Scum stays on edge?

I rinse my blade between passes to get the shaving cream and hair off, but I've noticed that a significant amount stays on the edge of the blade, and won't come off unless I wipe it. I've also noticed that I've been getting nicks from this blade more frequently than usual. Are the two related? What causes this to happen?

I honed this blade about three weeks ago using the 4k/8k/chinese 12k, and it was my first time honing, so I'm thinking maybe I screwed everything up. Or poor stropping technique.

One of the problems with straight razor shaving, any problem could be caused by about 30 different issues. :)

I'll be sending this off the Lynn to get my free honing as soon as I can find my certificate, but in the mean time any help would be useful, my other razor is starting to act in a similar fashion.

that line of shaving cream that sticks to the edge is a sure sign that your lather is too dry. add a bit more water untill it dosnt stick anymore.the two are most likely related. that is dry lather = more cuts and nicks

Make sure you rinse with very hot water. I wipe my blade during the shave and then rinse with hot water after. Seems to work.

this happens to me sometimes. whip the razor on a wet towel or strop it on the fabric side of a strop

I find that some soaps are more prone to this than others. One very well-known brand of soap that most folks here consider top-notch (I do too) always leaves that line, whereas another brand that is usually considered a second-rate soap does not. For me, the more famous soap dries out, doesn't lather well, and doesn't do for me what the cheaper one does.

Probably it's a combination of the soap, the water, the style of shaving-but you might consider a different soap unless you're really so happy with your current one that you don't want to change.

Another vote for too dry a lather here. Could be the brand of soap or cream too though and/or the water. My tap water is not great to lather with. Takes more time and effort and tends to leave spots on some blades. :boohoo:

+1

My issues with that "sticking" has been with my lather being too dry.

I've had this problem too. I wash my blade and clean it well, yet I always have a thin line of scum:(

Thanks everyone, I was really thinking it was something with the edge. I hear people talk about a "rolled" edge, and I just assumed this was the case.

Although you now have the answer to your dry lather problem I would still advise you to wipe the blade rather than rinse it, you may be taking an unnecessary risk, you may one of these days ding the blade on the faucet as have so many others. Not a good thing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Make sure you rinse with very hot water.

---

I read somewhere that this can cause warping of the edge, any thoughts or experience on this? I will try to find a link...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muscles

I read somewhere that this can cause warping of the edge, any thoughts or experience on this? I will try to find a link...

---

Are they rinsing or boiling?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Are they rinsing or boiling?

---

If rinsing under water that was too hot...

Asked the tortoise...

I take forever to shave. Usually an hour. I can do it in 20 min, but at not quite 5 mo, I'm trying to get better at everything - stropping, honing, shaving. I don't want to rush it and post another thread about 'I was in a hurry and butchered myself again'.

In an hour, there's no soap or cream that's gonna stay hydrated for the duration while on your face. That means when I see the soap clinging to he edge of the blade, it's time to rinse and re-lather. Sometimes I need to wet the brush a bit to keep the lather hydrated - easy. Until I can get 97% bbs in 2 passes without atg, I'll keep working with this much effort. I did atg somewhere between the 3rd & 4th shave, so that's not the reason to avoid it. I'm thinking Sham is on to something there (strongly holds no one EVER needs to do ATG). 'Seems like a skill milestone for me to reach for.

If you take a long time (and by all means, keep it up), see if some regular re-wetting of the lather helps. When I let it go too long, I wipe it off too.

Hi,

I've been using a sample shave cream from the art of shaving. I noticed that you really have wet it down to get it to work well. By work I mean shave well. I'm not sure if it is the cream or me not adding enough water to the mix. When its dry it sticks to the edge.

- Mike

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Although you now have the answer to your dry lather problem I would still advise you to wipe the blade rather than rinse it, you may be taking an unnecessary risk, you may one of these days ding the blade on the faucet as have so many others. Not a good thing.

---

I agree with Kelly. As I shave, I wipe my blades free of gathered lather vs. rinsing with water. I don't want to ding my razor on the sink. Plus rinsing takes too long and I loose my rhythm.

I wonder if anyone else has tried this - when I get a scum line on the edge of my blade I strop it on the fat part of my palm (between my pinkie and my wrist). The surface of the palm can act as strop and polish for your blade.
Anyone else ever tried it?

:gl: I might be crazy but it works!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JohnnyCakeDC

I agree with Kelly. As I shave, I wipe my blades free of gathered lather vs. rinsing with water. I don't want to ding my razor on the sink. Plus rinsing takes too long and I loose my rhythm.

---

Als I agree :D

I'm a thumb wiper, I wipe my lather onto my thumb then off onto a damp facecloth hung over the edge of the sink.

Geek.

Huh, I never thought that that gunk would actually affect my shave. I guess I'll have to pay more attention to it.

When it comes to wiping v. rinsing for me, I rinse but I do so in a soft plastic bowl I got from target for $2. I recognize that sink dings are likely (happened to me) but I tried wiping and it just felt too dry and cold. What I do it fill the bowl up with the hottest water my sink can produce and just swish it. That way, I'm not constantly running water, I don't have the risk of dinging it and someone else can use the sink (I live with 2 roommates and a girlfriend in a house with only 1.5 baths).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StubbleBuster

I wonder if anyone else has tried this - when I get a scum line on the edge of my blade I strop it on the fat part of my palm (between my pinkie and my wrist). The surface of the palm can act as strop and polish for your blade.
Anyone else ever tried it?

:gl: I might be crazy but it works!

---

Just make sure you don't slip into Hone-mode!

Ditto with the wiping > rinsing. I keep a towel handy, and wipe the scum off with a light stropping motion. Some people use a wet sponge.