Starting all over again!!!

I just wanted to share an observation/realization...

2 weeks ago I got a brand new Boker Edelweiss...honed by Lynn, etc etc. Best damn shave of my life. However, the past 2 or 3 shaves with it have been subpar. Not bad, but not as smooth as I've gotten used to. I think I've been stropping it poorly. My other two razors have light plastic scales, while the Boker's are heavy, substantial bone scales. For the life of me, I couldn't get a strong strop. The weight kept throwing me off. I finally realized I had to start over and re-learn how to strop it. So I spent like 15 minutes just slowly stropping on the linen with it, doing about 85 laps (after 4 laps on a barber hone), with increasing speed. Felt much better and I didn't get any of those dreaded ringing strokes. Just good swishy strokes.

I didn't even consider that the weight or material of a razor's scales would have that kind of an effect on how I stropped it. I definitely had an enlightening shave tonight. Hopefully the next one will be back on track!

Hopefully your razor settles in over the course of the next few shaves, but if it doesn't it is likely a dull edge and not your stropping.

I learned what a truly dull razor feels like from my experiences with my other razor. This doesn't feel like that. It just feels a little off, so that instead of getting a smooth shave I'm left with some tiny pinpricks of stubble that I can't seem to get. A dull razor gives me a ragged shave and wicked razor burn.

usually a razor doesn't just give up the ghost and quit shaving. It deteriorates a tad each time you use it. Sometimes it will still shave BBS but begin to get harsh. Sometimes if you only have one razor you don't even realize it's slowly getting dull until it gets really bad and one day you say gee I got a terrible shave today. If parts of your face are not getting done evenly that's a warning sign.

it's easier to do a quick touch up then wait until you have a major honing job on your hands.

As far as stropping goes if a razor is off balance especially big heavy scales it can cause major problems doing stropping and even honing.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

usually a razor doesn't just give up the ghost and quit shaving. It deteriorates a tad each time you use it. Sometimes it will still shave BBS but begin to get harsh. Sometimes if you only have one razor you don't even realize it's slowly getting dull until it gets really bad and one day you say gee I got a terrible shave today. If parts of your face are not getting done evenly that's a warning sign.

it's easier to do a quick touch up then wait until you have a major honing job on your hands.

As far as stropping goes if a razor is off balance especially big heavy scales it can cause major problems doing stropping and even honing.

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That's true, my Wolfertz sauntered lazily downward by time I realized something was really amiss. But I know for a fact that I've been struggling to strop this razor and that is the simplest explanation. Now, whether or not I rolled the edge beyond repair is another question that I won't know until I've shaved with it again. But in general the razor doesn't pull or anything.

It's not that the Boker is off-balance...it's a little scale heavy, but not that much if I'm trying to be objective about it. My other razor is just very blade-heavy...big steel blade, chintzy plastic scales...I got used to it. I just have to get used to tihs, which means I need to dial it back to when I was a wee beginner...which is an interesting thing to say because I'm still relatively a wee beginner.

Good news everyone!

After 4 passes on the Swaty and 100 slow, smooth and careful laps on linen (and 75 on leather), I had a great shave. It was back to the cuts-like-butter stage it was when I got it from SRD. I did end up with some burn and tiny cuts, but it was because I used a soap (Proraso) for the first time ever and though I experimented yesterday I still struggled with adding enough water. It dried out quickly and the razor got gummed up in some of the stickier areas. When I used the Alum though it didn't burn as much as I anticipated, so that was good.

So yes, it was the stroping. I feel better.

Im glad you figured it out...I have to go back as well and work on my strop technique :(

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Originally Posted by U2Bono269

Good news everyone!

After 4 passes on the Swaty and 100 slow, smooth and careful laps on linen (and 75 on leather), I had a great shave. It was back to the cuts-like-butter stage it was when I got it from SRD. I did end up with some burn and tiny cuts, but it was because I used a soap (Proraso) for the first time ever and though I experimented yesterday I still struggled with adding enough water. It dried out quickly and the razor got gummed up in some of the stickier areas. When I used the Alum though it didn't burn as much as I anticipated, so that was good.

So yes, it was the stroping. I feel better.

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Soaps require a lot more water than you'd think to lather well. I've been using MWF lately, and I use a ton of water when lathering it. Brush is completely wet and I leave a small puddle in the bottom of my scuttle. If I used that much water with the cremes I have, it would be a runny mess.

I'm still learning the various water-concentrations necessary for different soaps and creams. I'm learning I need more water for TOBS than I would need for Real Shaving Co, and less water for Proraso cream than for Proraso soap. I just bought some Williams but who knows how that's going to go lol. And I do like runny-ish lather for ATG passes.