Thread: 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.

+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.