Thread: How dull can you make a razor by shaving with too much pressure?

Yes, I did that at the beginning once or twice.

However, I'd rather fix the way I'm shaving than remediate it. I've already been using a DE after the straight razor, and I'd like to dispense with that.

My goal with straight razors is to master the art, not solve a shaving problem. I can get a close shave with safety razors or DE razors already. The tricks of the trade are what make straight razor shaving interesting to me (honing, stropping, shaving, lathering, etc.). I'm also keenly interested in why things work or don't work, not just being able to do the activity right. Perhaps different motivation than others here.

PS. My wife calls Straight Razor Place the "Whiskers Club".

Actually your not so different than many of us. If you read some of the post in assorted areas like honing or stropping you'll see a lot of information being passed around figuring out why certain hones work the way they do on certain types of steel. There are probably more members with microscopes than most hospitals have just to analyze edge geometry! So, believe me your in good company with like minded persons:-)

Yes, I seen a number of people making such posts. I just didn't know what % of the people here fall into that class.

I have several microscopes myself. Other than taking pictures to document flaws, I haven't been able to get much use out of them. Perhaps I'll learn that after I've got more experience with what to look for and how to judge what I see.

What I would really like to do is to make an instrumented version of the HHT that uses standard reference material thread and a test jig to measure force to cut, or functions as a go/no go test. This would allow a quantitative measure of cutting sharpness.

Right now I've been using my wife's hair, which is pretty uniform, and drag it longitudinally along the blade. If it won't cut at all, experience indicates that the blade is too dull to shave with. If it takes several passes, it's still too dull. If it takes a 1/2" or so movement, it will shave, but not close. If it cuts the instant you touch, and does so at multiple points along the edge, then it's ready for shaving. This is presently a semi-quantitative test, and is sufficient to test when honing is complete. Testing by shaving unfortunately has a 24 hr lag time associated with it, even though it is a full-up test.

What I've found is that a blade gets sharp in some places but not in others. This is obviously due to warp (frown? smile?). This seems to take the most repeat honing to get rid of. I'm not sure, but I'm getting the impression that pasted strops are better for this kind of problem, as they match the blade shape better than a rigid stone does. Of course, the stone makes the blade match it, so perhaps it's better to hone with a stone in the long run.

I have not yet got into honing but if you want a true shave ready razor Lynn is the man I send all my razors to him.

Try Robert Williams website for some technical type information as well as practical advice. Robert Williams Custom Straight Razors

We can also get to caught up in the technical aspects of the hobby as well. This hobby is so multi faceted you can't leave out good old practice and muscle memory when honing. Many times when you have a razor with an uneven edge with part sharp and part dull it's a problem with your stroke on the hone. Or perhaps the hone needs lapping to get it back to a very flat surface. I know I've done it and I imagine most anyone who has honed has at one time or another. One thing I have to constantly remind myself is not to put pressure on the razor. It seems to make sense that the more pressure the better the amount of steel removed but actually you never get a good edge with anything but a light stroke. Of course this is after the bevel is set.
Pasted strops work very very well on blades that need only minor work after honing but in some cases an uneven blade edge demands you redo the bevel. Every razor has it's own personality which is why practice and experience are so important to know from that experience what needs to be done to complete the edge.

Originally Posted by nessmuck

Don't listen to that man behind the curtain!!! BBS IS NOT A MYTH

Not not a myth except in the most literal sense.
Dads know... Moms know...

It is also true that some times a thick mustard
yellow balm can be found on some BB and if
you apply it as a skin conditioner you too can
have a BBSmooooth Face...

Originally Posted by Alethephant

Right now I've been using my wife's hair, which is pretty uniform, and drag it longitudinally along the blade. If it won't cut at all, experience indicates that the blade is too dull to shave with. If it takes several passes, it's still too dull. If it takes a 1/2" or so movement, it will shave, but not close. If it cuts the instant you touch, and does so at multiple points along the edge, then it's ready for shaving. This is presently a semi-quantitative test, and is sufficient to test when honing is complete. Testing by shaving unfortunately has a 24 hr lag time associated with it, even though it is a full-up test.

If your razor is getting close simply schedule to do the shave tests when a relatively easily shaveable part of your face isn't BBS ATG. You can have shaved that part of your face that very day, turning a disadvantage of your current shaving situation into an advantage for testing it's shaving status with the most perfect test possible.