Thread: Oversharpening??

I recently purchased a Barbers' Stone. I Honed a couple of blades that needed it... they had a flea bite or two. I couldn't see them, but could feel them on my nail.

5-6 complete swipes, both sides, then 10 on the linen, 60 on the leather. I repeated the leather, with 40 each twice more before shaving with it... different times. One was just before shaving. This baby is super sharp!!! Better than when I first got it.

I knicked myself more easily with this super-sharp blade. Should I tone down a bit? I do have a thick beard, Although, my face did feel a bit "raw" before shaving. I'm still waiting for some Witch Hazel After Shave Balm (We'll see) to see if my face can handle the chemicals.

My question is... How sharp is sharp enough?

OK...2 questions... can a blade be too sharp???

I must add that I shaved the day before and was still a bit "raw".

First, in answer to your second question, a blade cannot be too sharp.

Regarding the first question, I suspect your blade is not yet sharp enough. If you felt any chipping in the blade with the Thumb Nail Test (TNT), you did not perfect that edge with 5-6 swipes on the barber hone.

If you only have a barber hone, I would suggest that you try repeating what you already did for a few more days and on each day assess the quality of the shave. It will likely improve. Also, given that you felt chips, you might want to bump it up to 10-15 strokes per day.

What barber hone do you have?

I'm sorry... you took my post differently than I meant.... Or differnetly than I meant to phrase... The blades Originally had flea bites on them, that one could not see. The Stone took them out Beautifully.

I'm sorry for the mis-statement.

I must also add that I went for a third pass on some troublesome ares...ATG. I have had some success before... maybe too soon between shaves?

first if you feel any burn DONT shave
second dont let your nail toch a sharp blade you will damage the edge

sharp enough is when you can comfortably shave

too sharp is theoretically(but i dont think it can be done) possible. But it is much more probable that the edge is too harch for your face

have you had a razor professionally honed yet?
if not it will be near impossible for you to evaluate your own work

Originally Posted by groundrush

I'm sorry... you took my post differently than I meant.... Or differnetly than I meant to phrase... The blades Originally had flea bites on them, that one could not see. The Stone took them out Beautifully.

I'm sorry for the mis-statement.

I must also add that I went for a third pass on some troublesome ares...ATG. I have had some success before... maybe too soon between shaves?

My understanding is that you originally felt flea bites, then you used the barber hone, and then you shaved. What I said before was that just 5 or 6 on the barber hone did not perfect your edge. You may no longer feel the small chips but there is no way that they are completely gone with just a few laps on the barber hone.

Agree with Ron . Chips & "fleabites" don't yield so easily but they can be more comfortable as they are reduced.
A blade cannot be too sharp but it can be too "toothy" for your skin type. All sorts of ways to get that ultimate comfort but essentially it is about burnishing or polishing an already sharp edge.

Originally Posted by groundrush

I recently purchased a Barbers' Stone. I Honed a couple of blades that needed it... they had a flea bite or two. I couldn't see them, but could feel them on my nail.

5-6 complete swipes, both sides, then 10 on the linen, 60 on the leather. I repeated the leather, with 40 each twice more before shaving with it... different times. One was just before shaving. This baby is super sharp!!! Better than when I first got it.

I knicked myself more easily with this super-sharp blade. Should I tone down a bit? I do have a thick beard, Although, my face did feel a bit "raw" before shaving. I'm still waiting for some Witch Hazel After Shave Balm (We'll see) to see if my face can handle the chemicals.

My question is... How sharp is sharp enough?

OK...2 questions... can a blade be too sharp???

I must add that I shaved the day before and was still a bit "raw".

Barber hones sharpen slightly different than bench hones.

Your five or six light laps on the barber hone perhaps with lather
followed by canvas and leather strop is the normal barber hone base line.

If the shave is not up to snuff then four to six more laps on
the hone followed by canvas and leather stropping and
a shave test.

With exceptions they are more aggressive and will turn
up a burr quicker than other hones. You almost want
a burr but want to stop before it develops so easy
does it.

In my experience a burr will give ya nicks and then dull quickly.

These blades have been purchased "Shave Ready", But we all know what that means.

I have been in Industry 37 years...CNC, pretty meticulous Die Makers, Tool Makers, Mold Polishers... I'm in the middle of it. We can put an edge on anything.

These blades will slice a hanging hair with no effort.

My only conclusion is... is if too sharp is out of the question ...then I have to learn to handle multiple very sharp blades.

I do rotate blades between shaves. Perhaps I should shave with one razor only?? Until I get into the swing of things????

Originally Posted by groundrush

These blades have been purchased "Shave Ready", But we all know what that means.

I have been in Industry 37 years...CNC, pretty meticulous Die Makers, Tool Makers, Mold Polishers... I'm in the middle of it. We can put an edge on anything.

These blades will slice a hanging hair with no effort.

My only conclusion is... is if too sharp is out of the question ...then I have to learn to handle multiple very sharp blades.

I do rotate blades between shaves. Perhaps I should shave with one razor only?? Until I get into the swing of things????

Alternating or not should not matter. I tend to shave a couple days
in a row with the same blade.

And yes too sharp is possible. A number of folk dial down
and polish their edge on chrome oxide pasted strops or
balsa hones.

Shave prep and angle are key when you have a sharp edge.

EDIT:
I should note that after shaving one or more times a "too sharp"
edge will not stay "too sharp". Normal shaving and stropping will
dial it back just a bit.

Originally Posted by groundrush

These blades will slice a hanging hair with no effort.

2 scenarios here.
1: A super sharp but toothy edge that will catch & pop the hair
2: A super sharp but smooth edge that will slip into the hair cuticle & slice it.

Your skin can tell the difference.