Overly soft steel

I recently got a vintage Imperial Eagle razor and honed it myself and I noticed that it has really soft steel. It sharpened up real quick and much faster than any other razor I've honed. And when I shaved with it the first time, I noticed that the first pass was okay but already by the second I could tell it was dulling. By the third, on my ATG pass, it was pulling bad and I had to switch razors. What gives?

Someone likely did a "restoration" at some time recently to get a better price for it and overheated the edge, ruining it's temper.

Does the spine seem as soft as the edge? If not, you may be able to eventually hone through the soft metal, but I suspect it is damaged beyond repair.

Not sure, but I think it's just the edge. You're probably right about it being restored previously.

Torch the edge and quench it! Lol no don't do that. It's sad that some people don't know how to treat a razor. Buffing wheels in the wrong hands are a disaster. Hopefully you can hone-through. Good luck!

I doubt the temper is gone or it would not have taken an edge to start. Chances are you honed a false edge onto it which are very thin and it could not hold up. That is easy to do with german and Sheffield steel.

What's a false edge and how do you prevent it?

jez foster said:

i believe a false edge is when you get a very thin wire of material ahead of the bevel, it's very fragile and although it will give the appearance of a sharp edge it will eventually fold over the bevel and mask it giving a dull edge, like you described.

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Correct. It is usually caused by over honing. Too many strokes will cause it as well as too much pressure. It is very easy to do with synthetics and one reason naturals like coticules are popular. The flip side is coticules have a learning curve as well but the edges are as smooth as it gets once you learn to use them.