Thread: I got it! I got it!

But still a little bit of a way to go. Probably should strop more - only did about 20 laps, so it seems not enough.

I got a much closer shave, but this definitely is not as sharp as the dispo blade ( as someone else had noted that it probably wouldn't be). Of course the advantage of that, coupled with the heft of the blade, doesn't permit me to do goofball mistakes (like rotating the blade slightly toward the nose, with the resulting slice into the skin, a task I did for three days in a row on my neck - grrr). I also need to focus on skin stretch a bit more, and I think my beard may be particularly tough - I'm toying with a mid shave strop esp. before I go after the chin as that was challenging today.

So here's a question, since I like really sharp edges (yes, I could get help for that, but I choose not to ), should I consider adding a stainless razor to my collection?

Again, thanks to Lynn for his tolerance, and to others for their advice.

Originally Posted by RichZ

Randy,

Quick one I have stropped the night before with no ill effects. Why do you feel you have to do it before shaving?

I think that's a matter of choice. Some say stropping after the shave forces moisture out of the microserrations. Others say it doesn't give the microserrations a chance to return to their natural state, risking that you may break some.

There was a test run here a while ago wich was inconclusive on this issue. It did seem to provr\e that 60 round trips are better than 30.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

There was a test run here a while ago wich was inconclusive on this issue. It did seem to provr\e that 60 round trips are better than 30.

Hrm, that's interesting... In my experience, extra strokes beyond a certain point don't accomplish any additional effect.

I'll have to find this thread - could be I've been wrong all along.

Originally Posted by JerseyLawyer

Hrm, that's interesting... In my experience, extra strokes beyond a certain point don't accomplish any additional effect.

I'll have to find this thread - could be I've been wrong all along.

Unfortunately, that could mean your doing it right too...

Originally Posted by JerseyLawyer

Hrm, that's interesting... In my experience, extra strokes beyond a certain point don't accomplish any additional effect.

I'll have to find this thread - could be I've been wrong all along.

The thread (a very long one) was entitled 'The Grand Experiment'.
Ed

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

The thread (a very long one) was entitled 'The Grand Experiment'.
Ed

And contrary to Loe's assertion, there was no proof that more stropping strokes was better, only that it seemed to work equally well even though it appeared to have the effect of over smoothing the cutting teeth on the edge.

X

Originally Posted by xman

And contrary to Loe's assertion, there was no proof that more stropping strokes was better, only that it seemed to work equally well even though it appeared to have the effect of over smoothing the cutting teeth on the edge.

That's not right. One of the razors dropped out early, and the only difference between it and one of the the razors that survived was it took 30 before and the other took 60. So, what's the only conclusion you can reach from this limited experiment?

On the other hand 60 before the shave and 30 before followed by 30 after was really too close to be conclusive. However, as I recall the 60 was a little better. In any case, the two 60s were about the same and the 30 was an eaarly failure.

There was nothing about over smoothing. The 30 lost its shaving smoothness (i.e its usefulness), so it was a failure.

Now. How did you reach your conclusion?

While you are correct that in The Grand Experiment part 1, there was one razor that was stropped only before the shave and it did fail to respond as well as the others, one razor was stropped for 30 passes both before and after the shave, and the other(at your perseverance as I recall) was stropped 60 times both before and after. Both of the final razors responded well enough that a determination of which is better seems premature to me.

I've returned SRP razor #39 to Nelson in shave ready condition. We should get another set of results in another month or two.

X

Originally Posted by xman

While you are correct that in The Grand Experiment part 1, there was one razor that was stropped only before the shave and it did fail to respond as well as the others, one razor was stropped for 30 passes both before and after the shave, and the other(at your perseverance as I recall) was stropped 60 times both before and after. Both of the final razors responded well enough that a determination of which is better seems premature to me.

I've returned SRP razor #39 to Nelson in shave ready condition. We should get another set of results in another month or two.

The experiment wanted to test the difference, if any between stropping before and stropping before and after. So, the three tests were 60 before, 30 before and 30 after, and 30 before. The last one was included to see if the number of passes would make a difference. As it turns out, the number of passes made the biggest difference. The difference between the other two was slight.

The two surviving razors both received 60 passes. The early failure received 30.

I rarely strop a razor more than 15-20 strokes both before and after a shave. I will usually do around 30 after a honing starting with 10-15 on the linen side. Lynn