Lately, quite a bit of attention is being paid to the masculine form. Topics such as how a man should look and carry himself, fitness and skincare are being widely discussed.
Shaving is one of those undeniable pleasures of manhood that every man relishes. Whether you rule the boardroom or man an oil rig; there’s no doubt a refreshingly smooth shave first thing in the morning will help you put your best foot forward.
Quite a few men are adopting straight razors instead of disposable plastic safeties. Not only a straight razor provides you a greater degree of control and a much closer shave but admittedly the feel of bare steel gliding across your chin puts you in touch with your masculinity. That said, straight razor does take patience and you need to sharpen and maintain it just like a sushi chef maintains his knife.
Today, we’ll be discussing how to easily sharpen your straight razor.
Knowing When To Sharpen:
Before we delve into razor sharpening details, it is crucial that you understand how to recognize your razor needs to be sharpened. There are a couple of easy ways which will give you a pretty accurate assessment of your razor’s sharpness.
The most obvious of course is an actual shave. If you feel irritation while shaving that means the razor it tugging on your skin and it’s time to sharpen. Secondly, hold a strand of hair against your razor; a sharp razor should be easily able to split it. Failure to do so indicates a dull razor. Do not cut or swipe with the razor. The razor stays still here.
Using A Whetstone For Razor Sharpening:
Using a typical water stone is a very popular and easy to use method for sharpening a straight razor.
- To start off wipe your razor with alcohol and wipe it dry with cotton swabs.
- Now place you razor flat on the stone at a perpendicular angle. We recommend using a fine grit stone for razor sharpening. The spine on a straight razor takes out the guesswork as it determines the natural sharpening angle plus it ensures that each sharpening stroke remains consistent.
- Next, using only the weight of the razor and with its face flat on the whetstone sharpener make even glides across the stone surface. Adding additional pressure while sharpening will most likely damage your razor. Start from the tip of the razor and finish at the heel. Keep the sliding motion slow and steady. Use an equal number of slides (or passes) on each side to ensure an even bevel (the razor’s edge).
- Be careful not to over-sharpen your razor. You don’t want to leave half your face in the sink! 10-15 passes on each side should be enough to sharpen your razor for a close smooth shave.
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