Thread: Maintaining Sharpness

Hi Ben,

There's a million answers to how to maintain your edge. When new, its common to think you have to get stones, abrasive pastes/sprays, etc. MapleleafAlumnus tells you right about stropping well will keep you going a long time. To put it mildly, I wasn't good at stropping. My stropping dulled my edges. Its not uncommon. You have a coupon or something for a honing from SRD if you roll the edge. After that, there are plenty of guys that will gladly help.

One member had a beard that ate edges. At that point, he didn't yet hone, and needed a way to keep an edge. Each week, he took 2pc of newsprint covering a hard, flat, smooth surface for 70 strokes. Then 100 linen, 100 leather. The newsprint is very low-tech, but will keep you going a long time. If I understand correctly, the greatly missed Utopian did a similar technique using the inside surface of a cereal box. I don't remember if he used any abrasive in addition, but its a variation on this theme.

You might consider having at least a 2nd blade - doesn't have to be costly - so you stay shaving when one need to go out for an edge. PM me if you need a hand w/ edges. 'Just actual cost to mail it back to you.

Enjoy that new blade. 'Sounds like great shaves are in your near future.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I'm pretty meticulous by nature, so hopefully I can avoid common mistakes.

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!