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Touch up honing

Once I've used a razor for 5-6 shaves it seems to need a touch up. I've got a Norton 4K/8K and a yellow coticle. What should I do? How many passes on what would get me back to sharp and ready to strop? :confused:
 
Once I've used a razor for 5-6 shaves it seems to need a touch up. I've got a Norton 4K/8K and a yellow coticle. What should I do? How many passes on what would get me back to sharp and ready to strop? :confused:

If you are only getting 5-6 shaves, either 1.) Your razor is a *** (no joke) or 2.) You aren't honing it properly. A well honed razor should give you at LEAST a month of smooth shaves if you're stropping properly.

What kind of razor are you using? Explain your honing procedure. Certainly though, something is awry. :smile:
 
yea Joel's correct. What might be happening is you are getting your razor marginally sharp and it just ain't lasting or maybe it ain't sharp at all and you don't realize it eh? So tell us more.
 
Or you're not getting enough out of your stropping. Have you tried giving it some extra time on the linen or leather and see if the edge comes back? I just took a dull Dovo and gave it about 50 laps on the linen and another 50 on the leather and it came right back.
 
Or you're not getting enough out of your stropping. Have you tried giving it some extra time on the linen or leather and see if the edge comes back? I just took a dull Dovo and gave it about 50 laps on the linen and another 50 on the leather and it came right back.

I hadn't stropped it to that extent. I'll give it a try!
 
Joel - its probably my honing but I'll generally work it on my Norton 4K until I get a good even bevel across the blade and I'll give it an arm hair test then I go to the 8K and Yellow Coticle for about 20-30 laps on each. Then I'll strop it...30 laps on the linen and 50 laps on the leather. I am still new to this so I am open to suggestion. Thanks!
 
Joel - its probably my honing but I'll generally work it on my Norton 4K until I get a good even bevel across the blade and I'll give it an arm hair test then I go to the 8K and Yellow Coticle for about 20-30 laps on each. Then I'll strop it...30 laps on the linen and 50 laps on the leather. I am still new to this so I am open to suggestion. Thanks!

sounds like you might be overhoning 30 on the 8 and coticule is a lot
 
If you are only getting 5-6 shaves, either 1.) Your razor is a *** (no joke) or 2.) You aren't honing it properly. A well honed razor should give you at LEAST a month of smooth shaves if you're stropping properly.

What kind of razor are you using? Explain your honing procedure. Certainly though, something is awry. :smile:


I have heard a few people that say there razors only stay sharp for about 6 shaves before a pasted paddle is needed. I usually get about 12 before a touchup.
 
I dare to disagree. I do have razors that have an edge that seems to last for ages but some simply don't. Moreover: I do like this fresh from the hone feel: it really is different!

If you are only getting 5-6 shaves, either 1.) Your razor is a *** (no joke) or 2.) You aren't honing it properly. A well honed razor should give you at LEAST a month of smooth shaves if you're stropping properly.

What kind of razor are you using? Explain your honing procedure. Certainly though, something is awry. :smile:
 
There are some guys who say they can shave with the same razor for months at a time. Maybe they have light beards, I don't know. I find I get about 15 shaves out of a razor before having to do a touchup. I have a few I can get up to 30 with. My TI damascus shaves forever but thats an exception. I find though they will shave the comfort factor starts to suffer first.
 
Back to the original question, which no one has answered yet. If your razor needs a touch-up, what is a good start to getting it back to good shaving sharpness? For example, I have a diamond-pasted paddle with 1.0 and .5. How many laps on each to start? (I'm assuming, of course, that the razor isn't overhoned or something.) I realize every razor will be different; I'm just looking for a ballpark figure. 20 strokes on each? 10? :confused:

Norm
 
Back to the original question, which no one has answered yet. If your razor needs a touch-up, what is a good start to getting it back to good shaving sharpness? For example, I have a diamond-pasted paddle with 1.0 and .5. How many laps on each to start? (I'm assuming, of course, that the razor isn't overhoned or something.) I realize every razor will be different; I'm just looking for a ballpark figure. 20 strokes on each? 10? :confused:

Norm

Norm,
No one has answered the question, because there is a bigger problem at hand - and the question asked cannot be answered legitimately, as again, there is a much bigger problem/issue.

As for YOUR question RE: the touchup with your diamond paddle, it really depends on the razor and how sharp it is. As silly as that sounds, it isn't something quantifiable. For example, say you have a WEDGE that needs to be touched up. It's going to need a HELL of a lot more passes than an extra hollow ground razor. What further complicates things is the steel of the razor itself. For instance, a TI's steel reacts and is a different hardness than say a Dovo, and a Tim Zowada Damascus razor, or a TI Silverwing are hard as diamond and are going to require a heck of a lot more work than say a Dovo Prima Klang or the like.

A good place to start would be about 20-30 strokes on the .5

Hope this helps.
 
My touch-ups consist until recently of 15-20 laps on the Y/G Escher. Nowadays that's followed by 50 on the Nakayama.
 
Norm,
No one has answered the question, because there is a bigger problem at hand - and the question asked cannot be answered legitimately, as again, there is a much bigger problem/issue.

As for YOUR question RE: the touchup with your diamond paddle, it really depends on the razor and how sharp it is. As silly as that sounds, it isn't something quantifiable. For example, say you have a WEDGE that needs to be touched up. It's going to need a HELL of a lot more passes than an extra hollow ground razor. What further complicates things is the steel of the razor itself. For instance, a TI's steel reacts and is a different hardness than say a Dovo, and a Tim Zowada Damascus razor, or a TI Silverwing are hard as diamond and are going to require a heck of a lot more work than say a Dovo Prima Klang or the like.

A good place to start would be about 20-30 strokes on the .5

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Joel. As a straight razor newb, sometimes it's hard to clear all of the variable hurdles. My razor in question is a new Dovo Best Quality, professionally honed before I got it. I've shaved with it 5 or 6 times, and it seems to be getting dull. My reference point is a Geneva Cutlery razor which also came shave-ready. I've shaved with it many more times than the Dovo, and it is still plenty sharp. For the Dovo, I tried 20 strokes on the .5, which helped some, but it's still not doing as well as the Geneva. Is it possible that I have rolled the edge with poor stropping technique?

Norm
 
Thanks, Joel. As a straight razor newb, sometimes it's hard to clear all of the variable hurdles. My razor in question is a new Dovo Best Quality, professionally honed before I got it. I've shaved with it 5 or 6 times, and it seems to be getting dull. My reference point is a Geneva Cutlery razor which also came shave-ready. I've shaved with it many more times than the Dovo, and it is still plenty sharp. For the Dovo, I tried 20 strokes on the .5, which helped some, but it's still not doing as well as the Geneva. Is it possible that I have rolled the edge with poor stropping technique?

Norm

Norm,
1 of 2 things are happening... the "professional honing" isn't so great, or the grind is too hollow for your beard. If the Geneva for instance is a wedge, 1/2 hollow or 1/4 hollow, it'll shave a LOT differently - and hold its edge a lot longer than a full hollow dovo.

Also remember.... even the BEST honing pro will occasionally send out a razor that just plumb isn't shaving perfectly. You cannot test shave with EVERY razor (and then it is actually a "used" razor at that point, and you cannot legally sell it as new) and you start to run out of hair on your hands and arms :wink: While it might not happen often - I submit there isn't a SINGLE honemeister that doesn't occasionally send out a razor that isn't done to the best of their abilities.... again, not on purpose - but it happens. :smile:
 
Or you're not getting enough out of your stropping. Have you tried giving it some extra time on the linen or leather and see if the edge comes back? I just took a dull Dovo and gave it about 50 laps on the linen and another 50 on the leather and it came right back.

One other point to consider is whether you might be rolling or otherwise dulling the edge when you strop.

When I started out, I had to be careful to do more good than harm with my stropping.

Is this happening with all of your razors?
 
I'm pretty sure the Dovo just got dull. I had used it for about two weeks by the time I put it away; I just didn't get back to it because some razors came in and I forgot about it. I used to not use the linen on my Illinois 127 because I didn't like the way it made the edge feel, but a few months ago I tried one of my old worn vintage strops and liked the results, so I tried taking off that plastic coating with some pumice. That Illinois is what I'm using right now - I'm about 6 weeks in on this TI and it's still going strong.
 
Norm,
1 of 2 things are happening... the "professional honing" isn't so great, or the grind is too hollow for your beard. If the Geneva for instance is a wedge, 1/2 hollow or 1/4 hollow, it'll shave a LOT differently - and hold its edge a lot longer than a full hollow dovo.

Also remember.... even the BEST honing pro will occasionally send out a razor that just plumb isn't shaving perfectly. You cannot test shave with EVERY razor (and then it is actually a "used" razor at that point, and you cannot legally sell it as new) and you start to run out of hair on your hands and arms :wink: While it might not happen often - I submit there isn't a SINGLE honemeister that doesn't occasionally send out a razor that isn't done to the best of their abilities.... again, not on purpose - but it happens. :smile:

Of course, with my shaving technique still in the developmental phase, it's hard to tell if the razor is at fault, or my lousy technique. :redface:
I did 10 laps on the 1.0 followed by 10 laps on the .5 with the Dovo, stropped and shaved this morning. Closest to BBS I've gotten yet. :smile:

Norm
 
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