Over stropped?

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33
This is a first for me: having been some months at this now, I'm hooked and generally happy with each shave. At least I usually know when I make a mistake why and what I did wrong, they are getting less too. However...

I decided to take a (stainless) razor to the linen strop with a bit of red paste to tickle it up at the weekend. I think 6 passes but for reasons that escape me I didn't think to use the green pasted strop.

Well, I knew the thing was sharp from the way it shaved and then I nicked myself twice for good measure...
All went well otherwise, two passes as usual which felt good but as I was tidying up I noticed the worst razor burn I've had in years, over most of my neck and both cheeks. I rarely ever get burn these days, and usually only on my neck after being too zealous.

This was odd, a light peppering of irritation but it only lasted maybe an hour before 90% of it cleared up.

As nothing else was different with that shave, did I overdo it on the pasted strop? I thought it seemed a bit soon to need to clean up the edge but the previous shave hadn't been the best with that razor.

If one does over do it with paste, is there a way back from there for the blade or do I just need to get on with it and hope the next shave is better?
 
I don't know much about it but if I were you I'd try about 10 laps with green paste and test the blade again.

Personally, I don't use paste anymore. I bought a natural finishing stone, the stone is slow but that works to my advantage I think as I can try a set of laps and then test the blade by shaving. Being a novice I kept thinking maybe I was over honing because I'd need to put the blade to the stone again and again until I got to where I wanted to be, with a very sharp and smoth edge. You could say I was getting to know the stone, I can now judge much better how many laps a blade needs :)
 
New to SR shaving myself but red paste is probably Ferric Oxide and can come in various particle sizes. Quite a soft abrasive so that number of passes should not have had that much effect but it seems your face does not suit red paste like mine is not fond of diamond loaded strops. Take a look at your edge through a loupe and see what it looks like you may have chipped it or folded it. I wont be using pastes on hanging strops because of the worry of rounding the edge, just my thought I don't know. I have been told you can maintain a razor edge between honing with just a good linen strop and leather not having a linen strop I am unable to verify this. I do like a CrOx edge but only use this on hard paddle strops like balsa and very sparingly.
 
Pastes Can Be & Are a Fantastic Tool for Maintaining Blades..Its Rare that an Edge Cant be Improved Off the Hone with Pastes..I Routinely Use Pastes to Maintain Razors for a Very Long Time..Pastes a Bit Like Alcohol Can be You're Best Friend or You're Worst Enemy if You Over Do it or Use a Bad Technique..o_O

You Never Said What Red Paste You have Used..I Use a Good Quality 0.5 Chro/0x Green Paste & 0.2 Red Rhodium Paste..I Personally Use My Pastes on a Leather Double Sided Paddle Strop..I Feel I have More Control Much Like a Hone..There are Also Good & Bad Quality Linen Out there as Well..Personally I Don't Use Pastes on Linen.. :)

A Lot of Folks Use Far Too Much Paste on the Linen which is Common & Or Use Too Much Pressure & Or Use Too Many Strokes..That Said..8 Light Strokes is Not Excessive in My Books...But..There are So Many Variables as I have Mentioned Above & New Folks Tend to Do Strange things Wither they Know or Not is Another Matter..Also..If the Razor Only Needed 5 Strokes...8 Strokes Can Ruin it on 0.2 Red Paste..Yeah..2 or 3 Strokes Over is All it Takes..:oops:

The Issues You are Describing on the Face is the Hallmarks of an Over Pasted Edge..In My Experience there is Usually No Way Back from that..It Probably Needs Taken to a Refresh Hone I Am Afraid..A Stainless Blade in Particular when Over Pasted is Basically Ruined..Stainless Blades in Particular Can Also Require a Bit of Finesse to Refresh or Finish..:)

Moreover..The Information I Get from New Folks when they Send Me Razors Does Not Match Up to what I Often See Under the Micro Lens..Some of the Razors I Get Sent that New Guys Claim they have Been Shaving with for Months Would Not Skin a Cat as they are Blunt as a Doe Doe & More Often than Not Need a Complete Hone Job from the 1 K Bevel Hone..;)

Pastes are Powerful Cutters & Can Ruin an Edge in Jig Time in Inexperienced Hands..:D:D

Billy
 
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Yeah, looking back at my rationale for using the pasted strop I'm realising this might have been ill-considered.

Additionally, the razor in question has been tricky for me since I got it (from an acquaintance who bought it new). Looking at it under the loupe as Alan suggests I see the bevel shows marks from the abrasive. Also it's not all that even.

Thanks all for your thoughts. The paste in question was sourced here but I've not used it much, only maybe twice before but without this outcome. The reason for using on linen and not leather was because I only have one leather strop and didn't want paste on that. I'll try to source a paddle for the pastes from now on.

I do have some lapping film but have not used it yet for fear I would cause more damage than good, ironically. I'll give it a gentle try and if unsuccessful then this one will be going to Billy. Sorry about that B! :oops:
 
Yeah, looking back at my rationale for using the pasted strop I'm realising this might have been ill-considered.

Additionally, the razor in question has been tricky for me since I got it (from an acquaintance who bought it new). Looking at it under the loupe as Alan suggests I see the bevel shows marks from the abrasive. Also it's not all that even.

Thanks all for your thoughts. The paste in question was sourced here but I've not used it much, only maybe twice before but without this outcome. The reason for using on linen and not leather was because I only have one leather strop and didn't want paste on that. I'll try to source a paddle for the pastes from now on.

I do have some lapping film but have not used it yet for fear I would cause more damage than good, ironically. I'll give it a gentle try and if unsuccessful then this one will be going to Billy. Sorry about that B! :oops:
That is a High Quality Paste..I Use the Same Stuff from the Same Seller..Its Powerful Stuff Mind & Less is More..I Usually Only Use a Handful of Strokes with it & I Know it Well & the Various Steels of Blades..:)

I Would Suggest Sticking to 0.5 Chro/Ox for Beginners Until they Master its Cutting Capacity..I Can Also Bet a Bottom Dollar that this Razor was Probably NOT Honed Properly in the 1st Place if it was Bought New..I Am Guessing it was a Brand New Dovo..They are Not Even Near Shave Ready from the Factory or Bevel Set..Most Vendors in the UK Do NOT Hone them Properly Regardless of their CLAIMS..Trust Me..Most Run them Across a Low Grit DMT Hone & Call them Shave Ready..:D:D

Billy
 
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My Double Sided High Quality Leather Paddle Strop I Use for Pastes..It was Brand New in this Pic before I Pasted it..It Wasn't that Expensive..Don't Ask where I Got it as I Don't Remember..This Set Up is Invaluable to Me..:D

Billy
 
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Armed with this information and having read back through the good advice offered before about maintenance I have found a decent but inexpensive paddle strop online and won't use the now red side of that linen hanging strop again.
Will have a go at recovering this one myself but am mindful about lacking experience and finesse generally. I'm a bit more of an angle grinder and lump hammer sort of bloke really.
Will report back with the results, whatever they are!
 
Possibly you are making too many passes without lather, so you wipe the lather off with first pass, then go back over repeatedly whilst you are cleaning up whiskers, also your angle may be off slightly and you may be scraping as opposed to cutting whiskers. There is a natural tendency with all beginners to want to ‘do more', strops, pastes, stones etc. and we can all get obsessed with the tools of the trade, and comparing soaps and pasted is good fun. Your razor is probably fine, just make sure you get a good thick lather, use an established soap and perhaps lather up more during your shave.
 
Possibly you are making too many passes without lather, so you wipe the lather off with first pass, then go back over repeatedly whilst you are cleaning up whiskers, also your angle may be off slightly and you may be scraping as opposed to cutting whiskers. There is a natural tendency with all beginners to want to ‘do more', strops, pastes, stones etc. and we can all get obsessed with the tools of the trade, and comparing soaps and pasted is good fun. Your razor is probably fine, just make sure you get a good thick lather, use an established soap and perhaps lather up more during your shave.

Thanks for these insights. I think it makes a lot of sense. I try not to lose sight of the basic things, hence not having any stones or a selection of strops so far. In fact I have kept it boringly simple for the most part, trying to learn the basics.
I am happy with lathering, having been a DE shaver for years I moved away from the soap experimenting quite a while ago and tend to stick with what I know and like. Same with reshaving dry skin. The SR has virtually stopped me doing that at all. Certainly never on the cheeks, no need.
If anything, the razor was the variation from normal on the day in question; I've not used it many times and it had never been treated to more than a normal pre/ post shave strop before then that I know of.
I'm shy of it now. Will go back to it after trying remediation. Fortunately I have a few very good razors to choose from and one of those have a great shave since the weekend so I'm fairly happy that I haven't suddenly regressed months in my techniques. :)

Shouldn't say that...:eek:
 
Thanks for these insights. I think it makes a lot of sense. I try not to lose sight of the basic things, hence not having any stones or a selection of strops so far. In fact I have kept it boringly simple for the most part, trying to learn the basics.
I am happy with lathering, having been a DE shaver for years I moved away from the soap experimenting quite a while ago and tend to stick with what I know and like. Same with reshaving dry skin. The SR has virtually stopped me doing that at all. Certainly never on the cheeks, no need.
If anything, the razor was the variation from normal on the day in question; I've not used it many times and it had never been treated to more than a normal pre/ post shave strop before then that I know of.
I'm shy of it now. Will go back to it after trying remediation. Fortunately I have a few very good razors to choose from and one of those have a great shave since the weekend so I'm fairly happy that I haven't suddenly regressed months in my techniques. :)

Shouldn't say that...:eek:
The Thing is..If this Razor has Not Been Honed to Shave Ready in the 1st Place..You are Well Up a Gum Tree..I Can Tell You this from Experience..Most New Guys Would Not Know what One Feels Like..I Get Razors Sent Frequently from New Guys that are No where Near Shave Ready & they have Been Attempting to Shave with them Sometimes for Weeks or Months..o_O

Most are Not Fit Enough for Spreading Butter..They Don't Know..They Just Suspect Something isn't Right..Until One Feels a Proper Shave Ready SR they Will Never Know what One Feels Like..I Suspect with You're Comments You Don't Know Yourself..The Bottom Line is..You Need a Shave Ready Razor to Learn to Shave..Guessing or 2nd Guessing will Get You No Where..:)

I Can Tell Ya Something Else..A Lot of Folks that Hone their Own Razors Don't Know what a Proper Shave Ready SR Should Feel Like Neither..Now that Sounds a Cuckoo in the Nest Statement..But its True Never the Less..If You Want it Checked Out Send it Up to Me..:D

Billy
 
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The Thing is..If this Razor has Not Been Honed to Shave Ready in the 1st Place..You are Well Up a Gum Tree..I Can Tell You this from Experience..Most New Guys Would Not Know what One Feels Like..I Get Razors Sent Frequently from New Guys that are No where Near Shave Ready & they have Been Attempting to Shave with them Sometimes for Weeks or Months..o_O

Most are Not Fit Enough for Spreading Butter..They Don't Know..They Just Suspect Something isn't Right..Until One Feels a Proper Shave Ready SR they Will Never Know what One Feels Like..I Suspect with You're Comments You Don't Know Yourself..The Bottom Line is..You Need a Shave Ready Razor to Learn to Shave..Guessing or 2nd Guessing will Get You No Where..:)

I Can Tell Ya Something Else..A Lot of Folks that Hone their Own Razors Don't Know what a Proper Shave Ready SR Should Feel Like Neither..Now that Sounds a Cuckoo in the Nest Statement..But its True Never the Less..If You Want it Checked Out Send it Up to Me..:D

Billy

Hmm, Yes, I was one of those guys... I do still recall what a freshly honed blade is like, I'm sure this has not been that good in the time I've owned it but oddly it has given me some decent shaves, it seems in my hands to be inconsistent though. Not something I can say of the J. Allen blade I got from you a wee while ago. My favourite.

I can say from recall that the blades that I used both before and after bevel setting and honing were worse than this is now. Oddly there is one similarity though; I've not cut myself as often as I do with this since trying to use those blades.

Okay, you may get a parcel from me shortly. I'll let you know when.
 
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