Straight Razor Advice needed.

[Tooch]

Months, eh? I read something like every few weeks.

I've read "months" too, but I end up honing about every six weeks. I do have a very thick beard. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I start with an excellent edge and strop every day.

 

[JLStorm]

I've read "months" too, but I end up honing about every six weeks. I do have a very thick beard. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I start with an excellent edge and strop every day.

It also depends on the grind and the type of steel used.

 

[Shangas]

Straight razors are made of either CARBON STEEL (which is what they were traditionally made of) or STAINLESS STEEL (which is what most modern razors are made of).

There's properties of the two different types of steel that determine how frequently they need honing, but I forget what those properties are...

 

[dnjan]

Actually, it is probably a person's stropping technique that has the greatest effect on honing frequency. Too much pressure and too much angle, and you end up rounding over the edge (and it doesn't shave as well). Light pressure, shallow angle, and just 6-8 passes should be fine.

I went from needing to re-sharpen every month or two, to going around six months by paying attention to daily stropping.

 

[flylot74]

Of the many I own(12 and one Japanese kamisori), I have found that those which are the hardest to hone usually keep their edge longer, while those that quickly take an edge need "touch ups" with the hone more regularly.

So, composition of the steel, how the steel was heat treated, its Rockwell hardness, blade size, and other factors will all be factors of the steel ability to retain an edge.

I find I prefer carbon steel over stainless. For me, I can get the carbon steel "scary sharp" going as high as 12k stones on the hone and .5 and .25 micron diamond paste on a paddle strop. It makes for some very smooth shaves.

However, if the bevel isn't properly set with a 1k stone, you can spend hours with 4k and 8k stones and never get a smooth edge. There are honemeisters out there (at the Straight razor place website) that will gladly give you guidance when honing and who are far more knowledgeable than I.

If anyone is interested in learning about straight shaving, I can't recommend a better site that SRP.

 

[filfoster]

Closer, closer....close!

Here's an uncomfortable point. I shave in the shower each evening and shave with a disposable double blade. I am still smooth by the following 5 pm. I have had a barber straight razor shave and it was not as close as the following day 5pm. He is not unskilled but I do shave first with then against the grain. What is your comparison, straight edgers? (I think this may belong in another thread).

 

[HHISIII]

I have noticed that my facial hair has grown in faster since adopting straight (and the occasional DE) razor shaving. However, my face NEVER felt this good after a shave with a disposable and I actually cut my self far less with a straight (I've cut myself twice since adopting straight shaving last December).


That said, please DO NOT EVER straight shave while in the shower. Just the thought gives me chills, I can just picture severed parts that should never be severed on a male...

 

[Shangas]

...but...I shave in the shower with a straight...

It's not that bad. But it's more comfortable to shave with one at the sink in front of a mirror.

 

[Big_e]

Although I use a straight razor, I still keep my Mach3. On rare occasions I use it for sentimental reasons since that's what my dad taught me to shave with and disposables are great when traveling.
I get a great smooth shave with both my straight and Mach3 but by afternoon I feel growth coming back when I use my Mach3.
Ernest

 

[HHISIII]

...but...I shave in the shower with a straight...

It's not that bad. But it's more comfortable to shave with one at the sink in front of a mirror.

You're more man than I. There's just all sorts of bad that I can imagine coming from a slight slip of the hand while in the shower.

 

[Big_e]

You're more man than I. There's just all sorts of bad that I can imagine coming from a slight slip of the hand while in the shower.

The slip of the hand is the first hazard. The soaps I use are from an ebay seller and she mixes in a bit of french clay for ultra slickness. This also makes the footing in the shower tub hazardous.
My blades never touch running water. I shave and wipe the lather on a towel or the back of my hands like I've seen my barber do. When I finish shaving, I wipe the blade with a couple of squares of toilet tissue and stash in the closet. I never had a problem with rust.
Ernest

 

[Undertow]

Just a quick stropping question for you straight razor shavers...
I've recently purchased a Dovo Bismarck 6/8, pictured below:

I also purchased an Illinois #127 Leather/Linen strop. I've read through all SRP wikis, I've watched videos on Youtube, and I've practiced stropping myself.

Honestly - is stropping really supposed to be that easy? I apply 0 pressure, I let the spine lead and I give the blade 0 angle (the spine naturally gives it an angle but I'm allowing the razor to lie flat with its own weight). I go back and forth at a about 1 round trip per 1.5 to 2 seconds. And that's it? Really? It seems to me there should be a little more work/skill involved, and I'm afraid I'm missing something.

Your feedback is appreciated!

 

[John in Covina]

Just a quick stropping question for you straight razor shavers...
I've recently purchased a Dovo Bismarck 6/8, pictured below:

I also purchased an Illinois #127 Leather/Linen strop. I've read through all SRP wikis, I've watched videos on Youtube, and I've practiced stropping myself.
Honestly - is stropping really supposed to be that easy? I apply 0 pressure, I let the spine lead and I give the blade 0 angle (the spine naturally gives it an angle but I'm allowing the razor to lie flat with its own weight). I go back and forth at a about 1 round trip per 1.5 to 2 seconds. And that's it? Really? It seems to me there should be a little more work/skill involved, and I'm afraid I'm missing something. Your feedback is appreciated!

Stropping in reality is not about sharpening but about re-aligning the sharp edge. The edge of a razor is actually kind of fragile and it bends as you shave. Eventually the bends are enough to make the edge dull but only because the edge is not lined up correctly. If you use a strop with the sharpening pastes like the diamond pastes then you are re-aligning and doing some sharpening at the same time.

 

[dnjan]

Sounds good to me. I probably go a bit faster (a round-trip in a second or less), six to eight times per side.
That's it.

 

[ph33nyx]

All this advice for a person just starting out. It will surely turn into SRAD!

 

[Undertow]

All this advice for a person just starting out. It will surely turn into SRAD!

SRAD? I hope that doesn't stand for Straight Razor Assault Detachment - because you're right, I don't want to mess up my face that much!

 

[Michaelshane]

Sounds good to me. I probably go a bit faster (a round-trip in a second or less), six to eight times per side.
That's it.

You need to do 50-60 round trips.Back and forth = one round trip.

 

[dnjan]

You need to do 50-60 round trips.Back and forth = one round trip.

For stropping each day before you shave?
Really?
Have never done that in the 30+ years I have been exclusively using a straight razor.
Perhaps that is why some people need to re-hone so often ...