Thread: How can you tell if your blade is sharp?

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

I saw this one video on you tube where the guy sliced off a strand of hair he was holding. I tried it but I just can't get the same effect :-)

Took me a bit to figure that one out too. I hold a hair from my girlfriend's brush between my left thumb and forefinger, and simply move the blade through it, like chopping wood but very slowly, and if I've stropped properly, the hair simply pops off when the blade touches it.

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

I do about 20 cycles every time before I shave. Holding the strop tight with a light stroke of the blade up and down, and flipping it on its spine.

Your technique sounds fine, but 20 is probably not nearly enough. I do 60, and so do a lot of other folks around here. It really doesn't take long at all once you get the feel for it.

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

1. How do you test to know your blade is the sharpest it can be?

That's not really relevant. You don't want it to be the sharpest it can be, you want it the right sharpness, and while the HHT is a good indication, there's only one absolutely fool proof way to tell that I know, and that's to shave with it.

You can save your face by shaving a patch of your forearm. The hair is softer, but at least it will give you a good idea.

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

2. How many times do you run the blade on the strop before you shave?

20 laps on the canvas, 60 on the leather before every shave. 10 on the canvas after I shave.

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

3. When do you use the stropping paste?

There's 4 basic kinds of stropping paste. Dovo sells them as yellow, white, red and green.

Yellow is strictly a leather conditioner, and should be used whenever your leather strop starts to feel too dry and/or rough.

White is a chalk paste which has a very mild polishing effect. Some people like to use this on their canvas strop.

Red is a mild abrasive paste, and is used to refresh an edge that has been used. How often depends on your personal preference, the quality of your razor, and your skill in shaving.

Green is an abrasive honing paste. It won't hone a dull edge, but many people like to use it as a final step in the honing process. This is a subject of debate that I'm not qualified to give an opinion on.

Originally Posted by jdizzle707

4. When do you use the linen side of a two-sided strop?

Already answered that one.