Thread: Edge life before more than stropping is needed?

I really appreciate the recent advice guys, especially the words of wisdom and/or encouragement from jeffegg2, thebigspendur, red96ta, ShoreBird, vikingfan, Ryan82 and BladeRunner001.

I intend to proceed with the balsa hone pasted with Chromium Oxide semi paste from hand american. Based upon what I have read this should be sufficient to keep shaving for now. I will let time and experience tell me if I should ever contact my TI with a stone. I will however buy a less expensive razor to bring into my rotation for the reasons advised in this thread above.

vikingfan - its good to know there are some Long Islanders here. Too bad you have decided to leave honing to the pros. I would have gladly supplied a bottle of your favorite libation for a lesson or two .

Quick question: using the chromium oxide semi-paste with balsa hone. How much and how is it applied? I know "less is more" but a little guidance goes a long way.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by DPMaltese

Quick question: using the chromium oxide semi-paste with balsa hone. How much and how is it applied? I know "less is more" but a little guidance goes a long way.

I have only used the powder myself, but it is pretty much same shit, different pile. You don't need to cake it on, as a little goes a long way. What I do, as per ChrisL's instructions, is to paint thin X's on the surface of the balsa (as opposed to coating the entire surface), and you can smear it around if you like but it really isn't necessary as the act of stropping will do this as well. Let it cure for a day before use. Strop as you would with leather - SPINE FORWARD - and not like when honing (edge forward)

The next question you'll be likely to ask is how long will the coating last. I'm not sure, but I made mine almost 2 years ago and haven't had to reapply any chrome ox yet.

Originally Posted by DPMaltese

I really appreciate the recent advice guys, especially the words of wisdom and/or encouragement from jeffegg2, thebigspendur, red96ta, ShoreBird, vikingfan, Ryan82 and BladeRunner001.

I intend to proceed with the balsa hone pasted with Chromium Oxide semi paste from hand american. Based upon what I have read this should be sufficient to keep shaving for now. I will let time and experience tell me if I should ever contact my TI with a stone. I will however buy a less expensive razor to bring into my rotation for the reasons advised in this thread above.

vikingfan - its good to know there are some Long Islanders here. Too bad you have decided to leave honing to the pros. I would have gladly supplied a bottle of your favorite libation for a lesson or two .

Quick question: using the chromium oxide semi-paste with balsa hone. How much and how is it applied? I know "less is more" but a little guidance goes a long way.

Thanks again.

I purchased the chromium oxide from Classic Shaving and applied it to the balsa (sanded flat) with approximately four to five pea sized drops on a 3" x 11" balsa. This was rubbed into the wood with a latex glove. I then wiped it down with a paper towel to remove the excess chromium oxide to the point where I could see some wood grain. This assured me there was a very thin coating left on the balsa.

I would only use this as a touch-up/refresh, since I am not good at using my hones. I would think I would have to use the balsa once a month, since it stays pretty sharp with stropping. I guess every one is different. I just don't want to over do it. I should, however, buy a cheap SR to practice. Someday, I should learn.

I'm sure the experienced SR users will have some better input, but I did find the home-made balsa strop listed on this site as really very good and cheap.

Good luck.

There are several answers to your question.

If you shave exactly the right way, and you strop exactly the right way, the usual advice is that you should get 50 shaves before a light honing is needed. To bring it back only a barber stone or pasted strop is needed.

If you strop wrong, or shave wrong, typically with too much pressure, the answer might be one shave. Unfortunately this is where we beginners live.

I personally strop with chromium oxide pasted canvas/linen and then leather each time. This brings the edge back after each shave, and tends to make the blade sharper over time, if it wasn't perfect to begin with.

Recently I've done an experiment that indicates that face honing (aka "shaving") improperly dulls a blade just as improper stropping does, so some remedial light honing on the pasted strop is not out of order.

I've mastered proper stropping (taut strop, no pressure downwards on the blade, just glide it), and now I'm trying to master shaving with the lightest pressure and correct angle. Once I've verified I'm not dulling my razor too much in shaving, I'll probably drop the daily use of the pasted strop and go to just canvas and leather or even just leather.

The single biggest lesson that I've learned over the last two months that applies to honing, stropping and shaving is this: Use what feels like no pressure downwards at all. This is particularly true for full hollow blades where the fine edge takes all the force. This lesson has resulted in much, much sharper blades before shaving.

Good luck on getting past this hump! We've all been there, and are climbing the same hill.

Originally Posted by Alethephant

If you shave exactly the right way, and you strop exactly the right way, the usual advice is that you should get 50 shaves before a light honing is needed. To bring it back only a barber stone or pasted strop is needed.

Sorry, but though your post has some truth to it, I have to disagree with the above statement. There are so many variables involved in edge longevity that no experienced member here would even care to venture a guess as to how many shaves you can get out of an edge before a touchup. I'm curious how you came up with that figure, as I've been at SRP for a while now and TMK I have never heard anyone use the figure of 50 shaves. BTW that would be expert territory (as in years and years of SR experience) to expect that kind of edge longevity, and no newb should have to feel that that is the rule rather than the exception.

Sorry, but I've frequently seen comments that a razor should be sharp for a couple of months before honing. This is even in the instruction sheet with the Dovo razor I bought.

It should be obvious, however, that time is not the issue, usage is. Letting a razor sit in a drawer for a year will not make it dull.

If you use a razor every day, "a couple of months" would translate into 60 shaves.

All I did was translate the usual advice into the right units.

I will agree that others do not seem to count shaves rather than time.

"It's not the years: It's the miles."

Originally Posted by Alethephant

If you shave exactly the right way, and you strop exactly the right way, the usual advice is that you should get 50 shaves before a light honing is needed. To bring it back only a barber stone or pasted strop is needed.

AHEM...Where did you pull this number from? when I first started 3 to 10 shaves was what I could get, sometimes more. Now, depending on the razor I can go more than 3 months and in many cases more than a year without a touch up other than linen and bare leather (no paste, no barbers hone)
To put a number on something that is really dependent on skill, strop quality, and razor quality seems a guess at best and dishonesty at worst.

I suppose then you should take this up with the (dishonest?) person who wrote the SRP FAQ: " How long will a razor stay sharp?

There are too many variables involved to give a definite answer (quality of razor steel, stropping and shaving techniques, etc.). The general consensus seems to be that a shave ready razor will, if regularly stropped on plain leather, shave comfortably for at least a few dozen shaves. After that, it will require resharpening.[25] "

"At least a few dozen shaves" suggests 30+. You will note I indicated in the best case, 50 shaves. This does not seem inconsistent.

You will also note that I indicated, if you do things wrong, you may get only one shave.

Apparently the argument here is what is the maximum possible shaves before honing is required. That is a different question from getting less shaves than that. Do you know of anyone who has gotten more than 50 shaves from a razor with no touch-up?

Again, time lapse is not the same thing as number of shaves. When you talk about using a razor for a year, are you using the same razor every day?

Originally Posted by Alethephant

Do you know of anyone who has gotten more than 50 shaves from a razor with no touch-up?

Yes. Me for one.

A few careful laps on chromium oxide pasted balsa and I think it worked like a charm for now. Thanks.