Thread: CBN strops.... a thought

I like your enthusiasm, thought and work you are putting into learning this hobby, I get the feeling you are looking for the Magic Bullet.

But really, it is not as simple as some folks think, because there are so many variables.

Many make the mistake that, it is as simple, that small aggressive grit, is the answer and will give you a super keen edge, the smaller the grit the better.

They, then think, that what the bevel looks like is the key.

It is not about the bevel, it’s the edge, it not just about sharp… it is, sharp, comfortable and repeatable.
First learn to shave, two years from now your shave will be infinitely better than they are today, it is just experience.

Then it’s about learning to maintain your razor and master stropping, it is a critical skill and it too, can take years to truly master. The importance of the skill of stropping, cannot be under rated. Your stropping skill, 2 years from now will be light years from what it is now. There really are no short cuts, understanding the mechanics will help you improve more quickly, but you still have to put in the time.

They say a thousand, perfect repetitions of something make it a habit. If the repetitions are not perfect, you are practicing how to make mistakes.

I’m not saying not to play and buy the cool stuff, we all do or did. But spend your time practicing the basics. Master the bevel set on a 1k, polish on a 4k and finish on an 8K, the brand does not really matter. When you have mastered that, (1000 perfect repetitions) then the fancy stuff will have real results.

Most important of all, enjoy and have fun, guaranteed you will meet some great guys willing to help you, all they can.

Originally Posted by DoctorSaul

Interesting point you bring up about plate glass. I know that glass is really a very viscous amorphous LIQUID, which is why you detect fine ripples in plate glass, because glass flows, albeit very slowly.

This is a commonly held misconception.

While glass might possibly flow given enough time, the rate of movement and prospective timescale means that for practical purposes glass flows slightly less than bismuth is radioactive.

Over the scale of tens of billions of years, there might possibly be movement within glass of about an atom's width.

We've got a while to go before we'll have experimentally proven that one though.

Honing without shaving with it is ......um.......well....... how do you know your improving. Or doing anything for that matter. Maybe start shaving your neck clean and then you can feel what your doing. That is the essence of the experience. Got a wife ? Shave her legs :<0)

Funny thing. I left this post and ran smack dab into this one http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...yone-seen.html

I routinely hone on film on float glass plates and they are far from flat, but can easily be lapped flat with a diamond plate.

The big difference with honing vs sharpening (knives and tools) is the comfort factor, Sharp is easy, use Diamonds for quick, keen edge, it will pop all the hair you want, in fact stropping on good metal polish will remove all the stria quickly from a bevel and produce a very sharp edge, but you would not want to shave with it.

You are only achieving half of the razors potential. And that is the beauty of this hobby, there are many that collect just for the scales and could care less about the quality or keenness of the blade or stone horders, (ok, so…I might be one of those…) and so what, if it floats your boat, it is a big tent.

The problem, I see is many use this forum as a primary source of information and what works for you as a knife sharpener just looking for the sharpest edge possible, may not work for someone who intends to shave with the razor and causes them to chase their tails.

What your are doing is much different, from what most of us are doing, at least our goals are much different.

It’s kind of like the difference between a show car and a full blown race car.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Unfortunately, if you don't shave you'll never experience what shave ready means , you'll only ever know 'sharp'. Sure someone else can test the razor for you & tell you how it feels but you are missing out.

I know.... I just can't give up my beard that I've had for going on 40 years. I've been tempted to shave with my razors, but at the last minute have "chickened out". Maybe I can convince my son to start using a straight razor so he could evaluate the honing on my razors. Reading some of the posts on this forum is certainly affecting my position of not to shave... you guys seem to be having a lot of pleasure in straight razor shaving.

As said, there is always legs, yours or someone else’, or… do you have a dog?


Rock on.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

As said, there is always legs, yours or someone else’, or… do you have a dog?


Rock on.

No dog, but I could try to shave my cat. Now there is a challenge! I think my wife would throw me out if I started shaving my legs. I'm writing this through tears of laughter... you really made my day!

I was bearded for 45 years. Times changed. I shave all but a Van Dyke, and that might go by the wayside as my skills in shaving and honing improve. After all, you start life with a BBS face, what's to say you can't go out with one.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I like your enthusiasm, thought and work you are putting into learning this hobby, I get the feeling you are looking for the Magic Bullet.

But really, it is not as simple as some folks think, because there are so many variables.

Many make the mistake that, it is as simple, that small aggressive grit, is the answer and will give you a super keen edge, the smaller the grit the better.

They, then think, that what the bevel looks like is the key.

It is not about the bevel, it’s the edge, it not just about sharp… it is, sharp, comfortable and repeatable.
First learn to shave, two years from now your shave will be infinitely better than they are today, it is just experience.

Then it’s about learning to maintain your razor and master stropping, it is a critical skill and it too, can take years to truly master. The importance of the skill of stropping, cannot be under rated. Your stropping skill, 2 years from now will be light years from what it is now. There really are no short cuts, understanding the mechanics will help you improve more quickly, but you still have to put in the time.

They say a thousand, perfect repetitions of something make it a habit. If the repetitions are not perfect, you are practicing how to make mistakes.

I’m not saying not to play and buy the cool stuff, we all do or did. But spend your time practicing the basics. Master the bevel set on a 1k, polish on a 4k and finish on an 8K, the brand does not really matter. When you have mastered that, (1000 perfect repetitions) then the fancy stuff will have real results.

Most important of all, enjoy and have fun, guaranteed you will meet some great guys willing to help you, all they can.

Great advice. I'm trying to do as you suggest... to try to master setting the bevel on a 1K, Polishing on a 4K, and finishing on a 8K on the inexpensive Gold Dollar razors I bought. I DO agree that my technique has not been the greatest and I've ruined some razors. But, I can see improvement in that I don't do the really stupid stuff, like cutting into the stone or strop, anymore. I've learned to inspect the razor stabilizers and modify them if they interfere with edge contact with the stone... this was/is a problem with some of the Gold Dollar razors I bought and without the mods caused uneven edge setting.

Bottom line is that razor honing is quite a lot of pleasure, even if it requires a goodly deal of skill development. In fact, it is the need for skill that makes the pastime enjoyable, since I just love learning new skills and learning things in general. This board has a lot experienced honers, and I appreciate that so many of you are willing to share your experience and advice.

Originally Posted by DoctorSaul

No dog, but I could try to shave my cat. Now there is a challenge! I think my wife would throw me out if I started shaving my legs. I'm writing this through tears of laughter... you really made my day!

The thought reminds me of the time my wife and I were looking at brushes at Crabtree and Evil-in, I think. The sales girl said “And no animals were injured in the making of these brushes”.

I asked her How do they do, that?

She said “They hold them down and shave them”. I laughed all the way out the door.