Issues with irritation/bumps

So a few months ago I finally was able to get my blade shaveable and was pretty stoked as it shaved amazingly well with no irritation at all.

My initial routine was to do 10 x strokes on CrOx leather bench strop and then strop on hanging poly webbing followed by leather. Part of my question has to do with why this routine worked so well _including_ the CrOx everytime before a shave as opposed to without it. Doing this before each shave did seem to have a little more pulling but did seem gentler on my skin and caused no irritation (almost as if the edge somehow wasn't as sharp).

Since some folks would not recommend using CrOx that often, I started backing off of it and stropping only on the webbing and leather before each shave. I have noticed that the edge has less pulling now but appears to be _more_ harsh and gives me quite a bit of irritation just like my replaceable-blade shavette used to.

Could it be that skipping the CrOx and using only webbing and leather ends up aligning the edge so much after several stropping sessions that it makes the edge too sharp for my face?

If some knowledgeable members could enlighten me on this aspect I would much appreciate it.

It's probably your shaving technique. Use less pressure if you are getting irritation. I'm assuming your face is properly lubricated.

Here's the theory:

Using a pasted strop will round the edge -- increasing the bevel angle -- just a little bit. Using a pasted strop for regular, daily honing will round it faster.

So -- FWIW -- I suspect it's time to have the razor honed (on a flat stone or sandpaper or lapping film) in order to restore a really sharp edge with the correct bevel angle.

. . . Have you tried a hanging-hair test? Will it "pop" hairs on your arm, above skin level?

. Charles

Wow - that's a hard one. I say go back to what was working! Who cares if "its not what most of us do." Seriously - I used to run my blades on Dovo Green paste before every shave - at the time it seemingly worked great! Can't remember why I stopped - but if it works...

Seriously, if a pitcher thinks he's getting more heat on his ball on every pitch by spitting first... who cares so long as he's throwing 95+ :).

If after going back it doesn't work - so be it.