Quote Originally Posted by almond View Post
>> what I considered a good edge 3 years ago I would not even have in my rotation.

typically I would have accepted his, had I not lurked across other threads in this forum. And not followed howard schechter on youtube, when he says the edge is as sharp as can be straight from the hone. But once it is stropped, the sharpness gets dulled,

now on this very forum the DE subforum has people complaining how the brand new feather is very harsh on their skin. They say that it takes a few shaves to soften up a bit and then gives a great shave. Doesn't that mean people really do not require a wicked edge, they need an edge that is comfortable on their skin.

my obsession with the gold monkey is because it is like an errant child, and demands more of my attention. I am obsessed with it because it often misbehaves and I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I can set it right. the incoming USB microscope will tell me how much close I am to a great edge.
Quote Originally Posted by almond View Post
stropping is a controversial topic, a strop after shave can realign the edge. That is true from personal experience.

what schechter said is that stropping upto 10 times retains the sharp edge, but stropping way above that or even the 11th time on a strop can curve the edge slightly. He observed this on a high powered electron microscope which most people do not have access to. Why should I not believe him.

we strop so that the edge is comfortable sharp and not scary sharp that irritates the skin. We strop on palms so that edge loses some of it's scary sharpness and behaves more humane. the human palm is not exactly a plain surface, it is very contoured leather even if we hold it as straight as we can.
There's nothing controversial about stroping. See here:

https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com...-stropping-do/

This shows you not only what precisely stropping does, but also why your feather blades start out a little prickly and uncomfortable. Note the pictures at the bottom that show the coating that wears off in a shave or 2.

There's also some good information here:

https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com...d-keen-part-2/