Thread: Advice re keeping the edge

It could be your strop, what are you using? On the sharpen side with little to no pressure on a full hollow razor, i can hear the blade ring almost like steel on steel. With that i have been able to maintain an edge for over 20 shaves, and i have a heavy beard.

Originally Posted by SteveAcree

Thanks. Bob. I've tried some other more expensive soaps, but I can't see that they perform any better.
Steve

Steve

I did not mean to suggest buying more expensive soaps. It is just that Williams is not known to be an easy soap to produce a good lather with and there are other soaps that are easier to do so with. So, if the results you are getting with the others is only as good as with Williams then maybe your lather is lacking. I am not saying it is, I can't see your lather, just taking a stab at it. It is amazing how a good lather makes SR shaving easier. Anyway, just a thought. Good luck finding a cure for those shaves and when you do let us know what the solution was.

Bob

Make yourself a strop from newsprint--I just did this to verify it'd work--just one sheet thick. A quarter width of a single page is a good size. Anchor the wall end in one of those black spring-steel paperclips and strop away. If the paper pulls out of the clip, you've got too much tension. If the paper gets nicked or frayed where your blade flips, you need to work on your flip. I didn't try any purposefully bad stropping, but I imagine that if you're lifting the spine, the edge may scuff the type or raise a little nap from the paper.

The point of this is to demonstrate how little tension or pressure is required for effective stropping. I hope it helps.

I'm thinking one or two things may help. One being getting a paddle strop (Lynn makes a good one) but that requires a small investment (worth it though!) The other won't cost a dime. That is trying scything strokes when you are shaving. I had a similar shaving experience a few years ago and when I learned scything I could get in 1 pass what earlier took 3-4 passes. There are a few good Youtubes on it.

Steve,

Originally Posted by SteveAcree

I'm guessing it's a strop thing. I read somewhere that if you put too much pressure the edge can actually turn back on itself. I'm going to try a lighter stropping technique and see how that goes.

pressure is one thing. The edge is very sensitive and pressure is doing no good on it. Another thing is the technique itself. The spine should always touch the leather and, turn over the spine and lift it off the strop edge first, then spine in order to prevent accidental rolling over the edge. The strop should be held taught (not tight though), so that it can't lay "around" the edge.

go slow, watch and (!) listen what is actually happening.

hth

I thought this was already linked in here

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...st-2012-a.html


There is a plethora of stropping information all in one spot