Need to hone too often

About 6 months ago I finally took the plunge and bought a decent shave ready razor from bobsrazors and never looked back. It was worlds better than the antique store razor that just would not hone. I am finally getting great shaves.

I do have one issue thought. I seem to need to hone the razor more than I should. I feel the need to hone about every 2, and at most, 3 weeks. I do have pretty heavy facial hair and do have to shave and repeat every day, so the razor does get some heavy use. Would this amount of honing be right under those conditions or is something amiss? I use a strop that I got from the antique store. It seems to be in fine condition but I am really not a judge of that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by spinsheet

About 6 months ago I finally took the plunge and bought a decent shave ready razor from bobsrazors and never looked back. It was worlds better than the antique store razor that just would not hone. I am finally getting great shaves.

I do have one issue thought. I seem to need to hone the razor more than I should. I feel the need to hone about every 2, and at most, 3 weeks. I do have pretty heavy facial hair and do have to shave and repeat every day, so the razor does get some heavy use. Would this amount of honing be right under those conditions or is something amiss? I use a strop that I got from the antique store. It seems to be in fine condition but I am really not a judge of that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

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Tough one to swallow.
How about changing your shaving Technique?
have you ever thought about it?
Lets use straight razor as a saw instead of axe?
This will make edge last a lot longer.
Basically try scything motion shaving.
gl

Is this your one and only razor?, or the only one you use? If so, in addition to Sham's suggestions, You may want to invest in small Barber's hone. You would use this prior to stropping. 3-5 strokes is all that's needed, and it should keep your razor, not only shave ready, but may prolong the edge.

It is a hard one to answer based on your description of use. In addition to the excellent advice already offered how about another one or two razors to get a rotation going ?

If it were possible, I would like to see the bevel and edge.

I'll try and get a picture of the razor and post it. I do have a barber's hone that I bought quite a while ago, that is what I'm using to hone it. I am doing about 3-5 passes on that every 2-3 weeks.

Am I to understand (by zib's post) that a light honing before every shave is not unheard of? I assumed that honing was a once every two months thing?

I do experiment with different types of passes. Thought once that I was going to disconnect my head from my shoulders once, I'm a little more conservative now.

And this is my only 'shavable' razor, the others are too worn out according to people that have looked at them.

You don't mention the grind. If it's very hollow, with a lot of flex, a tough beard may actually be distorting it.
If you buy another, it may be worth considering trying out a heavier grind, such as quarter, or wedge. At the rate you're honing, that one will be all used up within a year or two. :gaah: :D

Personally, I find with many razors after about 15 shaves or so the comfort factor starts to decrease. It still shaves fine but it reaches a point after that where a quick refresh is what the doctor ordered.

A touch up after ten shaves is not unusual.

I seem to be having the same issue too I hope its just my beard and not bad stropping or anything.

It is a full hollow ground, I'll get something less for my next razor (when I can convince the wife that I need another, but that's another story...)

I do a 3-5 swipe touch up every 2-3 weeks which would equate to every 14-21 shaves, so that's not unreasonable? Perhaps I misspoke when I said that I honed it every 2-3 weeks, I really meant just a quick 2-3 swipes each way. I guess that 'honing' is something more intense?

Though I would still recommend you try a slightly heavier grind next next time, no, that's not unreasonable. It is quite a bit more than I have to do, but in my mind, a quick touch up is not the same as honing. Probably my error for not seeking clarification, but I do separate the two. You should be fine with that.

There are few members among us, such as Lynn and honedright, that can get by with just plain old stropping alone for 6 months or more (keep in mind we're talking about guys with 30 years experience or so), but for us mere mortals the schedule laid out by the OP is pretty reasonable.

I have a very heavy beard, and my Go-To razor is a Wade&Butcher quarter hollow.
I have similar findings. After about 15 shaves or so, the blade is still plenty sharp, but the
comfort level has gone down a bit, so I give it about 10-15 passes on the CrO strop, and
about 100-125 on leather, and that brings it back just fine. Then, about every 30 shaves
or so, I give a few laps on the Chinese 12K, and that keeps me from "real" honing for
a couple of months.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

There are few members among us, such as Lynn and honedright, that can get by with just plain old stropping alone for 6 months or more (keep in mind we're talking about guys with 30 years experience or so), but for us mere mortals the schedule laid out by the OP is pretty reasonable.

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I'm in the "plain old stropping camp" & I do have a tough beard but I choose my razors on edge durability eg I couldn't maintain a soft tempered razor for 6 - 12 months on a strop alone. The grind doesn't really enter into it for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

There are few members among us, such as Lynn and honedright, that can get by with just plain old stropping alone for 6 months or more (keep in mind we're talking about guys with 30 years experience or so), but for us mere mortals the schedule laid out by the OP is pretty reasonable.

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Ryan has a very good point. :)

But in my mind, this boils down to some simple math here too, not just technique (I may be totally off the mark and apologize in advance if this comes a bit less than respectful...don't mean to doubt the masters of honing :bow):

1) If I have 1 razor in rotation, then that razor is used every day (touch up every 15-20 shaves or so. Roughly ~2-3 weeks)

2) If I have 5 razors in rotation, then it is used 5 times less and as as such, edge lasts 5X longer (but one thing to consider (75-100 shaves. Roughly 2.5-3 months)

3) etc...

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Originally Posted by Sammer

I have a very heavy beard, and my Go-To razor is a Wade&Butcher quarter hollow.
I have similar findings. After about 15 shaves or so, the blade is still plenty sharp, but the
comfort level has gone down a bit, so I give it about 10-15 passes on the CrO strop, and
about 100-125 on leather, and that brings it back just fine. Then, about every 30 shaves
or so, I give a few laps on the Chinese 12K, and that keeps me from "real" honing for
a couple of months.

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+1. This is what I do too :rock:.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

I'm in the "plain old stropping camp" & I do have a tough beard but I choose my razors on edge durability eg I couldn't maintain a soft tempered razor for 6 - 12 months on a strop alone. The grind doesn't really enter into it for me.

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I am curious...on average, how many razors do you have in your rotation?

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Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

I am curious...on average, how many razors do you have in your rotation?

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At the time I guestimated the duration I used 5 razors. 2 were passing HHT & shaving nicely well after 12 months. 3 needed honing & touchups more frequently than the OP. All were hollow grinds. Just saying not all razors are created equally.

Some razors do seem to go further than others. I have a couple Williams Razors I've probably used 40+ times and they have never seen a hone and my TI Damascus I've been using for years and it's never needed a rehone so the metal apparently does make a difference.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

At the time I guestimated the duration I used 5 razors. 2 were passing HHT & shaving nicely well after 12 months. 3 needed honing & touchups more frequently than the OP. All were hollow grinds. Just saying not all razors are created equally.

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That's nice data. Thanks. That is some variation in "honing time" between the str8s.

In my opinion, the right and reasonable honing frequency is whatever is required. Going with some comments above, I fairly frequently use a barbers hone for just a few passes. It maintains the edge at top sharpness, and I don't believe it removes that much, or any more metal than honing less often but longer.

It never made sense to me to let a blade deteriorate in sharpness until you can't stand the pulling, then honing. I believe it is better to hone with a barbers hone between every few shaves.

14 to 21 shaves before needing more than plain leather stropping is similar to what I expect from my razors

I doubt this is optimum, but I don't think your experience is necessarily unusual or indicative of a major issue with the equipment

I agree with larry on the better to take a few quick swipes on a barbers hone verses letting my razor dull beyond what a barbers hone can fix and having to have someone hone it 2 times a much to bring it back. ( then again if i have to hone my razor by the end of next summer ill by lucky i only have a few whiskers to take care of )

I think I usually have to touch up any of my razors after about 8 shaves or so. I have a very tough wiry beard that quickly dulls any type of shaving implement. Nothing wrong with having to do a few strokes on a finishing hone. I think it is also important to strop on linen prior to the leather to maintain maximum sharpness. Not everyone agrees, but the HHT improves dramatically after linen, at least for me, and so does the shave.