Thread: My Month Old Dovo Is Changing

The number one cause of dulling is improper stropping.

The number of laps needed depend on the substrate the paste is on leather, nylon or wood, each will perform differently, the amount of pressure you apply, the steel of the razor, the condition of the bevel and edge and the purity or the type of the paste you are using.

There are much finer paste, Diamond and CBN for example go to .10 um 160k grit, though each will perform differently. It is not just about grit size.

Another way to clean the edge is it strop on a lightly oiled newspaper strop. This both cleans crud off the edge and applies a thin layer of oil exactly where it is most needed.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

The number one cause of dulling is improper stropping.

The number of laps needed depend on the substrate the paste is on leather, nylon or wood, each will perform differently, the amount of pressure you apply, the steel of the razor, the condition of the bevel and edge and the purity or the type of the paste you are using.

There are much finer paste, Diamond and CBN for example go to .10 um 160k grit, though each will perform differently. It is not just about grit size.

So what I'm taking away from that is that there are too many variables to give a count of how many passes on a strop are sufficient. it would take years of experience or an expert standing beside you with a fair amount of guesstimation to come up with how many passes on a strop with any razor / paste / substrate combination is sufficient. I guess I really need to invest in a good magnifier to examine the blade, so I can get a better picture of what's working or not, and how well it's working or not. Any suggestions on a good magnifier?

For starters
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...glass-buy.html

Originally Posted by Utopian

Another way to clean the edge is it strop on a lightly oiled newspaper strop. This both cleans crud off the edge and applies a thin layer of oil exactly where it is most needed.

Make sure that edge is dry first before stropping on oil or you'll trap in the water and cause it to rust.

A 60X Led lighted loupe can be purchased for as little as 2-3 dollars. Buy several a new loupe is cheaper than replacing batteries. Here

And the Carson 60-100X Micromax Pocket Microscope around 10 dollars. I have several of each and both work very well. And Here

A month is a lot better than I got, so I don't think you are doing too bad. It's just a learning curve that you go through in leaps and bounds. Yes, there are a lot of variables that you have to work through while you learn, main thing is to stick with it and listen to the advice given. Once you get your technique right with the strop, you can keep a good edge for a long time. I do 20 laps rough, 60 laps smooth, and it works for me, but took a while to get right. Best of luck.