Thread: I'd like my straight razor to be as sharp as...

You can't compare the two cause they are apples and oranges. The DE blade is commercially made, mass produced, very thin and has coatings which is really why they are so sharp. remove the coatings and you wouldn't want to use one.

The only thing I would be comparing is the final result DE vs Straight and in the hands of an experienced shaver the straight will outperform the DE by quite a margin.

I don't think you can expect to immediately get better shaves with a straight razor than you have been with a DE or even disposables. There are too many variables and a lot of things to learn.

I'm 70 shaves in with my straights, and I know they are shave ready. They don't out-perform what I can get with a DE yet, although they are getting closer.

It isn't just a straight razor. It's the person using it and how he goes about it in terms of preparation and technique. My shaves are getting better, and they are certainly better than they were when I started. For me, it took 10 shaves before the bloodletting subsided, and then it took 20-30 shaves before I was getting a passable shave. Now, if I take my time, I can get pretty close to BBS, but it takes work, patience and improvement of my technique. I'm probably one of those people who will take 6 months to get it right, but I'm willing to put in the time. The shaves may not yet be as good, but the shaving itself is much more enjoyable.

Yes, blade coming back from honing will give you a better base to compare.

I may have missed how long you have been doing this, sorry if so.

I remember reading comments that it takes time for your skin to become conditioned to the straight. Deep down thought that was silly, as if it was a way to say "hang in there". I was wrong.

Then i started straight razor shaving my head, after many years of DE on it. The shave quality felt like I was starting all over. Even just above side burns I wasn't getting as smooth as my face. I seem to recall it was a month or two before I had similar results on my head, as my face. That was with being a seasoned straight shaver on my face.

There are so many small details that contribute, and they all are to be adjusted as you learn. At some point you get it, your face gets it, and it is all second nature.

I'm only a few shaves into straight razor shaving, but I'll add my two cents. Last night I did get a very, very smooth shave on my sideburns and across my face, my 3 blade razor can no longer compete.
However, I'm having issues with my neck, chin and upper lip. My 3 blade continues to save the day and offer a very smooth shave. I can't wait for the scrapping and burning to stop.

My advice is to give it some time. I'm convinced that a SR can outperform a DE razor if properly used. The other benefits of a SR is the user experience, sustainability, savings over time and relaxation - none of which a disposable can ever compete with - IMHO

Since you've already tried steeper and flatter angles, I think you need to work on your stretching technique and the direction you approach the wiskers from. Not pulling the skin taught doesn't get the wiskers to stand straight up, so the razor slides along the hair a tiny bit before cutting and shave is not as close. Also, if the wiskers grow in a swirly pattern, you may have to shave from a different direction to catch them without the blade sliding down a tiny bit (and shaving less close). Both issues are compounded by having a dull blade.

On my face, I have to shave the mustache area nearest the corners of the mouth with a flatter angle since my face bends inward there. It's like the necessity to change the angle of the razor when shaving top-to-bottom over the point of the chin (only in miniture).

Also, on my face, I have to shave the mustache area above my canines XTG to catch about 25% of the hairs there well.

I'm still looking for the stretching direction, tension, razor path and blade angle that will result in a 2 pass BBS on my neck. It's only been a year and bit though...

ps: I think the multi-blade razor DOES do a better job catching hairs no matter which path / direction the razor takes, or how well you stretched the skin. The first blade pulls, the second blade "cuts" (ie: rips) the wisker. The shave is more irritating due to the pull, and not nearly as close once you get the hang of the straight razor.

Took me about 2 months to get an OK shave, 6 months to get a good shave, and at 9 months it was always perfect except for one side of my neck, whose side-ways growing hairs I'm still working on...

Hang in there !

Gibbster,
Lynn honed both of my str8s and I can tell that they're at least as sharp as my DEs--sharper I think. I'll bet when you get yours back you'll notice a difference. My 2 cents.

Originally Posted by ace

... For me, it took 10 shaves before the bloodletting subsided, and then it took 20-30 shaves before I was getting a passable shave. Now, if I take my time, I can get pretty close to BBS, but it takes work, patience and improvement of my technique. I'm probably one of those people who will take 6 months to get it right, but I'm willing to put in the time. The shaves may not yet be as good, but the shaving itself is much more enjoyable.

Thanks Ace! I shaved tonight, after light honing and some stropping and although it wasn't wonderful it wasn't entirely "gut wrenching" either. It was improved. I have had close shaves for the last 5 shaves no. Close! I practiced with my dulled "Pakistani" razor to get down hold and technique and "imagined" myself getting good shaves without nicks. I'm only into it a little bit more than 2 weeks. I looked back and the first 2 razors I actually bought were at the local antique store on the 10th of Feb., and I didn't shave with them for a little while. They cost me about 16.00 each and are the Wadsworth and WISS. Then I got an ebay win of a J.A. Henckels, which is a beautiful razor of condition, but it's about a 4/8 or 3/8 and I even shaved with it tonight, but it handles a lot differently. Nice for under the nose. Then I bought some cheap razors at another antique store, a 2 for $7.00 thing, and one of them, the Gold Bug by A. Witte (Germany) is one I used tonight and seems to have a fairly decent edge.

No blood letting since the first 2 times (THANK GOD), so I guess I have nothing to be discouraged about. Just was hoping that I could get it down so that I can tell my boss that the shaves are close and more comfortable than the disposables. It takes me about 15 minutes I guess to shave, so someday I'll probably shave that down a bit (pun intended).

Is there much variability between the steels of the razor manufactures? Dovo, Thiers-Issard, Böker, Revisors and some of the older vintages? In other words, are there some that are just better at getting and holding a keen edge? Are the very thin "singing" razors close to the comfort of the disposables in their ability to get and keep an edge?

Learn by asking, doing, and practice.

GRAB YOUR GEAR!

It's challenging isn't it? I think your doing fine. Just hang in there a bit. A nice freshly honed razor can be wicked sharp.

You can do the same thing for yourself. Try it out and don't do any stropping at all, first shave. Then on the second shave do super, super light stropping. Keep that up for a while, essentially so that it feels like you are not even stropping at all. Do that for like 4-6 shaves, first time, if possible. Then start adding a touch of pressure, only as needed.

So, ultimate sharpness is built from thinness of the steel. But, the real trick is stropping it.

Here is the problem, stropping is a lot like surfing. You gotta catch the edge just right and shape the edge with the strop. It takes several iterations to catch the edge just right.

If you use too much pressure, you'll "blow" the edge and it'll never get sharp. You'll start out by dulling the edge. Just like the surfer that "jumps" too hard to get onto the surf board, the strop can apply too much pressure and dull the edge.

But, you have to also shape the edge with the strop. You just have to slooooooooooooowly work into it.

Let me put it this way, at some point, eventually, you'll be using a little pressure and stropping away, but getting to that point is incredibly frustratingly, and unbelieveably slow. It's probably at least 4-6 shaves in, before you can really start stropping. And maybe you should go for like 10 to 12.

Until then the only common effect is dulling.

Here is another way to think of it. Your going to be sharpening the razor with the strop. So, any pressure applied too soon, or any deflection applied too soon, is seriously detrimental. But once you "catch" the edge and start properly shaping it, the strop will continue to sharpen, and sharpen and sharpen.

But, it only takes the slightest miss stroke off a freshly honed blade (and at least another 10 shaves in) when the strop is more likely to tear at the edge instead of shape it.

So, fresh off the hone, no stropping. Second to 10th shave, only the weight of the blade and use very, very light and slow stropping. After about 10 shaves you can start adding just a touch of pressure and try "catching" the edge. As you can imagine, even stropping pressure is PARAMOUNT!

During this transitional period, guess what the effect is of any uneven stropping. A dulling sensation and a poor shave.

If that happens, re-hone, and start over again.

If you really have a hard time "catching" the edge, start stropping on something easier, like your hand (if your comfortable with this) or Levi's on your upper thigh. There is a lot less tearing from these other methods. Save the strop for a few shaves in. You'll find that even shaving produces enough of a skin stropping effect to be effective for the first few hyper delicate shaves.

You might be onto something of my frustrations. I have a tendency to strop straight away from honing, and will put some pressure on the blade on both the down and up strokes. I bend the strop with the razor doing this. I might be rolling the edge over and actually shaving with a less than sharp razor, or as sharp as it "should" be.
Willi Peters, of that youtube fame, said he only hones once a year and it does not seem like he spends an overt amount of time at the strop.

Not trying to feed the RAD, but...

I have found sometimes I will shave a razor that's new to me, thinking it's not for me. After using other razors, i come back and try that diasapointing blade. When I come back to it later, just plain suprised how well it works