Thread: Maintaining Sharpness

Hi Ben,

Nothing to add, just popping in to way Welcome!

I'm a newbie myself -- about 3 weeks of shaving and lots to learn. It appears to me that a fair amount of the learning process is, in light of the experience of others, just trying different things ourselves. For myself, I'm wondering about the best way to bring back the edge of a razor after a week or two of shaving with, of course, daily stropping. Two alternatives i'm considering trying first when my razor begins to drag is (a) a few strokes on a strop charged with CrO versus (b) 3 or 4 strokes on a Naniwa 12K hone. I don't see many recommendations including taping the spine at this point.

Originally Posted by mumpig

I'm a newbie myself -- about 3 weeks of shaving and lots to learn. It appears to me that a fair amount of the learning process is, in light of the experience of others, just trying different things ourselves. For myself, I'm wondering about the best way to bring back the edge of a razor after a week or two of shaving with, of course, daily stropping. Two alternatives i'm considering trying first when my razor begins to drag is (a) a few strokes on a strop charged with CrO versus (b) 3 or 4 strokes on a Naniwa 12K hone. I don't see many recommendations including taping the spine at this point.

Hi Mumpig,

Either of your ideas would work. What they have in common that makes either a sound choice is that each is a minimal change. If neither works, then you can drop back to an 8k or farther. The coarser you start, the more work you have to restore a finished polish. At some point the pasted strop won't bring back the edge you desire, and you'll have to drop back a good way to restore a proper bevel. That shouldn't happen for a while, though. If it happens after just three or four pasted stroppings, though, you may be stropping with too much pressure or with too slack a strop.

Light touch... it seems to be the key to every straight-shave procedure.

Best wishes

Thank you, Roughkype. If I understand, you're saying more than 3-4 strokes on a charged strop is likely to be necessary IF that stropping was really necessary. Can you provide a sense of how many strokes might be likely if the CrO stropping were necessary? 10? 15? I hear that light stroking and not too much, too often is very important. Appreciate it!

Three or four sessions of pasted stropping. For one session, five or six passes should do it. Less is more. Normal stropping pressure, too, weight of the blade only. The changes to the shaving edge are microscopic at this point, and require very little action at very little force. That's the hardest part of thinking about honing and abrasives, I think--wrapping your head around the scale at which things are happening. If you're lucky to have access to a good microscope, you can watch the changes yourself and develop a personal, experiential sense of the process. (Ooh--that sounded all new-agey.)

A couple of good hand lenses are helpful too--but beware the difference between mere magnification and resolution. Resolution is your actual ability to see detail. Without it, magnification only gives you a bigger fuzzy blob. You get the best resolution from Hastings Triplet hand lenses. They're also the priciest, but you do get what you pay for. Hastings Triplet is a type of lense, not a brand. Bausch & Lomb are reliable.
Others may have different experiences and advice, but that's what I think on this day. As my mind wanders. Tra-la-la...

Thanks, Roughkype -- good stuff. I have a Hastings triplet in 10X I've used for looking at my knife edges but don't know if I can see what I need to at 10X on a razor. On a knife of course, really just looking at the bright line and bevel. What do you think about magnification and what to look for on a razor? BTW, feeling strong new-age vibes!

About the new-age vibes, that's not me, man! It was just an accident of wording. In real life I'm a #^*!ing construction worker.

With good resolution, you can tell a surprising amount at 10x. Monitor your scratch patterns as you hone, watch the edge as you use the razor... Try inspecting the whole edge when you first take the razor out for the day's shave, then strop the razor for that shave and inspect the edge again, then once more after the shave but before cleaning the blade, then after cleaning the blade but before your put-away stropping. That'll give you not only an idea of what your lense can pick up, but also a sense of the wear and tear your razor experiences in normal use.

I know my 10X Hastings can resolve the difference between 4k and 8k scratch patterns; at 12k it just starts to look really shiny and maybe a 20X is called for. At 12k and beyond I don't know if what you'll learn really applies to daily honing; at that point you're more satisfying your curiosity or becoming, for better or for worse, a serious student of your hones. Like, how different are the scratch shapes off your nicest coti when compared to those of the Thuringian someone lent you for a week, that sort of thing. A viable alternative is to have your meds adjusted. ;-) I say that, though it's yet to work for me.

Appreciate the guidance. In the world of straight razor shaving, I'm about to graduate from kindergarten to 1st grade (if I pass the exam) and you are in college. But, I am serious and meticulous and will begin a study of my razors w/ 10X Hastings in their various phases. Who knows what I'll learn but I find it to be great fun. The goal is to figure out what works and what doesn't. Since I only shave once a day I need to find other ways of gauging progress in addition to the shave test. My triplet is about to become a good friend.

I've tried adjusting my meds but it usually results in deterioration!

Thanks again for the advice, Roughkype.

You bet. Keep us posted as you learn. We all learn along with new eyes.

Best wishes to you