Comment by methodin | Hacker News Reader

Comment by methodin | Hacker News Reader

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There's a ritual to straight razor and traditional single-blade safety razor (what I use now) that is compelling in modern times when everything tells you to shave off minutes from every single thing in your life so you can free up your time. Seemingly this means just more time for internet browsing and things that have no impact on your life but I digress. The daily or semi-weekly ritual that takes time, attention and care is relaxing. I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to but I may pick it up again once kids are older. I moved onto purchasing a $20 classic single-blade safety razor about 4 years back and now buy the razors in bulk. Can be very cheap depending on where you buy them. For the ones I buy it's probably $10 a year if that since I only shave every 3 days or so and a carton of 100 blades lasts a year. Does require 2 passes though but doing it right with shaving cream and brush is something I've come to enjoy.

> I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to

Don’t get mad at me, but what you need is a 5000, 8000 and maybe 12000 grit Naniwa (or comparable) superstone. Also, a good strop. Leather would be sufficient.

Send your razor off for establishing a good edge to Portland Razor Co. Once you get it back, you should be able to maintain that edge with minimal fuss.

Carbon steels can get sharper but you need to be really on top of it on maintenance. Stainless steel is more durable and tolerates some abuse but does not retain edge as well.

Lastly, don’t hurry while shaving, and don’t drop the damn razor please.

Source: Guilty as charged.

I couldn't manage it. I'd send mine off to get that edge, it would come back, I'd put it on the Nanis, ruin it, boom one shave. And those Naniwas were expensive. Went back to the safeties. I might try out shavettes one day.

For honing I swear by the Coticule stone[1], you only need the one stone as you can vary the grit. Tip: the non-rectangular stones are just as good and a fraction of the price.

Also guilty: I did start growing a beard after dropping my favorite razor :/

[1] https://www.ardennes-coticule.be

How often do you use which stone?

Like 1200 before every shave? 800 once a week? Etc...? Do you ever need to go back to a coarser one?

Do you ever re-flatten your stones, or buy new ones? How often?

For a daily use straight razor, about once a season or twice a year.

Remember that you keep a razor sharp by using the pasted strop and having a good maintenance routine. After a while the cutting edge becomes more convex, which is where the stone is needed to straighten out.

A coticule is flattened on every use, because you rub a smaller stone on it to create the milky suspension that will do the actual abrading. I've had the same stone for 20 years.

That has not been my experience with stripes. Things got way better once I did a quick pass On an "Arkansas" stone before each use, but I still need to use something coarser once a month or so.

Nailed it. Almost as if I wrote this. One difference in application, though, is it seems you change your blades every time. I’ve not found a good / meaningful cadence.

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