Okay, what am I doing wrong?

[Kavik79]

Okay, I'm only 2 shaves in with a straight. Using a Fromm 72r that I honed myself because it came with a hooked heel and uneven grind from the factory.
I finally got the edge straight and even and sharp all the way across using a Norton 1k/4k/8k, Chinese 12k and finished on a plain linen then leather strop.

My first shave I only did 1 pass wtg to get a feel for it. Second shave I went all out wtg, xtg and atg. For only being 2 shaves in I'm happy to say so far I've only had one tiny nick (edge of my lip), 2 little scratches (on my cheek where the toe just barely got me, not even enough to bleed) and the slightest bit of irritation on my chin after the 3 pass shave.


Anyway, my issue is this: At the start of my shave the razor slips right through the hair with hardly any pressure needed and no sign of tugging, but by the time I get done with my cheeks and upper lip and move on to my neck, the blade already feels dull and pulls at the hairs.
If I take it back to the leather strop mid-shave, it's good and sharp again so I can continue.


Now, while trying to learn to hone and repair this funky blade all in one shot, I did end up taking off a fair amount of metal, but to make up for the excessive hone wear I used 1 layer of electrical tape once I had the edge straight.

My instincts tell me that maybe the edge is too thin and might be folding over while shaving? But I'm no expert, so I'm probably wrong LOL Figured I'd ask you guys first before trying to re-hone with 2 layers of tape to increase the angle of the bevel
(and figured I'd ask here since I'm not sure if it's a honing issue, stropping issue, a "me" issue, or what)

Thanks in advance!

[MickRussell]

Check your lather. I find that if I let it dry out then by the end of the pass it's harder and much less comfortable. Also, with only two shaves in your angle could well be suspect. Working under the chin and down your neck can be a little tricky at first and if your angle is slightly off it makes everything worse. That just comes with practice.

[Kentos]

Wow, I commend you on going whole hog at the outset with shaving restoring and honing at the same time. Assuming you have attained a shave ready edge, I think your technique is possibly to blame. Theoretically as the spine wears down and the razor gets narrower, the bevel geometry should stay the same over the life of the razor.
Shaving with a steep angle is akin to scraping, rather than cutting, so it dulls an edge faster. Also strokes without a slight arcing or slicing motion is more like cutting with a cleaver rather than slicing with a filet knife, so it dulls the edge faster too.
That being said try adding tape and see, it may very well be the cause too :).

[Kavik79]

Check your lather. I find that if I let it dry out then by the end of the pass it's harder and much less comfortable. Also, with only two shaves in your angle could well be suspect. Working under the chin and down your neck can be a little tricky at first and if your angle is slightly off it makes everything worse. That just comes with practice.
I've been using soap and a brush for a couple years now, even when I was shaving with a mach 3. This definitely took longer, and was drying out on me a bit, but I re-applied as needed :) (Prep: Shower/soak my face as hot as I can stand it before getting out, about 50 passes on the leather strop, Proraso pre-shave cream, Mama Bear's Lime Ice soap)
I also thought it might be the different angle or maybe the hair is a little coarser....but when I stropped and tried the same area again it cut better. Or on the atg pass I started on my neck and by the time I got to my cheeks it was feeling duller.
I know I have a LOT of technique to work on....but I'm not convinced this issue is only that. Partly sure, but maybe not completely.


Kentos:
LOL I guess I don't know how to start something new without going overboard
About the geometry- I think during my learning curve I did put too much pressure on the spine for a while in the beginning, so I'm not sure it's exactly right anymore....
I'm trying to keep my angle as low as possible, with the spine just off my face....but that doesn't mean I'm not accidentally too steep at times. I don't think I've been arcing or slicing though, so I'll definitely try to pay attention to that!

I think it might be time to hone up one of these other blades I've been restoring and see if a different razor works out better for me.....just need to find one that a) doesn't need too much cleaning up and b) I haven't removed the scales from yet LOL

[Kentos]

Nice! Well if you are keeping a low angle it shouldn't be dulling that fast. Have you mapped the growth on your neck? Could be your WTG is a ATG so it doesn't cut well on your first pass...? my edges last the whole shave, although as it gets duller i do sometimes strop between passes.

[Kavik79]

the sides of my neck grow at an angle, but straight down from my chin grows straight down...so definitely not a problem with that in the center section

it is encouraging to hear that needing to strop between passes isn't completely unheard of though. So maybe whatever it is that's "off" is only off by a bit...
Maybe I'll take it back to the stones this weekend and try that different bevel angle, in case I've got a bit of a 'foil edge' thing happening here

[Snuff-Belgium]

Could also be the metal of the razor is not all that good (I have had some like that I bought at a flea market)? Try another one or if you have the chance to shave with a razor from someone else who is sure it's a good one?

I remember that when I started out my razors became dull very fast, nowadays it's been a long time since they seen a hone. With time as your honing, stropping and shaving technique gets better you will see a big difference.

[Kavik79]

hopefully that's not the case....it was a brand new razor when I started lol
I was under the impression that Fromm's were at least decent, but like I said, bought it new and the grind was uneven, part by the toe wasn't even ground, the heel stuck out further than the rest of the blade and it had a frown before I ever touched it to a stone

I tried honing up another razor I had waiting to restore.....only to find out that that blade is warped. All sorts of luck here LOL (I know there are ways to deal with that, but I'm not there yet)

Unfortunately I don't know anyone else personally that uses straights to borrow from. Going to look at a couple other blades I have here...if I get another one shave ready then I might send this Fromm out for a professional honing to see how it compares. Same blade, same strop, same shaver, different honer...might be the best way to test this out


again though, comforting to hear that going dull fast isn't an uncommon 'symptom'

[Kavik79]

Okay, so I tried resetting the bevel on that Fromm and now I can't get that one to shave at all :001_unsur

So I set it aside for now (as an alternative to chucking it out a window lol) and spent some time on the stones with this Ern I have here. This one is a lot more hollow, so the shave feels a lot different, sharp as hell and cuts easily but it's a little harsh feeling, if that makes sense...anyway the point was that the edge on this one held up through the entire shave

Tried remembering to do the slight slicing motion and that definitely helped me to need less pressure :thumbup1:

I guess for now I'll keep going with this razor to see how long it holds up with only requiring 1 stropping per shave.....but there's definitely something different about the way this steel feels compared to the other one. I don't know how to explain it really, but even with the thinner blade the steel feels more solid or harder when honing...just wish I could get it to feel as smooth as the other did when freshly stropped