Thread: Swaty Sides and Grit Differences

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Please always keep in the back of your mind that although we often read old "Manuals" and "Literature" and refer to them as almost a shaving gospel...
These should also be preferenced with IMHO just as we do now when we write our opinions on here..

These Books and Pamphlets were the Forums of yesteryear, not saying they are right or wrong, but they are after all one man's opinion...

Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more. However, I'd still like to see the results of an experiment, and I may have to buy an old Swaty to satisfy my curiosity.

On a fun note to help illustrate your point, here is an excerpt from an old barbering booklet (1895) on razors, hones, and strops.

Russian leather and horse-hide are the Barber's old favorite strops. However, there are many new kinds of good leather strops, as follows: Kangaroo, porpoise, moose hide and wild boar hide are very highly recommended, and are sold by all Supply Dealers. To break in leather strops try the following course: If not already done, grind the grain side to smooth it down, soak in urine a couple of days, let dry a day, stretch on a board, fill with shaving soap, rub with bottle in the same manner as canvas, apply lead and rub until ready to use.

Christopher

I really want to try a porpoise leather strop now.

Originally Posted by Theseus

I really want to try a porpoise leather strop now.

Call me a 'greeny' if you want and I don't want to start and arguement, however, a porpoise leather strop is on my list of things I don't want to try.
I have too much respect for these wonderful creatures.
OTOH if we weren't supposed to eat animals - why are they made of meat?
Just my $0.02

Originally Posted by Havachat45

Call me a 'greeny' if you want and I don't want to start and arguement, however, a porpoise leather strop is on my list of things I don't want to try.
I have too much respect for these wonderful creatures.
OTOH if we weren't supposed to eat animals - why are they made of meat?
Just my $0.02

I think it was Denis Leary that said something about how it's only alright to kill and eat the ugly animals.

I've had several Swaty hones in the past and they were all pretty much the same on both sides...I never noticed a difference. I tried the buffering thing on one side and still didn't see much of a difference. I'm actually not a fan of a Swaty edge anyway, it's pretty rough for my thick beard..