king said:
In my oppinion there is no "too sharp".
There are properly honed or overhoned, and all of us know what overhoned really mean.
Two of the most the most passionately debated concepts in one quote. Here we go.
We don't all "know what overhoned really means". In fact, we don't all agree what it could mean. I usually avoid the term, but if you want my definition, an overhoned edge is one that disintegrates at the tip after it reached its maximum keenness on a hone that causes such a problem. The result is a sort of microscopical barb wire at the very tip of the edge. Serious stropping on linen causes that barb wire to break off and leaves a dull result. When not removed by the strop, the skin will serve the same function during the shave, with the experience of heavy irritation and a rapidly deteriorating edge. That, per my definition, is "overhoning", and I have never observed it on a Coticule, no matter how many laps done. Everyone is free to accept that definition or not, because "to overhone" is not a verb found in the English dictionary. But if we follow the above definition, overhoning has not much to do with the keenness level of a correctly honed razor. An industrially sharpened Feather disposable blade is
for my preferences and skin too keen to shave with. And it is certainly not "overhoned". I can match and probably even surpass the keenness of a feather blade, by the use of diamond lapping films up to 0.3micron particle size. Those edges aren't overhoned either, but their shave is downright uncomfortable for me. But that is indeed an opinion. I know a guy who had the opinion that there was no such thing as driving too fast. He liked to voice that opinion among other people as much as possible. At Chrismas eve 1995, he lost control of his Opel GSi, while making a maneuver at high velocity. The car ended at a tree, the engine a 100m farther at the other side of the road. Purely coincidentally, he crashed almost in front of the house where I lived at that time and it was I who called the ambulance. For his girlfriend they arrived too late, but he survived. And lives on to state that "the car was badly
tuned". It's a true story, and I think it essentially deals about machismo.
The same kind of machismo we often meet in the discussion about "too sharp". There are guys who complain about the harshness of 0.25micron diamond spray, and love to shave with razors finished on 0.50micron diamond spray. They are prepared to call it "harsh", the edges are in no way overhoned, but refuse to even consider the idea that it might be too sharp. A rejection of a the most likely truth, on emotional grounds. What kind of man admits that he prefers to shave with a less sharp edge?
All in my opinion, that is not to be taken as a personal rejection of whomever likes to shave with keener edges than I do.
Kind regards,
Bart.