Thread: What has caused my bumps? a new razor?

I was hoping someone would be able to help id the problem,
I've only been shaving with straight razors for a year and am totally happy with the shaves I get (some of the time) I only get annoyed when I miss bits ATG... I have light and patch growth (almost depressing as want more to have more fun shaving off more)

anyway I have never had 'razor bumps' untill I got a new straight razor from ebay, it was in very good condition and is shoulderless so I really wanted to add it to my growing collection..

I honed it up (still learning) started on 4k and slurry got it pop arm hair then did the pyramid tech. was happy it was shave ready (didn't use the thuringian as want to get my skills up to scratch on the 8k) so gave it a shave test...
it shaved very well did pull etc. though gave some small bumps/rash..waited a couple of days then thought to try it again and WOW my checks were and still are covered in bumps!

I have never had this before and the only thing I changed in my routine was this razor.. therefore could it be due to the razor.. Also I do not think the razor is carbon steel as the brand is called Bethlehem Rust-less (solingen)- does this mean it is stainless steel and my face doesn't like this?
if it is the razor then how if it is shaving sharp?

Sorry for the long winded storey any ideas would be appriciated.
thanks

Did you sterilize it?

No I figured that the polishing and honing would take care of that, but the thought did cross my mind after, though a bit late now have to admit I did make one very small nick - hope I haven't infected myself

Sounds to me like your razor isn't as shave ready as you think it is.

Originally Posted by Theseus

Sounds to me like your razor isn't as shave ready as you think it is.

thanks, this may be the case, it cut arm hair above the skin but failed the hht....
back to the hone then I guess.. best let face recover first

Originally Posted by markhur

thanks, this may be the case, it cut arm hair above the skin but failed the hht....
back to the hone then I guess.. best let face recover first

Another cause of bumps would be too aggressive of an angle but it sounds like you've been doing this for a while so I'd tend to agree with Theseus about looking at the sharpness. Honing takes some practice, and if your razor is stainless then it'll take a little more time on the stones than with carbon.

Once you get the hang of honing so that you can get comfortable shaves then you can incorporate the HHT in the process to see how your progression is going.