Can a SR be too sharp?

rbscebu

rbscebu

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2020
Location
Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia
In a nutshell, I believe that the answer is yes. Now my thoughts on the matter.

If a SR shaver develops his shaving technique using more "comfortable" (not as keen an edge) razors to shave with, that is what he is use to. A keener edged razor is found by him to be just too sharp for his liking.

I believe that this "too sharp" observation is based on the SR shavers shaving technique. With a keener edge, I find that I need to pay more particularly attention to the shave angle. The keener the edge, the flatter the angle needs to be used. The more you get towards ATG shaving, the more critical this flatter shave angle becomes.

The above is not denigrating SR shaves that don't like super keen edges. As always, SR shaving is all about doing it your way that you are happy with.
 
At some point, sharp is sharp. There will be variability based on beard, skin, and what you are familiar with or prefer, but whiskers will still get cut. I'm more concerned about edges that are not harsh.

Someone on the other board said words to the effect (about honing), "sharp is easy; comfort is the challenge."
 
@silverlifter I am sure this goes with DE blades also. Some are quite sharp and little harsh (feather) others are little less sharp but smooth.. its the comfort factor that is always the challenge.. in a DE the geometry of the shaver plays a part in the 'comfort' of different blades and each blade can act differently depending on the geometry
 
rbscebu said:
@silverlifter, I am curious about your your statement on harshness. What do you mean by the feel of a "harsh" edge?
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It feels harsh and raspy on the face. The best edges I have shaved with feel almost like the edge of a paddlepop stick: smooth, comfortable, and incapable of cutting skin, but that remove whiskers without tugging or any other discomfort.

@StratMan Indeed it does! Bic Chrome (the yellow pack ones) are super sharp, but my face hates them. Polsilver Stainless, or Wizamets to a slightly lesser degree, are just as sharp, but have a laser-like cleaness to them that makes them a delight to shave with.
 
silverlifter said:
@StratMan Indeed it does! Bic Chrome (the yellow pack ones) are super sharp, but my face hates them. Polsilver Stainless, or Wizamets to a slightly lesser degree, are just as sharp, but have a laser-like cleaness to them that makes them a delight to shave with.
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I used to think the exact same with the BICs, super sharp but super harsh.. then I found they worked perfectly well in a Rocca and BlackBird, also love them in my WR2. Not sure how much the 'geometry' of my razors changed this blade but the Rocca and BB were the biggest differences by far and they totally smoothed out the roughness while retaining the sharpness.

Adding a nice greek yogurt lather consistency with a nice triple milled soap like tabac or MdC and I feel no harshness at all

Agree with Polsilvers!!
 
Agree with all comments above. I am one of those "SR shaver develops his shaving technique using more "comfortable" (not as keen an edge)" and this may also be because I only shave WTG. ATG appears to require a much keener blade.
I would also compare it to @StratMan's analogy the "too keen" straight edge is the Feather blade of straights whereas I prefer Wizamet and Astra SP. Definitely personal preference and YMMV.
BTW thanks to these threads started by @rbscebu I am now trying a much wetter lather "natural yoghurt" consistency not as creamy as Greek style and keeping the blade closer (spine width) to the face
 
It can be too sharp and, at the same time, unsuitable for shaving. This is when the geometry of the blade and the proportions are all out of whack. When the angle of the bevel is too narrow, then we enter the scalpel territory.

Scalpels are notoriously sharp, however, it is not something you want on your face for shaving.
 
So far, I haven't found an edge that is as sharp as I would like. A Feather, Nacet, or Wizmet in a shavette is nice and comfortable to me. On a straight, I have yet to get there. I had a great shave today using my straight, but I was thinking that as sharp as it was, it could have been a tad keener. I am an oddball, I know.
 
Doc Dan said:
So far, I haven't found an edge that is as sharp as I would like. A Feather, Nacet, or Wizmet in a shavette is nice and comfortable to me. On a straight, I have yet to get there. I had a great shave today using my straight, but I was thinking that as sharp as it was, it could have been a tad keener. I am an oddball, I know.
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Yesterday I shaved with a Gold Dollar W59 off diamond pasted balsa that is my sharpest edged SR. When I compare that W59 against a shavette with a new Feather blade, the W59 is sharper - just. I consider the W59 to be a fluke.

A few of my other SRs get closed to a Feather but not equal. The only other blades that I now have left for my shavette are Astra SP and some Gillette London Bridge. As I only go through 2 or 3 DE blades a year, I should have enough to last me 10 to 15 years.
 
Mastropiero said:
.... Scalpels are notoriously sharp, however, it is not something you want on your face for shaving.
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Many years ago a surgeon friend of mine told me that scalpels and razors have different edges. Scalpels require a very fine sawtooth type of edge due to the way they are used to cut while razors required a smooth edge as it cut is pure shear.

Don't know how true that is, it's just what he told me.
 
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