[Detach]

I've been shaving with a straight since about may of this year and I've gotten okay at it. I can do a complete shave with no discomfort and usually no nicks excluding the chin area. I have 4 razors that i shave with and they all shave wonderfully except my latest acquisition seen here

IT'S HERE!

I hone it myself with hones i bought from Miss Tilly at redtrader. It passes every test: HHT, TPT, TNT except for the shave test. it doesn't pull, it slices right through the hair but for some reason it is the only razor that leaves my face feeling like it's on fire. I honed my other henckels straight the same way i did this one and it is my best shaver. What am i doing wrong? Is it my technique? Why only this razor?

Thank you for your help!

[hoglahoo]

If that was happening to me I would strop it a hundred times or so on linen and then on leather and see if it helped. If it didn't help, I'd post a thread just like you did here on SRP

I'm curious to see what others have done to alleviate this issue...

[Detach]

hmm...i don't have a linen strop but i've got nothing to do this afternoon so i'll strop it a hundred times while i'm bored :P

but what else could it be?

[mrbhagwan]

If you have a loupe or microscope, check the edge for microchipping. I found out through a couple of razors I thought I"d honed up well that those little jags can make you feel like you shaved with acid!

[Detach]

well...i went to RS and got a microscope to look at the edge and it looked pretty good (the thinsg kinda difficult to use :-\) i didn't see any jaggies...(i stropped it 50 on my CrO and then 100 on leather for good measure) and i gave it a quick shave WTG...face only burns a little but it still burns :P haha

[thebigspendur]

I usually find, when a razor starts to deteriorate the first symptom is that it causes irritation. It sounds to me like you just need a touch up honing. if you have a 12K hone try some passes on that or if you have a pasted strop with CrO try that.

[xChris]

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

If that was happening to me I would strop it a hundred times or so on linen and then on leather and see if it helped. If it didn't help, I'd post a thread just like you did here on SRP

I'm curious to see what others have done to alleviate this issue...

I agree. The linen helps burnish the scratch pattern left by honing. I had some razors that wouldn;t shave well before I realized the linen was required to relieve the harshness of the edge.

When you look at a freshly honed razor, I can see the striations clearly ( I use a secondary light source -- pocket flashlight -- with my RS microscope). After using linen for about 40 laps, the edge looks fuzzy or the striations are gone.

[Johnny J]

Let me ask a (pseudo)scientific question: is the problem razor a different size, grind, or material than your other 4? If the 4 good ones are carbon steel full hollows & the problem razor is a stainless wedge or something, maybe you're just not accustomed to the quirks of honing it?

[Detach]

Originally Posted by Johnny J

Let me ask a (pseudo)scientific question: is the problem razor a different size, grind, or material than your other 4? If the 4 good ones are carbon steel full hollows & the problem razor is a stainless wedge or something, maybe you're just not accustomed to the quirks of honing it?

No sir, all four are carbon steel, they're all hollow ground varying between full and half. They're all different but i don't think it's enough to make a difference?

[onimaru55]

Maybe a simplistic answer but sounds like the edge needs more refinement.
I had a Wald razor like that. Wicked sharp after the 12K and CrO but required an ultra light touch or I got a somewhat harsh shave.
I use a Jewellers rouge pasted strop after my CrO now & it makes all the difference.
Obviously others find linen and other methods work for them. See what works for you.

[BigBubba]

Disclaimer - I am far from being a honemeister, this is only one opinion....

That said, Were your other razors professionally honed?
I'm thinking it might not be a finishing problem, but a bevel problem.
If the others were honed well initially and you have no problems touching them up, and the problem razor wasn't, you may be trying to polish a turd. If this is the case, resetting the bevel would/should fix the problem.

I could be wrong though.

[gssixgun]

I have a couple of quick questions????
In the original thread you mentioned a Honing Voucher from Mike (Rattliff ????)
it sounds as if you did not use that, and honed this razor, on small barbers hone from Tilly????

This is a Henckles they are generally known to be very straight forward on the hones, and very pleasant on the face

If my above assumption was right and you started with a "Dull as a Butterknife Razor" how did you hone it ?????

[Johnny J]

Hey Glen, I have that same barber hone set, Tilly's so-called "3-hone beginner set." It consists of 3 hones, coarse (about 4K) medium (about 6K) and fine (about 8K). That set, plus some 1K wet/dry, is capable of honing a razor from scratch.

[Detach]

Well...I started with a pyramid of 30 on my coarser stone then a set of 30 on the finer stone. I then worked my way down from the coarser by tens then fives (30-20-10-5) and worked my way down the fine by fives (30-25-20-15) and then did 10 on the fine stone and 20 on 1 micron paste followed by 20 on CrO and then 50 on leather. It shaved hairs effortlessly but left my face burning :-\

I did not however attempt to set a bevel on a lower grit stone, should I have done this?

[gssixgun]

I am going to try and help you here, but I'm not even sure of what stones you are using????

There are a few inherent problems using the small barbers hones, they are more prone to over honing, I don't know why, but they are, my theory (no basis) is that it might be the short strokes.....

I know most people that use them, recommend a forward and back-stoke when using them ....
Can you hone a razor with them??? obviously YES, people used them for years in the old days... (we see evidence of that on e-bay razors everyday)

Here is what I do know.....
Every single edge has to go through 3 stages to become shave ready.....
1. The bevel setting stage
2. The sharpening stage
3. The polishing stage
How you go through these stages determines the final outcome on your face....
If you are creating an over-honed condition more accurately a micro-serrated condition in any one of these stages you are going to get a sharp rough shave...
If you skip or skimp on the earlier stages your edge will either be dull or very, very, short lived....
That Henckels should be smooth as silk on your face when honed correctly...

Perhaps a pic of the stones, next to the razor would help....

[AxelH]

I have an alternative theory. I honed a DD Dwarf to 8k and it shaves good and hardly any irritation, if any. I then used a professionally honed razor, not too different, and I had more burn than the 8k razor. It shaved fast and smooth, most likely because it was honed sharper than I could (lack of equipment). I don't blame the honer or the razor, I'm pretty sure it's my fault and have to adjust my technique (more careful and softer touch).

Perhaps Detach is using a blade that is sharper than he's accustomed to? He's got the microscope and can determine for himself if there are any jagged areas on the edge. Without edge imperfections.. I'd think this alternative theory is more than plausible.

[kaptain_zero]

I have nothing to add to what's been said about solving the problem as I'm in the camp that says, you're going to have to figure this out for yourself as only your face know what it likes. That said, I will say that when *I* run into such a razor and I do now and again..... I find that going back to a Coticule, maybe with a light milky slurry for 20 or so laps to round that extreme edge, then 20 or 30 more with clean water to bring it back up to near HHT sharp and then hit the strop and I generally find a harsh razor is back to smooth shaving and still passing my HHT. Some razors just get harshly sharp and the Coticule seems to tame them quite nicely.

Regards

Kaptain "Garnet" Zero