a razor that just wont shave?!?

**kansascutthroat** · 04-20-2010, 09:06 AM

i have an old straight imported by G.Fralick Wichita, KS. the razor is made in germany. i have honed, stropped, done everything i can and while the edge feels very sharp, it simply will not shave hair! i sharpened it exactly like all the others i have using spyderco stones, red and black strop paste etc. this works for all my others (old dubl ducks, dovo etc), but this thing will just simply not work. anyone else had this problem? do some razors just not do what they should? dont understand how my technique works on 8 other razors perfectly for me, but nothing works on this one. any help would be appreciated!
thanks

**professorchaos** · 04-20-2010, 02:06 PM

Off of your coarsest hone, will the razor pass the TNT? No bevel, no shave.

**Seraphim** · 04-20-2010, 02:18 PM

That is my suspicion as well. Without setting the bevel correctly, it will never shave correctly.

Same recipe, different razor, equals different result.

For each razor, you must stay on the bevel setting hone until you get it properly set before moving on to higher grit hones. Counting laps ("I'll do 20 laps on the 1k, then 15 laps on the 4k, follwed by 20 laps on the 8k......") is pretty close to useless. Hone based on results, not number of laps.

**alabamalawyer** · 04-20-2010, 02:28 PM

I have one like that and wondered the same thing. It is an German made straight probably from the 1950's that is a family heirloom. I knew my honing skills weren't sufficient so I sent it to a very reputable restoration expert. He did some restoration work and honed the blade. He tested the edge and let me know it was sharp and ready to go. I know his honing is excellent as I have several razors on which he has worked.

However, this one will not comfortably cut my beard. I have tried some extra stropping and even a few extra laps on my pasted strop, but it just will not give me a close, comfortable shave. So I just keep it around for the sentimental value.

**Desdinova** · 04-20-2010, 02:48 PM

is it by any chance a wedge?

**treydampier** · 04-20-2010, 06:29 PM

I agree with the folks above. Bevel setting is the key to any razor shaving properly. If it won't cut hair off a 1K hone then your bevel is possibly not right.
Personally, I have had razor like this that were overheated once and ruined the temper and no matter what I tried, I couldnt hone them. However, I have actually put on some tape and honed them with 60-80 circles to remove some metal and then removed the tape and started my bevel setting routine.
Most of the time this has worked for me, but there are some razors that....

**kansascutthroat** · 04-20-2010, 08:31 PM

when you were doing the circles was it on a 1k hone. i think that is probably what my medium spyderco is.
thanks!

**wazazzle** · 04-21-2010, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Same recipe, different razor, equals different result. Hone based on results, not number of laps.

ditto... I just picked up a Worcester. Honed it like many of my previous razor but still nothing. Took forever, well actually just an additional day and 100 more laps before it would split hairs. Dunno why took 2x the effort but now it shaves like a mofo. Do as they say, check your bevel and keep at it!