Who doesn't know that in the course of daily shaving, the sharp blade of the razor constantly wears down until the point is reached where the blade no longer produces the desired result and becomes dull. This moment during shaving is not only painful for the person on whom the knife is used, because a dull knife is more likely to pull out the beard hairs than to cut them, but also inevitably leads to a poor result when shaving.
But how can you counteract this situation? With the following 5 tricks, we will explain to you how you can sharpen your razor and consistently achieve great results with your tool.
The razor
We live in exciting times to be able to observe how everything around us not only experiences technical progress, but also how well-functioning products are constantly being improved. Things that have actually always served their purpose. Often this progress inevitably leads to the origin and the classic style that this origin carries with it. The situation is similar with the razor, as it is in some ways more functional than a run-of-the-mill three-blade razor, especially when it comes to contour cutting.
The market offers a wide variety of knife designs.
Razors are offered with an interchangeable blade, popularly known as a shavette, or with a solid full metal blade. Since there is no need to replace the blade with interchangeable blade knives, we will now deal with the knife with a full metal blade, because sharpening such a razor is a very special discipline.
Leathering the knife
In order to ensure the constant sharpness of your razor, it is necessary to leather your tool regularly. As a rule, this should be done before every shave and is not rocket science. As the name suggests, you need a leather strop. An essential tool for sharpening a razor. The internet is full of really helpful guides. Here pictures or in this case usually videos say more than 1000 words. Of course, as always in life, you will find the right technique after the theory has been input, only through practice.
Sharpening by a professional?
As already mentioned in the introduction, even the best razor eventually becomes dull. When that day comes, special treatment is required. To do this, the knife is sharpened.
A task that should definitely be assigned to a professional if you are not familiar with this technology. A poorly executed sharpening of your knife usually results in a less good result than it was before the sharpening. At this point you should also consider that investing in a professional sharpening is usually far cheaper than the emotional and monetary value of your knife that you lose if you, in plain English, “reach into the toilet”. You can get your knife well sharpened for as little as €10-15. At this point we recommend you use the Yellow Pages to find what you are looking for.
Sharpening razors – can I do that too?
No, don't get us wrong, you can definitely carry out this procedure yourself with a little technical skill and the necessary practice. As mentioned, the key word is exercise. As in almost every situation in life, Grandpa's favorite phrase can be applied here: No master has yet fallen from heaven.
If you have the confidence to sharpen your razor, you should first be aware that when sharpening a razor, not only the technique but also the material of the blade in relation to the equipment for sharpening the razor is crucial. It's best if you can look over the shoulders of a professional during your practice phase. So you can be sure that you can achieve great results yourself.
The man is himself!
In addition to the experience that a professional can give you, there are a number of techniques and ways to achieve the desired goal. The worldwide web is almost flooded with instructions and tutorials. In our opinion, it makes sense to first try out a relatively inexpensive entry-level knife in order to learn the correct sharpening technique for sharpening a razor. A variety of video clips on the internet can help you, as they can act as instructions to help you find your technique and therefore your own way to a sharp blade.
Basically, when it comes to the necessary equipment for sharpening a razor, you can say that the sharpening is done in different stages.
You need watered grinding stones with a grain size of 800-2000. This grain is considered to be rather coarse in relation to the knife grind of a razor and is used to fundamentally move the knife or its cutting edge into the correct shape. Smaller unevenness and hairline cracks are eliminated and the blade is prepared for the next sharpening level of the knife.
In the subsequent step you use stones with finer grain sizes, which range between 3000 and a whopping 12000. This is used for fine grinding and polishing.
The last step is called finish, which you complete with a variety of pastes to complete the sharpening of the razor.
In the previous 5 tips we showed you how to sharpen a razor and how you should deal with this challenge.
Please remember, regardless of whether you want to sharpen your razor yourself or leave this task to a professional, do not take the necessary care of your knife. If you don't use it for a long time, a drop of oil is enough to keep the blade of your knife looking after it over the long term. Of course, you can also find detailed care instructions from us. Good luck with sharpening and have fun shaving afterwards.
