My current attempt at sharpening a modern DE blade

[cranewarrior]

@esee

The stropping trick inside a glass works. I tried it on a Chinese blade that had 22 shaves on it, and shave #23 was noticeably smoother for me.

I was an avid cook so I know all too well the advantages of using a honing rod on your kitchen knives before using them. This is the same concept.

 

[esee]

I tried shaving with my sharpened blade and the blade performed well on my sideburns, but couldn’t make it through my neck and chin area. So, the manufactures sharpening is still way sharper, and I had to switch to my gem 1912 in order to finish up the shave. Somehow, I always get a smoother and closer shave with single edge razors, but maybe it’s because I am using a mild razor that resembles a Gillette tech but it's actually a Silver star. Anyway, for now I continue to only recommend the glass cup trick and not the sharpening.

 

[esee]

How should I strop my duplex razor with an original blade? on a glass-white board, of course.

Why didn’t I think of this before @cranewarrior gave me this idea with his original post in this thread. The razor itself is only allowing a proper stropping angle, and I’m getting a sharp blade.

 

[Ron R]

I am still a novice in razor blade sharpening and razor blade sharpening is more of a curiosity to me, then a necessity. I already own over a thousand blades and the number still seems to rise. In the long run, sharpening DE blades probably won’t even save money Because the sharpening tools cost money as well. Most people are probably better off just honing their blades in a glass cup and tossing the blade once the blade needs a more serious sharpening. yet for those of us that are a little more environmentally conscious and like to avoid planned obsolescence, or if they just want a little more control over their blade’s edge, they may be interested in re-sharpening their blades. Anyway, I would love to hear if anybody has better, or other methods for sharpening DE blades.

Nothing wrong in trying to learn how to resharpen a DE razor blade because who knows what is the future of wet shaving.
If a person likes to sharpen razor blades it might be easier to sharpen a straight razor because the steel is more desirable(high carbon steel usually) for that process.
I did something similar years ago and it was enjoyable part of this hobby and could be interesting to some folks!

Shaving Oddities!

I was buying some Vintage Gillette razors at a Antique store and the fellow who owned the store was showing me some scuttles when I came across this relic. The sharpener hone was patented in the 1930's(dirty thirties) so that could tell us that blades were expensive and scarce for folks who had...

www.badgerandblade.com

Have some great shaves!

 

[cranewarrior]

Nothing wrong in trying to learn how to resharpen a DE razor blade because who knows what is the future of wet shaving.
If a person likes to sharpen razor blades it might be easier to sharpen a straight razor because the steel is more desirable(high carbon steel usually) for that process.
I did something similar years ago and it was enjoyable part of this hobby and could be interesting to some folks!

Shaving Oddities!

I was buying some Vintage Gillette razors at a Antique store and the fellow who owned the store was showing me some scuttles when I came across this relic. The sharpener hone was patented in the 1930's(dirty thirties) so that could tell us that blades were expensive and scarce for folks who had...

www.badgerandblade.com

Have some great shaves!

I bought a twinplex off eBay just for fun.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

The aim of the game is ........ what makes me happy happy happy
I'm all for living outside the Ikea box, or even in it, if they would use real boxes not them flat ones
I have half a big amber beer bottle, for said honing, and a V shaped stone that does lick up the edges after learning not to push the blade down into the v too far

 

[esee]

Nothing wrong in trying to learn how to resharpen a DE razor blade because who knows what is the future of wet shaving.
If a person likes to sharpen razor blades it might be easier to sharpen a straight razor because the steel is more desirable(high carbon steel usually) for that process.
I did something similar years ago and it was enjoyable part of this hobby and could be interesting to some folks!

Shaving Oddities!

I was buying some Vintage Gillette razors at a Antique store and the fellow who owned the store was showing me some scuttles when I came across this relic. The sharpener hone was patented in the 1930's(dirty thirties) so that could tell us that blades were expensive and scarce for folks who had...

www.badgerandblade.com

Have some great shaves!

I enjoyed reading your thread and your glass stropping experiment. There is one point which I want to bring up and it’s the question of how to hold the blade while using a glass drinking cup as a stropping device. Coming from people that have been using the glass cup trick for many years state that the most important thing is to keep a steady angle. The only way one can keep a steady angle is to keep the center of the blade all the way pressed down against the glass while making sure the entire blade is in contact with the glass. If one only pushes part of the blade against the glass, the blade will not hold a steady angle and one can run the blade like that. By just using light pressure on the blade without pushing the center of the blade all the way against the glass, then the natural twitches of the hand will cause the blade to vibrate, potentially ruining the edge.

I read the anti-stropping article you posted from the 1930s. It is funny that one can get stropping information today from an anti-stropping article of the 1930s, yet one should be hesitant to listen to information from someone who is against performing an action that one wants to learn how to perform. In the article, the author explains that pressing the blade completely against the glass will cause the edge to lose contact with the glass. Well, when somebody is stropping, they don’t want to be jamming the edges; they want to push back the bent steel into alignment. To accomplish this, one once the glass to contact the blade near the edge but not the actual edge. When one presses the blade all the way against the glass, the natural spring of the blade will push back against the glass, producing the force one needs to re-bend the steel back into shape.

I know that pushing the center of the blade all the way down has gotten dull edges back sharp from my personal experiments. Science is only good when the theories match real-world examples. When one theorizes why something should not work and then uses his theories to disprove actual experiences is where science gets into trouble. If one takes a dull blade and after using a stropping device can then cut hair, the actual experiment means more to me than the person who theorized that the stropping should not work. Although the author does state that the cup trick could be useful, I would still listen to people that actually use the cup trick on how to use the cup trick. Maybe we can do an experiment comparing the two methods of using the glass cup as a stropping device.

I love how you got many more great shaves from using the glass cup. At the end, the blade started pulling, which is when you tossed the blade. One of the significant advantages of stropping a blade in a glass cup or another method between uses is that when the blade goes bad, it will usually just go dull. When the blade pulls, one knows that it’s time to sharpen or throw the blade away. Without stropping, the blade is more likely to get a jagged edge and scratch one before the blade goes dull.

I have a lot more to say about other things in your thread but my post is getting too long so I’m going to stop here.

 

[esee]

I bought a twinplex off eBay just for fun.

It’s funny because I previously thought that you already owned a twinplex stropper, and was going to ask you how a glass cup matches up against the twinplex stropper. Now that you actually ordered a twinplex stropper, I expect to hear your comparisons of the two methods later on.

I have one manual stropping guide and I find it works on my single-edge razor blades slightly better than the glass cup trick. Yet the glass cup trick is still my go to method because it works for all razor blades, is so convenient and nearly as effective.

 

[Winking Whale]

Yes, the thicker DE blades are easier to sharpen, and I just sharpened a thin DE blade with my rolling sharpener. It’s funny how a solution sometimes comes after I stop thinking about the issue. I paper tested a random blade and noticed one side was sharp and the other side less sharp. Next, I sharpened the dull side of this blade by hooking half the blade through a small door hinge and attaching the blade with the door hinge onto the sharpener. The door hinge held the thin flexible blade in place while giving the blade support. I put a 10-degree bevel on the blade and the blade then went through the paper like butter.

So, just for the record, it’s not Impossible to re-sharpen a modern DE blade. Even though the DE blades are thin and they may make the metal brittle while putting the Teflon coating on.

That's your subconscious mind working on the problem, typically while you're asleep. Nice idea to use a hinge as a blade holder.

 

[cranewarrior]

It’s funny because I previously thought that you already owned a twinplex stropper, and was going to ask you how a glass cup matches up against the twinplex stropper. Now that you actually ordered a twinplex stropper, I expect to hear your comparisons of the two methods later on.

I have one manual stropping guide and I find it works on my single-edge razor blades slightly better than the glass cup trick. Yet the glass cup trick is still my go to method because it works for all razor blades, is so convenient and nearly as effective.

View attachment 1948284

No, I didn't just buy one. Have had it for a while. I'm planning to use it on a Treet Dura Sharp I have been Excaliburing.

 

[AnimalCatcher]

@esee - You mentioned that one of the problems with sharpening these blades is that they're too flexible. How about trying to sharpen some Gillette blades that were manufactured in the first five to ten years of the company's existence. They are quite a bit thicker than those that were produced afterward.

I've always wondered what it was like to shave with those very early Gillette blades. If you want to give a few of them a shot, just let me know and I'll send some out to you.

 

[esee]

That's your subconscious mind working on the problem, typically while you're asleep. Nice idea to use a hinge as a blade holder.

Got to love the subconscious. The door hinge almost worked great. The hinge held the blade steady, and I could hook the protruding part of the hinge over the sharpeners’ ledge, so the blade stayed in the right position. I would have to show some pictures in order to give a proper visualization. But after trying to shave with the sharpened blade and not getting the wow shave I wanted. I examined the setup closer and realized that the hinge was bending away from the sharpener, causing the angle to wobble, ruining the precise angle. For now, I think my subconscious is saying to stick to stropping on the soft DE blades and go to town on the vintages. If I really cared to, I can build a blade holder out of sheet metal. But for now, it’s more about entertainment and understanding the blade, and I’m not the biggest fan of cutting metal, unless it’s a noble metal like copper, but the holder has to be magnetic for it to work on the rolling sharpener.

 

[esee]

No, I didn't just buy one. Have had it for a while. I'm planning to use it on a Treet Dura Sharp I have been Excaliburing.
View attachment 1948321

Glad to see my memory didn’t fail me. I thought you mentioned the twinplex somewhere in the Excalibur forum. Good luck with the Treet Dura Sharp. If @helicopter is correct, that should be some durable steel.

 

[Ron R]

I enjoyed reading your thread and your glass stropping experiment. There is one point which I want to bring up and it’s the question of how to hold the blade while using a glass drinking cup as a stropping device. Coming from people that have been using the glass cup trick for many years state that the most important thing is to keep a steady angle. The only way one can keep a steady angle is to keep the center of the blade all the way pressed down against the glass while making sure the entire blade is in contact with the glass. If one only pushes part of the blade against the glass, the blade will not hold a steady angle and one can run the blade like that. By just using light pressure on the blade without pushing the center of the blade all the way against the glass, then the natural twitches of the hand will cause the blade to vibrate, potentially ruining the edge.

I read the anti-stropping article you posted from the 1930s. It is funny that one can get stropping information today from an anti-stropping article of the 1930s, yet one should be hesitant to listen to information from someone who is against performing an action that one wants to learn how to perform. In the article, the author explains that pressing the blade completely against the glass will cause the edge to lose contact with the glass. Well, when somebody is stropping, they don’t want to be jamming the edges; they want to push back the bent steel into alignment. To accomplish this, one once the glass to contact the blade near the edge but not the actual edge. When one presses the blade all the way against the glass, the natural spring of the blade will push back against the glass, producing the force one needs to re-bend the steel back into shape.

I know that pushing the center of the blade all the way down has gotten dull edges back sharp from my personal experiments. Science is only good when the theories match real-world examples. When one theorizes why something should not work and then uses his theories to disprove actual experiences is where science gets into trouble. If one takes a dull blade and after using a stropping device can then cut hair, the actual experiment means more to me than the person who theorized that the stropping should not work. Although the author does state that the cup trick could be useful, I would still listen to people that actually use the cup trick on how to use the cup trick. Maybe we can do an experiment comparing the two methods of using the glass cup as a stropping device.

I love how you got many more great shaves from using the glass cup. At the end, the blade started pulling, which is when you tossed the blade. One of the significant advantages of stropping a blade in a glass cup or another method between uses is that when the blade goes bad, it will usually just go dull. When the blade pulls, one knows that it’s time to sharpen or throw the blade away. Without stropping, the blade is more likely to get a jagged edge and scratch one before the blade goes dull.

I have a lot more to say about other things in your thread but my post is getting too long so I’m going to stop here.

It was a learning curve and a few challenges also, I had some fun experimenting with the cup and it slightly works. The blade resharpening machines where developed mostly during the 1930's when folks had to watch their spending and did not have much money to buy disposable blades, they where hard times.

 

[slimshavy]

If you’re not following the Blade Sharpness project by @helicopter , check it out. It’s especially relevant here that he notes the method of failure for each blade. Most are from chipping at the edge. Some, however, are at least in some part from denting. It seems like these would be the best candidates for glass stropping.

 

[esee]

@esee - You mentioned that one of the problems with sharpening these blades is that they're too flexible. How about trying to sharpen some Gillette blades that were manufactured in the first five to ten years of the company's existence. They are quite a bit thicker than those that were produced afterward.

I've always wondered what it was like to shave with those very early Gillette blades. If you want to give a few of them a shot, just let me know and I'll send some out to you.

View attachment 1948332

It was a learning curve and a few challenges also, I had some fun experimenting with the cup and it slightly works. The blade resharpening machines where developed mostly during the 1930's when folks had to watch their spending and did not have much money to buy disposable blades, they where hard times.

Aren’t we all learning? I just got a batch of vintage blades. Some of these blades date back to the 1930s and I’m thinking about shaving with some of them. My first contender is a blade that I know nothing about, beyond what I see on the blade and wrapper. The blades name is "Take off", and the manufacturer made the blade in Newark, New Jersey. The blade has a patent number stamped on it, and there is some kind of coating on the blade, giving the blade a bluish, blackish look. The blade is much thicker than the typical thin blades of today.

I decide to check how sharp the blade is and the blade probably has dulled a bit oven over the years. I figured the first to do is to run the blade through a drinking glass. While running the blade through the glass, I realized I cannot push is blade all the way down against the glass without bending the blade. Which made me realize that in the 1930s, if one wanted to strop a blade in a drinking glass, they probably would not want to push the blade all the way down. The blade’s back then differed from today’s blades, and the glass stropping method may slightly differ as well.

I haven’t shaved with my vintage glass stropped razor blade yet, yet shopping this blade while only pushing the blade partially down seems to have sharpened the edge quite a bit and I’m looking forward to a pleasant shave with this blade in a week or two as I have other blade to get to first.

 

[helicopter]

If you’re not following the Blade Sharpness project by @helicopter , check it out. It’s especially relevant here that he notes the method of failure for each blade. Most are from chipping at the edge. Some, however, are at least in some part from denting. It seems like these would be the best candidates for glass stropping.

Denting ones would probably improve a lot more than typical ones, but it isn't the best trade-off to accept. A failure mode of small chipping is correlated with durability, consistency, and overall high performance.

There might be an exception in there somewhere. I know there were a couple high performing blades with combination of denting and chipping. Unfortunately, there is no structured data on failure modes.

You will almost certainly want a blade of no less than standard 100 micron thickness, though.

 

[esee]

@esee - You mentioned that one of the problems with sharpening these blades is that they're too flexible. How about trying to sharpen some Gillette blades that were manufactured in the first five to ten years of the company's existence. They are quite a bit thicker than those that were produced afterward.

I've always wondered what it was like to shave with those very early Gillette blades. If you want to give a few of them a shot, just let me know and I'll send some out to you.

View attachment 1948332View attachment 1948333

Thanks for the offer and those blades look really cool. Yet I just got a large batch of vintage blades I plan to try. You should definitely try sharpening the blade, or at least glass stropping it yourself. Why deny yourself the satisfaction of knowing how the vintage Gillette blade feels because the blades currently lost some of its edge? It might surprise you at how sharp a simple stropping can make a vintage blade. Most of these vintage blades should be easier to sharpen than the modern blades, yet they are still a little too flexible to sharpen like one would sharpen the straight razor.

Steel vs stainless steel does not affect whether a blade can be sharpener not. Modern stainless steel blades have a Teflon coating on them. In order to put the Teflon coating on the blade, they have to heat the blade up. The second heating of the blade while putting the Teflon coating on, deteriorates the metal making the stainless brittle. In order to mitigate the blades brittle problem because of the second heating, they discovered that if they put a noble metal above the stainless below the Teflon, the metal can remain semi-strong even through the second heating The problem is noble metal has a tendency to flake off. So besides putting noble metal like platinum on the blade, they then have to put a second coating to stop the noble metal from flaking off. Hence today’s blades that are double and triple coated. Why can’t they just do one heating for the hardening and the Teflon coating? The answer is beyond me, and I am not motivated enough to understand the manufacturing process further. If someone knows the answer, please share.

In conclusion, the difficulty of sharpening the modern blade is not that the blade is stainless, rather the primary issue is the blades flexibility, with a secondary issue of many of today’s blades being brittle and having a tendency to chip.

 

[esee]

If you’re not following the Blade Sharpness project by @helicopter , check it out. It’s especially relevant here that he notes the method of failure for each blade. Most are from chipping at the edge. Some, however, are at least in some part from denting. It seems like these would be the best candidates for glass stropping.

Oh, I read that thread nearly to completion and appreciate what @helicopter is doing

 

[Lane101]

@esee , first welcome to B&B! I see you joined us about a month ago. I think @cranewarrior got this right that the main reason to sharpen modern DE blades is out of curiosity and to experiment. Given my own experimentation with custom shaving soap blends this can be fun. Beyond that I don't understand why this would make sense given the low cost of our DE blades as many have noted above.

Also, there have been a series of B&B threads on this topic over the years that indicate mixed results. Given the thinness and precision of a modern DE blade it's likely quite challenging to sharpen one through the manual methods noted above. Sharpening likely made more sense for older and thicker carbon steel blades where the edge quickly deteriorated from corrosion after the first shave.

Some links to prior B&B threads below:

Razor blade sharpener? - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/razor-blade-sharpener.417720/

Blade sharpener - would it actually work?

So I was going through a little box of some of my grandfather's things and I found this DE blade sharpener. Anyone know if these actually work. I am really just curious since I am not really sure it is worth my time to try and sharpen a blade that costs less than 20 cents

www.badgerandblade.com

Resharpen blades in a glass.

My grandfather used to resharpen a blade through holding it inside a glass, push it to the proper angle and then slide it back and forth. Anyone else that do this or seen anyone do it? Both him and my father also flip the razor blade before discarding it.

www.badgerandblade.com