Thread: Nicked edge!

Good Morning?

Yikes! So, as I prepared to strop my razor this morning, I did what I'm reading many have done, and allowed the edge of my razor to contact something hard and perpendicular, thereby inadvertently put a small nick in the edge of my blade near the heel. I think the edge of the strop caught and connected with the blade's edge when it slipped from my hand. I can now see a glint of light on the edge of the blade and stropping on leather left a small scratch or 2 in the strop and I could see a small build-up of leather in the blade.

I've managed to get the scratches out of the strop with light sanding and conditioning, so I'm not concerned about that.

My question is, how do I address this nick in the edge of my blade? I have yet to invest in sharpening and honing equipment as I'm still a beginner. Is this something I should and can repair with some basic knowledge of blade refreshing gleaned from Lynn's videos or is this something I should send or take to someone for honing? My next planned investment was to get the Norton waterstone 3-piece set and attempt restoring an edge when the time was right. That time has come sooner than I suspected. But I wonder if this is more than I should attempt given my level of (in)experience.

Fortunately, this is not my only razor, so I will not have to forfeit the enjoyment of a good shave!

Any guidance would be much appreciated. I'm in Philadelphia, PA so if any experienced members are nearby and could offer a hand, I'd be happy to repay with food, drink, money, and/or eternal gratitude for saving me from having to ship my razor for repair.

Cheers!

Photos would help see the damage and advise a remedy.

Originally Posted by bouschie

Photos would help see the damage and advise a remedy.

I doubt that I have a sophisticated enough camera lens to capture the damage. What I can tell from look and feel with my thumbnail is that there is a small nick in the blade. A casual look would not indicate much, I think. Thanks, though.

If you dinked the edge enough to have it scratch the strop it is unlikely that anything shy of honing is going to fix it. If you are as new to shaving as your join date then having someone else do the repair is probably best. Send it to a pro or a nearby member. The mail is pretty quick in short distances. Look here
http://straightrazorpalace.com/class...wcat.php?cat=4

Depends on the degree of damage,
The safe bet is, send it out, but it sounds like you just rolled the heel.

Photos would help, they always do… You can take a pretty good magnified photo with a magnifying glass and a phone. Get as close as you can.

What brand of razor is it, new or vintage and was it honed shave ready to begin with?

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Depends on the degree of damage,
The safe bet is, send it out, but it sounds like you just rolled the heel.

Photos would help, they always do… You can take a pretty good magnified photo with a magnifying glass and a phone. Get as close as you can.

What brand of razor is it, new or vintage and was it honed shave ready to begin with?

It's the basic 5/8" Ralf Aust from SRD that was honed shave-ready by them when I bought it a few weeks ago. I don't own a magnifying glass, yet.

If there isn't metal missing (actual chip), you could try 100 laps on linen and see if it goes away. If that doesn't fix it honing is probably the only way

Originally Posted by rodb

If there isn't metal missing (actual chip), you could try 100 laps on linen and see if it goes away. If that doesn't fix it honing is probably the only way

I did some laps on a linen strop and it seemed to mitigate a little. I ordered some of the Mastro Livi green chromium oxide paste from SRD to apply to the linen since right now it's untreated. I will try again when all of this arrives and if it still looks like it needs honing, I'll send it out.

Originally Posted by Harper

It's the basic 5/8" Ralf Aust from SRD that was honed shave-ready by them when I bought it a few weeks ago. I don't own a magnifying glass, yet.

If you bought it from SRD, you should have a coupon for a free honing.

Originally Posted by CZMark

If you bought it from SRD, you should have a coupon for a free honing.

I do have that coupon, but I was hoping there was a fix that I could do since it seems a shame to use the free honing after only a few shaves. Awaiting Norton whetstones and chromium oxide to see if this is something I can resolve. If not, then I'll send it back to Lynn for honing.