Thread: Razor not sharp??

Originally Posted by Scabby

Thanks for the advice. I'll strop more like this next time and see if that helps any.

My strop is a latigo leather strop from tony miller. It doesn't have linen. Will 150 on that work or should I do more or something else to make up for not having linen?

Just do the 100 laps, and find out if it helps.
The linen has a reputation for being slightly more abrasive while the leather really is more about realigning. There is a lot of speculation about stropping, and little solid facts known. But linen definitely has its virtues for me.

Just keep us posted on the progress (or the lack thereof), and we'll take it from there.

Good luck,
Bart.

Whether or not linen actually does something the leather does not do... I just don't know and can't tell. However, it is some damn good fun! Simple pleasures.

Scabby,

FWIW, recently I've been trying MParker's recommendations on using the linen/cotton part of my strop(s) fairly extensively before doing the leather routine. I do 60-70 laps on the linen (real linen from Tony Miller) and then 40-50 on a HandAmerican buffed horsehide Old Dawg strop followed by about the same # of strokes on another horsehide strop (supposedly shell cordovan). I'm not a fan of a grreat deal of draw on a strop which is why I like horsehide. I may be stropping with more strokes than necessary, but it gives the lather a chance to soak in so I figure it can't hurt.

With this routine, I am also coming to agree with MParker's analysis that the linen has some very subtle abrasive qualities which adds to the edge prep for a very close and smooth shave.

If you keep 1-2 spine thicknesses between your face and the spine of the razor, things should be just fine. Two spine widths away from my face is too much for my style of shaving. Fiddle with the angle and you'll come up with something that suits your components and technique.

By the by, the 1/4 hollow Le Grelot in my opinion is one of the nicest razors out there and IMO Martin's honing sets it up to work well.

And there you go: analyses worth exactly what they cost.

good luck, good shaving

I Suspect stropping as well. This was the same exact issue I had when I started and I found out I wasn't drawing my razor on the strop correctly even though it seemed like I absolutely was to me. You should feel some draw on the strop when you're going back and forth. Keep the strop tight also. Hopefully the edge can be restropped into a good shaving edge. Pulling is always bad on your face, and it can lead to some nasty cuts. I have been shaving since I was thirteen and I have the heaviest beard of all the guys I know, it is like copper wiring. My razors can still cut through the hairs without getting snagged on my face. If it feels wrong, then it probably is.

When you strop is the strop at your waist height or is it hanging vertically somewhere?

Originally Posted by Disburden

When you strop is the strop at your waist height or is it hanging vertically somewhere?

I used to have it hanging in the closet but now I'm doing it at waist level. It seems a little easier this way.

I shaved again today after stropping many times. I tried to strop a bit quicker and not quite as lightly.

I think the razor felt slightly better today. There was less pulling but I didn't get as close a shave. This was because I started to see speckles of rust on my razor after awhile before I had a chance to shave over the spots with left-over stubble. I stopped shaving and put some oil on my razor. The rust spots don't really look that bad now. I have been trying to take especially good care of my razor because when I tried to take up straight shaving a couple months ago I didn't use oil on my old razor and got some rust on it (I also chipped it eventually).

I also noticed that the razor seemed sharper on the part of the blade near the shank of the razor. It's probably because I had been using mostly the end of the blade to shave previously. Maybe I need to try using all parts of the blade more evenly.

I think I will try a few strokes on the barber hone before next time, and see if that improves the shave.

Hey Scabby, welcome to SRP!

It does sound like the Razor is getting less sharp so I would suspect your stropping technique.. it more stropping improved the shave I guess you are on the right track... so you could strop some more..

I also had a strop without a linnen side I just added some athletics/sports tape to the back and stropped on that.it worked for me..( take care that there isnt any glue residue on there anymore)

I dont know if I would start on the barber hone already..

Maarten

Originally Posted by mlangstr

I also had a strop without a linnen side I just added some athletics/sports tape to the back and stropped on that.it worked for me..( take care that there isnt any glue residue on there anymore)

This is an interesting idea. I guess I should try this before I go to the barber hone. Did you put several layers of tape to make it padded or just one layer?

Hi Scabby,

I started all this about 6 months ago and have only just gotten to the stage where I can get a smooth shave every day, and only with two of my razors, ther are 3 or 4 others that I am nearly up to scratch with but can't quite get them there yet. Even my Dovo won't play nice, it keeps falling just short of shave ready.

I only recently got a good strop to replace the cheap one I began with and killed a few months ago. I killed it by adding goose grease as strop dressing then removing it with too much soap and forgetting it was drying near the radiator. 3 stupid mistakes in one. For months I had no real strop and no good shaves, i even went to shaving off the coticule for a while as it was the best choice I had.

For me I would say a good strop that has been broken in well is the crucial factor, even one treatment with lather and a bottle will make a huge difference to some strops. Once I had got that in my kit and learnt to strop with a smooth and flowing technique things really changed.

You really do need friction though, either good draw or a little speed, slow careful stropping doesn't help in my experience.

I would seriously advise buying a few old razors off ebay to practise honing and stropping with, or much better: buy one from one of the guys on here, then you know it is a good razor that has been cared for, I have some great looking ones from ebay that just refuse to take an edge no matter what I try. If I had only those two razors I would have quit this long ago thining it was jsut me.

I also use an old car safety belt instead of a linen strop, it works very well indeed and comes free from the local scrap yard, make sure the edge is not heat sealed though.

With a little Cro Ox on one side of the safety belt (less is more -seriously!) one side clean and a good, smooooth leather strop I find I can quickly bring my razors back to shave ready.

If you jump into honing it now you may find it many months before you get back the edge you need.

Learn to strop first, learn honing later, when you need to.

Unless you get bitten by the bug like so many of us.

Then you will be up to your neck in strops, razors, hones, pastes and shaving soaps within a week, referrring to this site like your new bible, cursing your dull razors that pull your beard mercilessly and loving every minute of it.

I cannot stress, though, how much things improved once I took stropping seriously.

Some good tips here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-mistakes.html

Originally Posted by Scabby

This is an interesting idea. I guess I should try this before I go to the barber hone. Did you put several layers of tape to make it padded or just one layer?

I just put one layer on there. I used the widest tape i could find and put it on the backside of my hanging strop.. it is not as wide as the strop itself but that doesn't seem to be a problem... I just put it near the edge of the strop.

Maarten

Try playing with the angle of the blade. Most people will disagree but a steeper angle works better on my face. This is qualified saying 'My face", YMMV.

The other thing I do is use a buffing stroke sometimes. You take a one inch stroke then come up 3/4 of an inch and then take another one stroke and repeat. If you do this every section of your face will get the blade several times.

You should never, ever, ever, ever be tugging the razor against your face. That is hands and knees begging for a huge cut. Remember use a light touch with your blade.

Lastly, don't go for BBS on your first pass. Your goal with every pass should be to be a little smoother than the last pass. I will even go so far as to say do a second WTG pass before you go ATG. You should get noticably less tugging. Eventualy it will all fall together and you will get rockin' shaves.