Razors Aren't Shaving Well!
Hello everyone,
I have been having issues with the two straights I use to shave with. They are just not sharp enough/shaving as they should. When I compare them to my DE blades and how they perform, it is pretty clear that they are not to the level they should be. Both my razors were honed by Lynn who is obviously one of the most competent and experienced honers. Therefore, I'm thinking it has to be something I'm doing!
I'm kinda frustrated with the whole thing, but I'm going to figure this whole shavin' thing out even if its the last thing I do! ;)
While the razors do cut hair (they can easily shave my arm hair), when it comes to the thick whiskers and heavy growth areas such as my chin they just pull and tug horribly! :(
I am assuming it is my stropping technique, and that I must be dulling the edges. I've watched stropping videos on YouTube and feel like there could be two potential culprits.
First: I might be applying too much pressure. Even though I hold my strop very taught and I am not pushing so hard as to deform the strop or bend under the weight of the razor.
Second: Up until now I haven't been using the X-stroke on my strop which is a 2". Early on when learning to strop I realized that when I attempted the X-stoke I would continuously lift up the toe, as I would let the weight of the scales cause the heel and scales to drop therefore lifting up the toe. Which resulted in the toe having less contact with the strop. So to ameliorate the problem I used my own stropping technique. Which is: I start with the heel of the razor on my strop with the toe hanging off. So about 2/3s of the razor is making contact with the strop from the heel up almost to the toe, with the last 1/3 (actually a little less) hanging off. Then I go up and back down; thats one pass. Then I slide the razor to the other side, so the toe is now on the strop and the heel is hanging off. Then I go up and come back; thats the second pass.
This helped me keep the blade perfectly level on the surface of the strop and eliminated my lifting of the toe. I dont see why this would dull the edge in and of it self, but nonetheless, I have switched to the X-stroke.
If anyone could give me their thoughts/advice on what might be causing this and what steps I can take to rectify the issue I would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Chance