Thread: Ever had a sharp razor that just wasn't pleasant on your face?

Got a beauty of a Robert Wiliams custom razor a few weeks ago from Phil and Jane at The Classic Edge. As promised, it had a fine edge, and the advice on their site said to shave with it 2 or three times without stropping. I did, and although it was sharp and I got great shaves, it felt harsh...more with each shave.

Relying on the advice I've been reading here and watching videos about, I took it to my SRD Modular Paddle strop, using the Chromium oxide pasted felt for 10 round trips, with only weight of the razor pressure. I then wiped it down of CrOx took it to my SRD 3" strop, 20 on the premium fabric and 80 on the Roo.

Shaved this morning and what an improvement! Very bit as sharp and as clean a shave, but felt so smooth it was like nothing was touching my face. I love a good learning experience almost as much as a good shave!

That is a good reminder of what we get from stropping. Great story too.

It could have been any number of things.

Did you look at the edge, straight down with magnification?

It could have been as simple as the edge could have hit the scales in transit. Which is why I always ship in a well packed cardboard box, just assume your package is going to get thrown around.

That, it straightened right up, is a testament to a well honed edge, proper stropping most probably brought the edge in line.
There are few edges that a hand full of lite laps on Chrome Ox will not improve.

+1 to what Shaun and Marty said...a little extra proper Stropping will more often than not quickly correct a host of perceived problems.

Maybe there was a problem with the edge. Or maybe you just like your edges different from the way that that one got honed. Never can tell...

Reminds me of hearing from people "I love the edges that X puts on razors, and I don't know why everyone loves razors from Y." And then you hear the opposite from the next person...

This interesting point raised by holli4pirating always brings me back to wanting to know the honing regimen of the honer from which the razor comes(I only have one to compare it honed by a well-known uber honer).

This has an impact. For me, I know only synthetics and barber hones of a variety.

So, to hear from a honemeister that they'd finished on an Escher and sent it to me, I'd be *very* interested in comparing the shaves. Not that I'm comparing myself to a honemeister, but I know what a blade feels like coming off my equipment at my current skill level.

IME 10 round trips with the weight of the blade on Chrom-Ox is a good thing to tame a harsh feel to an edge. The kind of thing you may not need often, but sure nice to have in case you do need it.

I stropped a razor once with 0.01 diamond paste and got a very unpleasant shave. The blade was definitely sharp and cut hair without any effort, but it was just too harsh for me. Did a few laps on CrOx to "dull" it down and it was back to a wonderful shave.

Interesting points raised by both holli4pirating and Siguy, and a good reflection from JimmyHAD. In retrospect, I maybe should have tried just stropping before the CrOx, but didn't think of that. The truth is that I could have lived with the edge as delivered, it shaved very closely, and I was not unhappy at all with the degree of sharpness, but I was perplexed by the fact that I could "feel" that sharpness, if that makes any sense.

I don't know what was used to hone it...could have asked, but didn't.

I guess my point of the thread was to confirm that as others have said, if and edge feels a little harsh to the shaver's face, some short time on CrOx can, in fact, smooth it out. I'm not a scientist on this and have not really honed myself yet in spite of having stones (chicken), but I do know what my face likes and doesn't. Same is true with DE blades. So as usual, YMMV.

Yes I have, like many others I have an opinion too. I would bet your razor was finished on synthetic stones. Do 50 laps on canvas then 50 leather, report what you find. Do not use any pastes. I think your edge will improve.