When is it Time?

[Brew]

How do you guys know when it's time to touch up or re-hone a razor? Shy of the Sink Monster's bite, what is it that tells you a razor needs work? For me, it's a bevel that is not clean, regardless of how it shaves. I have found that a dirty bevel is more likely to cause weepers than a clean bevel. This was discovered during a 2 year stint with some serious heart meds that made me bleed like a stuck pig. Freshly honed, sharp razors, however, do not cause weepers.

So when my edge looks dirty, it's time. You?

 

[uacowboy]

How do you guys know when it's time to touch up or re-hone a razor? Shy of the Sink Monster's bite, what is it that tells you a razor needs work? For me, it's a bevel that is not clean, regardless of how it shaves. I have found that a dirty bevel is more likely to cause weepers than a clean bevel. This was discovered during a 2 year stint with some serious heart meds that made me bleed like a stuck pig. Freshly honed, sharp razors, however, do not cause weepers.

So when my edge looks dirty, it's time. You?

What do you mean by looking dirty?

for me it's when my shaves just don't last as long as they should. when i have a good sharp edge my shave will last at least 10-12 hours before i start to lose that nice smooth feeling. if i get a shave like that a could times in a row i know it's time. I never let the edge dull to the point it is uncomfortable to use which, in my experience, should not happen with proper stropping.

 

[Brew]

What do you mean by looking dirty?

Spots on the bevel.

 

[CBLindsay]

Excluding the obvious chip, ding or rolled edge, I have a few indicators that will trigger a touch-up or full blown re-hone. The first is when I have a shave or two that is more painful, difficult or frustrating than I would expect on a bad day. Sometimes I will just do a pasted cotton or balsa strop session then shave again the next day to confirm before hitting the hone. Another indicator is when I know I’ve already done plenty of maintenance pasted cotton or balsa stropping and the shave quality or feel is not easy or comfortable, I go to the stone. Believe it or not, with a large rotation I am finding that some razors that were used and stropped then left unused for a long time seem to need more than stropping to perform well. I live in a very dry location and the storage drawer is dry and outside the bathroom so rust is less likely to be an issue BUT this seems to be a real thing. So a long period of storage combined with a questionable feel raises a flag for me and may earn the razor some hone time. I’ve never had “dirty bevel” issues but I attribute that to my very high quality water and dry climate.