Thread: Sharping hone(stone)

Thank you all for that great info.I have a strop I got it from B&B with a razor that I will use to pratice with.Not to sound dum,but what side of my strop do I use?There is a smouth side and a ruff side.One is leather and the other is cloth.I hope I use the ruff side and not the smouth side ,cuz it feels like I am not doing anything.Like I said before I am new to all this and really enjoy the help and info.

Originally Posted by jpeteh

Thank you all for that great info.I have a strop I got it from B&B with a razor that I will use to pratice with.Not to sound dum,but what side of my strop do I use?There is a smouth side and a ruff side.One is leather and the other is cloth.I hope I use the ruff side and not the smouth side ,cuz it feels like I am not doing anything.Like I said before I am new to all this and really enjoy the help and info.

Never **** into the wind

usually the cloth (linen or wool or else) side is being used 20-40 strokes per side before going to the smooth leather for another couple of strokes.
The cloth can be (but doesn´t need to) treated with a white dovo paste
that adds a slightly abrasive action but the leather is what does the trick.
It doesn´t sharpen or do anything you will be able to feel
but it will keep the razor sharp (it will not sharpen it, however)
you should also have a look here http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...azor_stropping

there are some good videos at the end

Actually most people seem to recommend Leather (smooth) 20-50 strokes (varies widely) after honing, and between each shave 20-30 cloth followed by another 20-50 leather.
But like I said, it varies WIDELY, so just test it and see what works for you... but yes the smooth leather side is the final stage before you use a razor.

Well I got a japanese wet stone 1K&6K combo stone and it works really good.i shaved with it one day and found out that i needed to hone it just a little bit more.i did ok and drew some blod under my lip,just a very fine cut.you know it felt good to use my Kropp razor.I am happy to use it had it since Dec 2009 just wanted to get my stone to hone it.

Glad its working out for you! I am sure you will become an expert in no time. Actually a little bit of a cut is a good thing... it starts conversations where you get to tell people that you are learning to use a cuthroat razor! The cuts get rarer and rarer as you go along.

Originally Posted by jpeteh

Well I got a japanese wet stone 1K&6K combo stone and it works really good.

That's a good hone to have. You can get a good bevel with the 1000 side (if it's not too horrible) and you can also get a great edge with that 6000 side. That's all I use before my finishing stone, it just takes a little while to get it where you want it jumping up in grit like that. Supposedly the Japanese grits are a different scale than the U.S. grits too. Grits according to WoodCraft < see the bottom of the .pdf

Well this was my second time useing my Kropp and ,I did good with the going with the grain,but the going up on the grain ??Did not so good cut my self lucky 7 times.I have a hard time with the up stroke just hard getting use to holding the Razor.On the up side my wife liked the shave and skin was looking clean .I just need more time.Just hope I get better as I do it more.Our I am going to be called Lucky Luch'e'ano.
This old man but on his grave stone. If you have time to kill. Try working it to death

Originally Posted by jpeteh

Well this was my second time useing my Kropp and ,I did good with the going with the grain,but the going up on the grain ??Did not so good cut my self lucky 7 times.I have a hard time with the up stroke just hard getting use to holding the Razor.On the up side my wife liked the shave and skin was looking clean .I just need more time.Just hope I get better as I do it more.Our I am going to be called Lucky Luch'e'ano.
This old man but on his grave stone. If you have time to kill. Try working it to death

If you cut yourself that much going ATG (against the grain) then your razor is probably not sharp enough to go ATG. Stay with WTG for now till you can put a keener edge on your razor.