That moment when your "sharpened" razor is not sharp enough

So I went to a general tobacco store which also sells razors and toiletries. I asked the owner where I could get my razor sharpened and he recommended me this vacuum store which also provides sharpening service. So I paid $25 and received it back, my razor shaved worse than before I got it sharpened. God, it was pulling my hair so bad and I don't think one's shaving skill can deteriorate in just 3 days. So I tried my Japanese kamisori razor which was actually sharpened by a sushi chef (i think) and that razor shaved better than my "supposed-to-be-sharpened" razor.

God, it almost ruined the whole day for me but thank god my friend invited me to a good dinner.

I think I'll send it to Whipped Dog who sold me the razor in the first place. I guess razors HAVE TO BE sharpened by actual razor sharpeners.

They may have not known what to do with it. That's a total drag.

You could be on to a winner with the sushi chef who sharpened your kamisori - their knives have to be razor sharp

I was watching a "How It's Made" show on the manufacture of straight razors (I believe it was the Solingen factory) and when the razor reached the sharpening stage the woman performing the final stropping was so fast it was amazing. You could tell it wasn't her first day on the job. The blade flew back and forth on the stropping belt first in one direction, then lightening quick she flips it on its spine for a trip back in the opposite direction, repeating this action numerous times.

Finally she pulls a hair from knot she kept nearby and the edge had to cleanly cleave the hair in two with no resistance to be considered properly sharpened. My guess is the vacuum shop omitted that final quality check

my thought is the sharpener sharpened it like a knife, razor sharp for knife and razor sharp for razors are very different. just send it to a reputable honemeister, you wont be sorry.

Yep. Knives and razors are apples and oranges.

tetraodon said:

my thought is the sharpener sharpened it like a knife, razor sharp for knife and razor sharp for razors are very different. just send it to a reputable honemeister, you wont be sorry.

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Head over to the hone and honing threads and take a look around there. You can get set up on lapping films for under $30 and do it yourself. Carefully though, cause the hone rabbit hole is very deep and can get expensive.

One of the other members once posted a recommendation to only allow people who shave with straight razors hone your razors. I think this is good advice.

Mental note: Don't trust a vacuum store to sharpen things.

the_edski said:

Mental note: Don't trust a vacuum store to sharpen things.

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There is a razor store/vacuum store here in Denver that sells a few straights and associated hardware. When I was first getting started I contemplated using their sharpening service (for knives). I didn't....and knowing what I know now, they would have "straight" ruined my razor.

Honing may not be for everyone, and there is a learning curve, but I have come to enjoy it and have even, after about 16 months now, become quite good (certainly not as good as a true expert, but very good, and I get fantastic shaves from my edges across numerous types of blades). I think it is a worthwhile pursuit, and for a hobbyist, it is one big investment in hardware (~$500 soup-to-nuts for a good progression) that will only require minimal replenishment over a lifetime. Honing in and of itself can become a passion too....so buyer beware...it can be every bit as bad (or worse) than RAD.

....vacuum cleaner store....sharpening straight razors.... Nothing in that combo that inspires confidence IMHO.

Lmarkow said:

One of the other members once posted a recommendation to only allow people who shave with straight razors hone your razors. I think this is good advice.

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I have read that as well.
A person who has never shaved with a straight razor will not know what the 'end result' should be; much less the process to get there.
When I was a teen they had a knife place in the mall that would sharpen knives. Watching them grind knives that day, I decided that i would learn to sharpen my knives rather than trust my things with someone who might not know what they are doing.
If I were you I would send it to someone on these forums or learn to do it yourself. You can learn to hone and shave at the same time; it isn't easy, but it is doable.
Also if someone says that they can 'sharpen' your straight as opposed to 'hone' it, I might not trust that person.

Sharpening a straight is nothing like sharpening a knife so maybe the guy you took it to could use this system but I wonder if this method has ever been done by someone other that the guy who owns this company:

I mean...that system may work, but it's a lot of "contraption" to do what a whole stone and piece of electrical tape can....

alpster said:

....vacuum cleaner store....sharpening straight razors.... Nothing in that combo that inspires confidence IMHO.

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^^^^^ thats funny right there...lol.

denvernoob said:

I mean...that system may work, but it's a lot of "contraption" to do what a whole stone and piece of electrical tape can....

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Not for me either, I was schooled by my mentor here and am quite happy with my small collection of rocks I have seen the Wicked Edge System used on knives but never razors.

Highspeedlane said:

I was watching a "How It's Made" show on the manufacture of straight razors (I believe it was the Solingen factory) and when the razor reached the sharpening stage the woman performing the final stropping was so fast it was amazing. You could tell it wasn't her first day on the job. The blade flew back and forth on the stropping belt first in one direction, then lightening quick she flips it on its spine for a trip back in the opposite direction, repeating this action numerous times.

Finally she pulls a hair from knot she kept nearby and the edge had to cleanly cleave the hair in two with no resistance to be considered properly sharpened. My guess is the vacuum shop omitted that final quality check

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... and now I'm off to hunt this video down on YouTube.

A vacuum shop for sharpening a razor?

Reminds me of the old National Lampoon cartoon of milling over someone who just had a heart attack and one guy saying, "Stand back! I'm a sheet metal worker!"