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Left SR shaving for 6 weeks

Unable to keep my SR blades sharp, I shaved with my Rockwell 2C DE razor, with Parker Premium blades, for 6 weeks. I shaved with an SR for nine months prior to that. I get a great shave with the the DE razor!

Interestingly enough, learning SR shaving improved my DE shaving. SR shaving tought me blade angle and whisker engagement.

The DE razor has a limitation, however. The blade is clamped between two pieces of metal. With an SR, I can use any part of the blade and move it around to get just the right blade position to make a cut. The DE razor encasement blocks this.

The number one drawback of SR razors is that you have to maintain the blade yourself. I like the resuability of an SR, but that blade maintaince learning curve is a major impediment. I saw that Whipped Dog will do this for you. The cost is reasonable. If I'd know about them earlier, I probably would have gone down this path.

DE razors, however, are not immune from the blade problems. You have to keep a box in stock, of course; but figuring out what blade works for you is not trivial either.

I'm back to SR shaving. With everyone's help in this forum, I feel properly equipped with knowledge and advice to tackle the blade maintenance problem.
 
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@gregory56, one problem with keeping blades sharp is improper stropping. You can roll the edge. I strop with only the weight of the blade on the leather. I do relatively slow x-strokes. I do not apply any additional pressure. With proper stropping and a finishing stone when you finally need it, your blade should stay sharp. If you shave every day, you might need to touch up on the stone every 3 or 6 months.

Edge maintenance is part of the deal. For those that enjoy it, it is a bonus. Honing a razor on a stone can be akin to meditation (for some).
 
The biggest differentiator for me, and one I don't really understand the reason for, is that SR shaves feel so much better afterwards. Not just the relief of having survived, or the sense of satisfaction, but they feel much less damaging to the skin.
I don’t think this is exclusive to SR shaving. It’s just easier to achieve. This is what I mean when I mention being able to precisely control how the SR blade touches your skin and the hair.

With DE shaving, the apparatus works against you. With a DE razor you must dial in these aspect of the razor itself: blade gap, blade exposure, blade-bar span. You can only adjust this by buying another razor! I think this is why adjustable DE razors are becoming popular. And while your are figuring out the razor variables, you also need to figure out the razor blade characteristics as well. Damn. One probably needs to use calculus to figure this one out!
 
@gregory56, one problem with keeping blades sharp is improper stropping. You can roll the edge. I strop with only the weight of the blade on the leather. I do relatively slow x-strokes. I do not apply any additional pressure. With proper stropping and a finishing stone when you finally need it, your blade should stay sharp. If you shave every day, you might need to touch up on the stone every 3 or 6 months.

Edge maintenance is part of the deal. For those that enjoy it, it is a bonus. Honing a razor on a stone can be akin to meditation (for some).
I’m confident in my stropping technique, though I scrutinize it periodically just to be sure. I like your advice to take it slow on the strop. I think one is most vulnerable during stropping to losing focus then losing technique (then rolling the edge).

I too like the experience of swiping the blade over the stone. I also like the self-sufficiency—a couple of blades that I maintain ad infinitum.
 
It might be worth looking into the diamond pasted balsa strops. This is the easiest way to maintain a very sharp edge. It requires a lot less technique than stones.
Even if you don't use it often, pasted balsa replaces that $300 Shapton Glass 30k stone.
 
The Suehiro and Shapton go to 20k and 30k respectively. Pasted balsa goes to 200k in nice increments. So it really depends upon what you are looking to do. The pasted balsa idea comes from Japanese kitchens where sharpness is a religion. I believe it may have been @Slash McCoy that brought the pasted balsa idea here.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@gregory56 please remember when getting into pasted balsa strops that they do not restore a dulled edge back to shave-ready. You need to start with a good shave-ready edge. Pasted balsa strops only make a good edge better (the best?).

If you are willing to devote a couple of minutes to blade maintenance after each shave, stropping on a hanging 0.1μm diamond pasted balsa strop will keep your edge "there" and it should never need to touch a whetstone/lapping film again.

Timewise over the longer term, using pasted balsa maintenance takes a lot more time than the occasional edge refresh on a whetstone/lapping film, but then you don't have that crisp edge experience with every shave. You will also probably find that the pasted balsa edge is your best for the CdM (against the grain upper lip).
 
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My main reason for recommending the diamond pasted balsa in this case is for ease of use. If you’re finding it a challenge to maintain a sharp edge on a razor the balsa strops are by far the easiest sharpening method to use.

The Suehiro 20k is an easy stone too but I find the balsa even easier. Balsa is forgiving. The soft surface is accommodating to slight imperfections in razor grind. It’s also pretty difficult to accidentally damage an edge on the soft balsa surface. It can be done but it would take more than a little slip up.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
The Suehiro and Shapton go to 20k and 30k respectively. Pasted balsa goes to 200k in nice increments. So it really depends upon what you are looking to do. The pasted balsa idea comes from Japanese kitchens where sharpness is a religion. I believe it may have been @Slash McCoy that brought the pasted balsa idea here.
Wasn't my idea as far as I can remember. In fact pasted balsa was being used already, with CrOx and FeOx. Larry's Poor Man Strop Kit came with a balsa block with red on one side and green on the other. All I did was experiment with the diamond paste grades, lap count, pressure, lapping the balsa, backing the balsa, stuff like that, and I was not working alone on that. Community effort. I was very vocal in pushing it, early on. I didn't invent it or bring it here from some other forum. I may have got the idea from @Seraphim, but honestly I don't remember for sure. It sure does work good, though.
 
Good for you, @gregory56!

Have one of your favorite razors honed by a master - like @Doc226 - and consider using diamond paste on balsa to maintain the edge. Then get yourself a couple of inexpensive vintage razors on eBay and experiment.

With a little practice your edges will improve. Learn how to perform the HHT. When I started, I would throw the hair down at the edge. I did not realize that HHT is about getting the hair to catch on the edge. And above all enjoy the journey!
 
Good for you, @gregory56!

Have one of your favorite razors honed by a master - like @Doc226 - and consider using diamond paste on balsa to maintain the edge. Then get yourself a couple of inexpensive vintage razors on eBay and experiment.

With a little practice your edges will improve. Learn how to perform the HHT. When I started, I would throw the hair down at the edge. I did not realize that HHT is about getting the hair to catch on the edge. And above all enjoy the journey!
The HHT… Ugh. I find that test wildly variant. Sometimes it works for me. Sometimes it doesn’t. But just on paper if one looks at the input for this test, I don’t see how it can be consistent. To baseline the test, I did it a few times on a freshly honed razor. It happened. Ideas for a better test have been rolling around in my brain.
 
You need to be consistent with that HHT. I have accumulated some hair from my daughter and always use the same hair. The important part is the hair root or bulb. The official test is to hold with the bulb out. If you hold with the bulb in. it becomes quite difficult to pass the test. I have razors honed by Alfredo that pass HHT with the hair held by the bulb. I have been able to hone one or two that pass bulb held in.

Your results may not be consistent if you are not holding the hair in a consistent manner - bulb out. Using a magnifier, I discern the bulb. Then I tape the bulb end of the hair onto thin cardboard and tape another layer of cardboard on top, to make a firm holder. Now I know which end is the bulb. Conversely, you can tape the non-bulb end into the cardboard.

I tape with bulb in and try the test with bulb in. If I pass, I know I have a great edge. If I fail, I cut a small length of hair and try again with bulb end out. I almost always pass with bulb out.

So much for that, I have killed the topic. Most will tellyou that the HHT does not mean much and the true test is shaving. I agree. But I do the HHT, because if I don't pass I know I need to get back to the stone before shaving. That's just me.
 
I usually use the same hair also.

I was quite surprised that the little GW with the bone or ivory scales was very sharp. So I paste stropped and shaved this morning with excellent results.

Hair on the back of my hand seems to give a good and consistent indication.
 
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