Thread: It seems I lost my edge

Quite literally and figuratively.

I did some restoration and touch ups on my razors since I didn't use them for quite some time. I took my two favorite razors, "honed" them and tried to shave with them. Needless to say they weren't exactly shave ready. It also seemed that I lost my pre-shave routine. I made a lather from TOBS St. John's Collection shaving cream which was 4 years old and pretty dried up. Lather was very rich and foamy but it provided no glide with leaving the skin bone dry after the pass.

I struggled with the razor and made WTG and half of the XTG pass. Then I switched to DE and finished the job. It was fascinating that I got no nicks, cuts or razor burn.

Despite all the problems I encountered, I got pretty god shave out of it.

I got really motivated and am looking forward to catch up with everything.

Cheers,

Rob

It seems that you're dealing with multiple factors. First, from the sounds of it your razors need a bit more work on the stones to be properly shave ready. Second, I'm thinking that your lather issues may be due to environment (I seem to remember that you were in the US originally, correct?); water quality, air/temperture conditions or the expired product could be to blame (though I admit I've never found expired products to be much of a problem). You may want to consider some additional prep like preshave oil or skin moisturizer.

Thanks for the answer.

Razors need definitely a lot of work. I wasn't aware how much I have gotten off the razor maintenance routine.
As for the lather, I use a thick ceramic bowl to whip my lather in. Off course, I used to submerge the bowl in hot water and put the hot water in bowl for brush to soak. So bowl itself was holding lather warm. Well, I forgot about that and didn't submerge the bowl in hot water, so I believe that it pulled all the warmth out of the lather. I am opened to additional pre shave prep. Do You have any pre-shave oils to recommend? All I could find around here are some pre-shave lotions for electric shaving (I found Tabac lotion). I did read somewhere that pre-shave oils tend to do some damage to brush (sticks together and doesn't hold water).

BTW. I am situated in Croatia. We do have hard water, so I had some problems with soaps in the past, but then I boiled demineralized water (for ironing), which gave me incredible results with soap.

Cheers,

Rob

Yep, your bevel needs totally re-set. Most restorations require it if you are doing any blade restoration. You know what it's supposed to be like, so I have no doubt you will get your razors there again.

Originally Posted by Robert1988

I am opened to additional pre shave prep. Do You have any pre-shave oils to recommend? All I could find around here are some pre-shave lotions for electric shaving (I found Tabac lotion). I did read somewhere that pre-shave oils tend to do some damage to brush (sticks together and doesn't hold water).

I use Proraso pre/post, which seems to work fine even in Canada's cold dry winters. Castle Forbes makes a nice water soluble shave oil, but is expensive because it's CF. You're probably going to have to buy online.

I also agree with shooter. If you've done some restorations to your blades a full bevel reset is the standard recommendation. That would definitely account for your subpar results and is something that I overlooked earlier.

Originally Posted by Robert1988

Quite literally and figuratively.

I did some restoration and touch ups on my razors since I didn't use them for quite some time. I took my two favorite razors, "honed" them and tried to shave with them. Needless to say they weren't exactly shave ready. It also seemed that I lost my pre-shave routine. I made a lather from TOBS St. John's Collection shaving cream which was 4 years old and pretty dried up. Lather was very rich and foamy but it provided no glide with leaving the skin bone dry after the pass.

I struggled with the razor and made WTG and half of the XTG pass. Then I switched to DE and finished the job. It was fascinating that I got no nicks, cuts or razor burn.

Despite all the problems I encountered, I got pretty god shave out of it.

I got really motivated and am looking forward to catch up with everything.

Cheers,

Rob

I struggle with touch-ups myself. I'll buy a shave-ready razor and it seems like I have to hone the thing 3-5 times before I'm happy with it. Sometimes I'll still think it doesn't shave as good as it did after the previous owner honed it.

For me, I think it's inexperience. I just don't have an instinct for what exactly I have to do. I can eventually get it shave ready but it seems like I had to overhaul something that should have needed no more than a touch-up. There was another experience when a razor I touched up felt great while I was shaving, but after I finished I found out I did not get a good shave.

I expect to develop that instinct in time. I don't think anyone can teach me what I have left to learn. One thing I do rely on is videos, either on the World of Straight Shaving DVD or YouTube videos done by some of our more experienced members.

I think the ongoing challenge of mastering so many things is what keeps me from getting tired of straight razor shaving. When I am short on time and have to use a DE razor several days in a row I begin to get bored with it because the blade is honed for me.

The next time you hone your razors, get at least a 10x jeweler's loupe or some other high power magnifier and inspect your edge. Look straight down at the edge and slowly rock the razor back and forth on its spine to see if you encounter any shiny spots on your edge. If you have those shiny spots on the very edge, you need to go back to the stones.

Originally Posted by pmburk

The next time you hone your razors, get at least a 10x jeweler's loupe or some other high power magnifier and inspect your edge. Look straight down at the edge and slowly rock the razor back and forth on its spine to see if you encounter any shiny spots on your edge. If you have those shiny spots on the very edge, you need to go back to the stones.

I have this little Radio Shack microscope with 100x power and a small light powered by 2 AAA batteries Illuminated Microscope : Microscopes | RadioShack.com. It helps me find microscopic chips, burrs, and an uneven bevel, but even when it looks clean as a whistle there have been times that the razor didn't shave well. But it is a useful little tool (after you learn to hold it still) and for $12.99 it is certainly worth a try.

For me, I have been unable to see with anything less powerful than 100x. I had a 16x loupe like you're talking about but couldn't see anything. I got a little 60x microscope off ebay and I can't really use it. I also tried a couple of kid's microscopes that had something like 300x power but I couldn't find the razor on it. I don't know why.

Great idea!!

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

I have this little Radio Shack microscope with 100x power and a small light powered by 2 AAA batteries Illuminated Microscope : Microscopes | RadioShack.com. It helps me find microscopic chips, burrs, and an uneven bevel, but even when it looks clean as a whistle there have been times that the razor didn't shave well. But it is a useful little tool (after you learn to hold it still) and for $12.99 it is certainly worth a try.

For me, I have been unable to see with anything less powerful than 100x. I had a 16x loupe like you're talking about but couldn't see anything. I got a little 60x microscope off ebay and I can't really use it. I also tried a couple of kid's microscopes that had something like 300x power but I couldn't find the razor on it. I don't know why.

What you can also do is buy some Sculpty clay from Michael's or AC Moore craft stores and knead up a small ball and set it on the microscope's stage and set the spine of the razor into it to keep it stable during the edge examination; you don't have to go down too far into the clay. That should keep the razor still and stable and free up your hand.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

I have this little Radio Shack microscope with 100x power and a small light powered by 2 AAA batteries Illuminated Microscope : Microscopes | RadioShack.com. It helps me find microscopic chips, burrs, and an uneven bevel, but even when it looks clean as a whistle there have been times that the razor didn't shave well. But it is a useful little tool (after you learn to hold it still) and for $12.99 it is certainly worth a try.

For me, I have been unable to see with anything less powerful than 100x. I had a 16x loupe like you're talking about but couldn't see anything. I got a little 60x microscope off ebay and I can't really use it. I also tried a couple of kid's microscopes that had something like 300x power but I couldn't find the razor on it. I don't know why.