Thread: strange old strop instuctions

Ahhhh X, sorry about that. And you probably don't need anymore honing experience . . . LOL. I don't own any wedges. Do you think that contributed to the problem? I did finally roll an edge on a blade when I stropped with wicked heavy pressure and sent the blade the full length of the strop and I realized I usually don't use the full length all the time. Do you allow the strop to sag at all when you strop? With a blade honed by Bill I'd have to say you wouldn't need any pressure, that be too sharp already. Do wedges draw? Or do they draw like crazy? Is there full contact, and if so, how do you know when its really sharp? I guess this means you won't be piercing your ears for earrings huh? LOL.

What do you think about the directions on this old strop?

I think I can start adding pressure after a few shaves, but for you and Bill it might be 10-15 and then you'all are probably back to the hone anyway. Next time your at the end of a cycle try some pressure and see if you can draw out the razor some.

I think a lot of guys on this board sharpen better than they did in the old days!

There's a tradeoff here. You can't get drag without applying some pressure. It's physically impossible. Friction requires pressure agains the contacted surface.

On the other hand, you don't want to use so much pressure that you bow the strop and end up rounding over the edge.

If there were no danger of bowing, say on a tabletop strop, you could probably apply quite a bit of pressure with no no bad effect. You just need to be careful not to apply so much pressure that you makre the edge rise off the strop and end up stropping after the edge, instead of at it.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

There's a tradeoff here. You can't get drag without applying some pressure. It's physically impossible. Friction requires pressure agains the contacted surface.

On the other hand, you don't want to use so much pressure that you bow the strop and end up rounding over the edge.

If there were no danger of bowing, say on a tabletop strop, you could probably apply quite a bit of pressure with no no bad effect. You just need to be careful not to apply so much pressure that you makre the edge rise off the strop and end up stropping after the edge, instead of at it.

Damnit Joe, there you go applying logic/reason to an emotional issue again

I've found that with a tight strop and a freshly (and properly) sharpened razor, I have little drag and almost no sound. As the edge starts to degrade (still shavable) there is some drag and slight scraping sound at the start of the stropping session but that this decreases toward the end of my 60 passes. When I have drag and scrape throughout the stropping, it's getting close to honing time.

Just another data point,
Ed

Originally Posted by ForestryProf

Damnit Joe, there you go applying logic/reason to an emotional issue again

I've found that with a tight strop and a freshly (and properly) sharpened razor, I have little drag and almost no sound. As the edge starts to degrade (still shavable) there is some drag and slight scraping sound at the start of the stropping session but that this decreases toward the end of my 60 passes. When I have drag and scrape throughout the stropping, it's getting close to honing time.

Just another data point,
Ed

That makes sense. Remember that the strop is basically aligning the microserrations and doing a little polishing. Before stropping we can visualize the microserrations as spread outward, presenting little surface area to the strop. Also, to the extent that the bevel and spine flats are unpolished they present a discontinuous area to the strop. At the end of stropping, the microserrations straighten out, presenting their sides to the strop, and smoothing of the surface causes it to present more surface area to the strop. Both result in more area in contact with the strop and greater drag.

On a different note, my thanks to the guys who offered to translate the Cyrilic Russian words on my old Engels strop. I brought it down to the pc to do just that this morning, but I couldn't read it at all. It's worn and has accumulated strop dressing over the last 30 years. No big deal really. It does work fine.