If you’re reading this article, you probably have a damaged razor. Don’t panic! It’s really no biggie, even if it makes for an uncomfortable shave. A quality straight razor can be restored to shaving-sharp without much heartache. Minor damage like chips & dings can be resolved with a basic honing service, but even major damage like a bent or broken point can at least be made functional again.
Why do Straight Razors Chip?
Shown here is a straight razor with a classic case of “sink bite.” Though a pain to shave with, the edge can be easily restored with proper tools and techniques.
Straight razors are highly specialized tools and differ from your average kitchen or utility knife in a few key ways. Harder steels, thin blades with deep hollow grinds, acute bevel angles, and polished edges excel at shaving hair. These characteristics produce finer edges, but they are also more brittle, meaning the blade is more likely to break than bend. You wouldn’t want to chop an onion or shuck oysters with a straight razor, for example (at least, not one you want to shave with later)!
The most common source of damage we see is from what we call “sink bite.” This occurs when the user rinses with the blade open and bumps the edge against the faucet. Other common sources of frustration are the lids on Barbicide jars, other items in your toiletry bag, countertops, fingernails, combs, and dry shaving (did you know that when dry, human facial hair has the same hardness as an equivalent thickness of copper wire?).
How to avoid chips and dings.
Fortunately, most damage can be avoided by adopting a few simple practices:
Don’t touch the edge.
Close the razor to set it down, rinse, or sanitize*
Test sharpness by shaving hair, not by touching, strumming, or finger-nailing the edge
Strop your razor properly. Click here to view our tutorial
Prep your hair for shaving. Dry hair is tough, wet hair is soft!
*Our Cascade Steel is stainless, so rust is not a concern when rinsing and sanitizing the razor. Vintage razors and modern blades made of carbon steel should be kept dry and oiled to prevent rust.
How to Fix Chips & Dings
Even straight razors with major damage, like the large chip pictured here, can be made safe to use again.
While a chipped razor is a pain to shave with, it isn’t the end of the world. Quality straight razors are designed with maintenance in mind, and restoring the edge is fairly straightforward. The only way to remove a chip or ding from your razor’s edge is to hone it out on a stone. While similar to knife sharpening, honing razors is a nuanced skill that requires more specialized tools and techniques than your pocket knife does. Skilled DIY’ers are encouraged to check out our tutorials, take our honing class, pick up a quality hone and give it a shot. For everyone else, you can send us your razor for a honing service for restoration.