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Thanks all for the constructive comments - I've been encouraged to keep going. The next razor up is the heljestrand which is always super sharp.
Bas
Bas
I would be surprised if stropping on plain leather with a reasonable amount of reps would have any noticable impact on bevel convexity. My understanding is, that it mainly effects burr removal, but I might be wrong about this.I can appreciate that some prefer to strop with more pressure on the strop and less tension which allows greater deflection in the strop while stropping. The reason why, in @Baz4262's case
Deflection in the strop when stropping enhances the formation of a convex bevel surface. Such a surface is not conducive to getting the proper results from diamond pasted balsa stropping.
I completely disagree, but YMMV.I am of the opinion that if you need a second or third pass with a straight razor, then you are doing something wrong.
I have a couple suggestions, just for the sake of experimentation.Wow, lots of great advice!
The Str8 razors I have are a Heljestrand 31, le grelot, Ralf Aust and gold dollar. All tree top effortlessly and came expertly honed. I'm pretty obsessive and follow the balsa method precisely. I use a heirloom horsehide strop, 60 laps counted after the balsa.
I suspect my stropping is off somehow, and I'm rounding the edge. I have made a paddle strop and might go back to it to see if that's what's wrong. I'll try a much lighter touch on the strop.
Being in Bahrain, I've dealt with Griffith and get virtually all my razors from them. Top notch service and you know you are getting a quality shave ready razor. The RA I purchased from @Tomo on here.
I'll keep on going, many thanks for all the help.
Merry Christmas in advance
Bas
Neck is a troublesome area for a lot of us, part of it is the growth patterns and part of it is the contour. You probably can't get the razor's edge perpendicular to the growth, so find an angle that does work, but still make your stroke perpendicular to the growth. And accept that it won't be perfect. There's nothing wrong with a cleanup swipe with a different tool.
I don't even bother with XTG under the chin. I just do WTG + 2 x ATG in that area. No biggie as, with a SR and good technique, there is concern with skin irritation.is there a video that exist showing across the grain under the chin?
I can do with and against the grain, but puzzled how one would achieve going across.
I have a couple suggestions, just for the sake of experimentation.
3. If you can get your hands on a cheap Feather AC clone, like the CJB, try it with a Feather Pro blade. This will be a little sharper than a Method edge, but maybe not quite as smooth. If you're getting the same results, it's your technique, not the edges. If it's significantly better than your straights, it's your edges.
Eloquent. Thank you.I suspect a few things.
1 - the initial edge, the bevel, is 'marginal' and not 100%.
2 - the lather is not up to snuff.
3 - stropping skills are not developed well enough and exacerbating the baseline issues.
No one wants to hear their lather isn't where it needs to be. Fact is, a lot of people come to straights from the DE world and their lather is too thick; a common culprit in the 'tugging blade' and 'not sharp enough' complaints.
Similarly, no one wants to hear their bevel isn't 100% on-point. Blades that shave well WTG but not ATG can sometimes fall into the 'marginal' class. Meaning, there's a decent enough bevel to pass rudimentary tests/observations but perhaps not enough of a bevel to get 'there'.
In comparison, I can manage decent ATG passes off my bevel setter. Once an edge gets to that point, then it's ready to be refined. That's for me...that's how I hone, that's how I evaluate edges. Other people may want to argue about that, due to hair types or whatever. Well, I'm not young, a good portion of my whiskers are really tough, many are grey, and Feather blades can get hung up in a few spots. So if I am going ATG off my 1.5k stone, that should be illuminating.
Stropping...I think more people miss the edge than roll it but that's just my take on things. Lack of stropping will prevent an edge from performing at its best. Rolling the edge will prevent the edge from shaving well period. So, you getting good WTG says that's not the problem. Tree-topping means almost nothing to me. Lots of steel here can lop off hairs but not shave well. The shave test is what matters and being able to shave ATG is the acid test.
Depending on where the edge is in its lifespan can dictate the need for more slack, or not - maybe a couple/few other factors weigh in there also. But, generally, all hanging strops will 'give' and they will induce a tiny smidge of convexity. Same for paddle strops too, but less so. Leather is soft, it give, no getting around that. Even a taught strop will bow when stropping. None of the above is enough to stop an edge that will go ATG correctly from not being able to do that. None of it is problematic either. I've tuned up an edge on an abrasive-charged linen for multiple years with negligible 'convexing'. FWIW - coticule create edges with slightly convex bevels, so.. yeah...
I honestly suspect some shaving improvement would be seen if your bevels were reworked to perfection, and your lather becomes wetter and slicker. Same for being more tuned into the stropping.
Prep matters - washing face well, hydrating skin well, etc. Revisiting beard-mapping can help also. Sometimes, E/W is is not really XTG, etc.
Problems experienced by new/new-ish shavers are usually not coming from complex esoteric issues and it's almost never 'just one thing'. So look to the simple things first and assume there's a combination of them afoot.