Thread: Perfect edge on Naniwa and suehiro 20k for noobs

I couldn't get the video to work even in YouTube. But from what I could gather from the comments it's fast stropping.


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He holds the strop fairly loose, and whips the blade across it with the kind of speed you'll probably only acquire stropping 6 times or more a day for years. It's always impressive watching a master ply his craft.

Originally Posted by TJB

I couldn't get the video to work even in YouTube. But from what I could gather from the comments it's fast stropping.


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He not only strops fast, but his strop is scary slack! I remember having trouble watching it before... there's some sort of lockout on it depending on where you try to watch from I think.
I'm going to say by the looks of things, the strop droops about 2 inches (5cm) in the middle during stropping and it flops around a fair bit. Pity you can't see the video.. it's worth it, just for the chills down the spine!

Now, as to why you can't see it.... perhaps you are using an Apple computer or some such or have flash blocked? It's an old video and I don't know if it has been converted to html5.

From experience I've found that a taught or slack strop shouldn't make a difference .
I'm now in the slack camp.
The problems come from the turn.

I might buy the 20k one day but all 20k's are the same, where as my Nakayama is the best one on earth

My cell phone wouldn't play it either. Android, Galaxy S5. Which is weird, but it is what it is. Had to go to the computer to see it (again). Mr. Finnegan is fun to watch.

Definitely shows you there's more than one way to skin a cat. I think something about the way he guides the spine along the leather with his stroke takes up that slack so he's not getting any part of the blade that we wouldn't with the familiar method.

Got the video to work. Definitely an art form. It appears he's using the rough leather. I think on the leather you do not risk damaging the blade as much. The Linen is abrasive however and I think if you round the edge too much it may rip the keen fin off if the blade edge. I remember looking at the science of sharp website blog and saw SEM images of blades post stropped on linen and at least the way he was stropping it damaged and dulled the edge by ripping the end off of parts of the blade. The leather had no risk unless you spray it with diamond spray it would make a wire burr and feel uncomfortable on the face.

Stones, pastes, and films are for the edge. The strop is for your skin.

There's a difference between damage (unwanted change) and what stropping (wanted change) does. We want the weak metal flakes and foil removed from the edge (even if it does reduce keenness), because that garbage results in an uncomfortable shave when it breaks away mid shave rather than on the strop before the shave. It also repairs the edge by pulling a bit of metal up over those chipped areas. The keenest edge is not necessarily the most comfortable. I suspect that's why a lot of folks that strop to .25 um diamond paste end up backing their razor down to .5 micron ChromOx, then head back to linen and leather to tone it down further still...

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

Originally Posted by Marshal

Stones, pastes, and films are for the edge. The strop is for your skin.

There's a difference between damage (unwanted change) and what stropping (wanted change) does. We want the weak metal flakes and foil removed from the edge (even if it does reduce keenness), because that garbage results in an uncomfortable shave when it breaks away mid shave rather than on the strop before the shave. It also repairs the edge by pulling a bit of metal up over those chipped areas. The keenest edge is not necessarily the most comfortable. I suspect that's why a lot of folks that strop to .25 um diamond paste end up backing their razor down to .5 micron ChromOx, then head back to linen and leather to tone it down further still...

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

Makes sense. Probably why when I strop before the final stone it really sets up a good result. Nice combo of keen yet buttery smooth.


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Indeed. I also found stropping between hones is good stuff. I think I have Euclid to thank for that suggestion. But I usually get too hone happy and move on to the next rock before I remember.