Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Senior Member blabbermouth nessmuck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    3,921
    Thanked: 581

    Default wool strop with diamond spray

    i have been shaving with my new wacker for 6 shaves,just leather stroping between shaves with great results. so tonite i thought i would bring the edge up a notch, i stropped it 10 times on the wool felt strop with .5 diamond spray followed by 70 laps on leather and the results made the razor worse! what went wrong???

  2. #2
    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    32,564
    Thanked: 11042

    Default

    Too much of a good thing ? I use a really light touch when I strop on the felt with the 0.5 diamond paste. No draw just skimming it. I only use it when I feel the edge needs it. So far so good.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to JimmyHAD For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-16-2009)

  4. #3
    Senior Member matt321's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    United State of Texas
    Posts
    635
    Thanked: 139

    Default

    Maybe it was the felt or maybe you slipped up a little on the leather strokes.
    Was the felt a hanging strop or bench strop?

    If you have a 10x loupe or something similar, check the edge for micro-chipping.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to matt321 For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-16-2009)

  6. #4
    Just one more lap... FloorPizza's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    775
    Thanked: 142

    Default

    Usually, either too much pressure on the blade or slightly lifting the spine off of the strop during the stroke is the cause of strop-induced blade dulling. Just to make sure I had it covered, I've done them both.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to FloorPizza For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-16-2009)

  8. #5
    Texas Guy from Missouri LarryAndro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1,135
    Thanked: 252

    Default

    Sometimes, I have finished honing and using pasted balsa (0.25 micron diamond) and gone to the linen and leather strop, and come away with what I think is a dulled blade. What I did to work around this is the following...

    (1) Learned by long use of the HHT with my hair how to judge the sharpness of the blade with this test.
    (2) Stropped 10 passes on linen, and tested using HHT.
    (3) Stropped 10 passes on leather, and tested using HHT.

    By MANY such tests, going from the 0.25 micron stage to the strops, testing at every stage using the HHT, I slowly got a feel for the use of the strops. The pressure, the number of repetitions, etc.

    I would suggest going back to the 0.5 diamond, and then back to linen and test your blade. A few passes on leather and test your blade. You get the idea.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to LarryAndro For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-16-2009)

  10. #6
    . Bill S's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Richfield, Ohio
    Posts
    2,521
    Thanked: 597

    Default

    Have you shaved with it since you did the diamond spray or are you basing your assessment on a test like HHT or TPT? Sometimes the tests can be deceiving.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Bill S For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-16-2009)

  12. #7
    Senior Member AirColorado's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Boulder County CO
    Posts
    1,004
    Thanked: 127

    Default

    Be careful with the diamond! As Jimmy says it's much better to use a VERY light touch when on the diamond. That stuff will cut metal exceptionally well and will easily scrape up any smooth surface you may have on your edges. It's great when necessary but you need to cut with it very lightly and then make sure to polish the blade afterward using the felt/linen and then good leather. Personally I always go to chromium oxide after any cutting of the blade with a hone or diamond. Cutting the edge is still cutting and it must be polished again to get back to a smooth shave.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to AirColorado For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-19-2009)

  14. #8
      Lynn's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    St. Louis, Missouri, United States
    Posts
    8,454
    Thanked: 4941
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nessmuck View Post
    i have been shaving with my new wacker for 6 shaves,just leather stroping between shaves with great results. so tonite i thought i would bring the edge up a notch, i stropped it 10 times on the wool felt strop with .5 diamond spray followed by 70 laps on leather and the results made the razor worse! what went wrong???
    If you don't have any other honing equipment, send it to me and I'll hone it back up for you on me and then next time it needs a refresh, you can experiment some more. Usually 10 light strokes on the felt does it. I usually spray the .5 on up and down 3 times and then let it dry over night and it is normally good for a dozen or so refreshes.

    Lynn

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to Lynn For This Useful Post:

    nessmuck (10-19-2009)

  16. #9
    Senior Member blabbermouth nessmuck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    3,921
    Thanked: 581

    Default

    thanks for the offer lynn. i just got my honing stones from you and will see if i can smooth up the wacker.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •