes that it is him not the razor...He is then solidly hooked on straight razors, and starts posting advice to other Newbs...



16. Starts to hone Muhahahaha and starts the curve at the bottom again

This of course was written in all humor and does not reflect on any one person ....

haha...this is great! I see what you're saying and I've been lurking and posting around here long enough to see the trend...and pretty much that chain of events you just described was taken into consideration before making this post. And it may be possible that I dulled the blade with poor stropping technique early on, although I tried to go as slow as possible and apply very little pressure while keeping the 3" of TM latigo pulled tight....even practiced a few times beforehand with a butter knife and practice strop (thanks tony!) so i wouldn't accidentally roll the edge.

Either way, every time I shave with this razor I get the worst razor burn of my life (think old SE disposable plastic safety razor with no water ATG, then double it)....and I'm still left with so much stubble I have to follow up with a mach 3....it's really frustrating and I am determined not to give up, but I can't keep shaving like this...it's tearing up my face, so I just wanna eliminate all variables.

The way I see it, if I send the razor out, get it sharpened to an atomic level, shave without stropping it, and I'm still getting a bad shave, well then obviously my technique is terrible. (btw, I know my lather is top notch and prep should be good enough, though I refuse to have more "cosmetics" in my medicine cabinet than my girlfriend!)

If I get a great shave, and then it seems to get noticeably worse with each successive stropping, then obviously my strop technique needs work.

If it keeps shaving great for weeks and months to come, then my blade was simply dull...and I can happily continue straight shaving and offer this exact advice to newbies when they ask if their blade is dull! =D

haha, which reminds me of something my gramps used to say: "you could ride bare-assed to Boston on that blade and not get cut!"

So, watcha think Glen? Wanna take a look at this razor and see what you can do with it? Let me know what you charge and how to send payment.

Based on your arm test your blade sounds like it needs some honing albeit mild or severe I don't know... I do know that I own many a knife that will take off hair much better than your str8, that should not be the case! however the popping could also be from lack of pressure+thick hair+hollow grind...no different than if you where shaving

Even if it was shave ready sharp when you got it, and even if you have been stropping correctly, and even if you now have the angles and techniques down pat, if you have been at this for any length of time without doing any kind of touch up maintenance (like a few strokes once in a while on a finishing stone or barber hone or a CrOx pasted strop) the razor is probably dulled to the point of needing at least a touch up. I find I only get about a weeks worth of shaves from a "shave ready" blade before it needs some kind of touch up. Sounds like you're well past that point.

So, I suggest;

1. get it sharpened (alternatively, get a pasted strop and try that to see if thats all it needs first)

2. See if anyone on the forum with honing experience lives near you and can help without you having to send it away.

3. If you have to send it away for honing, while you are waiting to get it back, call around to barber supply places listed in the yellow pages and pick up a disposable blade straight razor ($10) so you can a) keep shaving and b) confirm that its not your technique.

Originally Posted by dgstr8

Even if it was shave ready sharp when you got it, and even if you have been stropping correctly, and even if you now have the angles and techniques down pat, if you have been at this for any length of time without doing any kind of touch up maintenance (like a few strokes once in a while on a finishing stone or barber hone or a CrOx pasted strop) the razor is probably dulled to the point of needing at least a touch up. I find I only get about a weeks worth of shaves from a "shave ready" blade before it needs some kind of touch up. Sounds like you're well past that point.

.

Some of us get many months on an edge without touching up and there are a couple of us long time straight users that say they get years. My father was aghast that I even owned a hone for a straight razor until I explained that not all used razors are in shave ready condition. he is of the belief that one does not need a hone if the razor is shave ready, only a strop with a linen and a leather component are needed. I am not that good yet.

That ditty was so true and funny to boot it out to have a place of honor
as a sticky and be in the Wiki.

I had my doubts about proper stropping too
Its just looks sooo simple and easy watching the videos or an old barber in action. I'm 54 and know seeing is not doing so I practiced staring REAL slow and watched close but instead of a butter knife (which is smart) I bought for $17 delivered a Simple brand (sp) razor and strop to practice on- (the steel on the razor is nothing to write home about) I have a couple of nicks and boo boos and think (hopefully) I have them out of my system after 2 months.