Just some random questions

1. I have found that second day shaves with the same razor are poor (with a small sample behind me). So do most of you guys rotate out of enjoyment, or is it really better to shave with a different straight and allow the "fin" to restretch etc? I'm a little sceptical about this.

2. I'm thinking about my next razor (I only have 3 that shave nice). Does anyone use a stainless steel razor for everyday use? I have several other options open to me, just curious about that. I was thinking stainless would be convienent and cool for an overhoner such as myself. :-) Lynn once mentioned to me that they don't shave as comfortable to him, thoughts? I'd love to be able to put off drying the razor in the A.M. I think its either a stainless or 1/2 hollow next for me (I'm into experimenting still).

3. I've tried flattening and smoothing out my strop and have only managed to imprint the leather with divots. Not a big problem but anybody have a simple idea to fix these. I was thinking about rubbing it with my palm for a few weeks like Lynn does, but I thought maybe something simpler or quicker might be eluding me.

4. I'm beginning to think that I prefer a smoother slightly duller blade than I expected for shaving. I think even .5 paste may be too sharp for me. Anyone else find this to be the case? Without it I can get a really smooth shave. And good prep overcomes the razors dullness, but too sharp and its hard to shave with and nicks alot. Maybe just a few runs on the .5 for now. Guess I just never thought about experimenting by backing the razor off, making it duller and smoother, and just shaving for a while.

5. For the experienced shavers: how often do you go between honings usually? I'm just looking for a ballpark, I think I'm going to use a barbers hone to touch up a razor when it starts pulling, but I'm amazed at how sharp a strop alone can get the blade when done correctly. I'm guess 3 months between real honing intervals?

Any comments welcome, to any of the questions. Thanx

1. I have heard from some teel gurus that some steels (I'm talking knives now) will "resharpen" themselves after the edge has been rolled due to use or poor work on the leather hone. I don't know how long this takes.

4. I too am not sure that I am enjoying the edges from the 0.5 paste as much as directly off the 8k kitayama (I'm new to this). They are sharp as all hell but sometimes when I lay the blade down for a pass it seems to stick a layer or two in. No blood though I have to reset the blade. And yes, it seems that proper stropping where you don't roll the edge provides an amazingly uselful tool.

Though I usually rotate my razors I have taken single razors on trips and used the same razor every day for 5 or six days and I find it shaves just as good. No degradation in the shave. I personally think thats just some old wives tale about not using a razor two days in a row.

I have three stainless razors; a puma, a dorko and a dovo and all three give shaves as close as any carbon steel. As far as comfort goes the dovo and dorko are as comfortable as the carbons though the puma isn't quite as comfortable but thats really spliting hairs (no pun intended). By the way I wouldn't leave any razor wet for an extended period. The stainless isn't really a true stainless more a rust resistant steel so they can rust.

I had a strop that was left folded for years and had a permanent crease in it. I tried hanging weights from it for weeks with no success then I tried soaking it in water and let it air dry flat and that took the crease out.

I don't personally think there is such a thing as too sharp a razor as long as there is no wire edge and if you look at the edge under magnification its smooth with very light even striations. If it appears too sharp to you you may have some imperfections in the edge. You need a sharp edge to give a really outstanding shave.

I have about 35 razors in my rotation so I don't have to hone too often. When the razor doesn't seem to shave as smoothly as it had I'll do a very few passes on the Norton 8K or yellow corticule and then about 10 minutes on my japanese 12K and its back in perfect shape again. Every razor is different as far as home many shaves you can get before honing. Some 20 or 30 some 100.

Hope this helps, just my 2 cents.