Thread: Keeping a New Shave Ready Edge Sharp

Check out the suggestions on "Abrasive Stropping" here:

http://www.whippeddog.com/upld/Strai...ing_Manual.pdf

There are extensions to that document that Larry supplies with his pasted strops, that essentially develop this philosophy:

. . . Start with the finest abrasive you have.

. . . If that doesn't work, go to the next-coarser abrasive.

. . . Repeat until the edge is sharp.

Under this philosophy, you should try FeOxide or CrOxide strops, before using a C12K, barber hone, or Norton 4K / 8K stone.

The hones will remove metal _all along the bevel_; the strops will not.

There's a summary of all this in one sentence, and it agrees with several of the posts above (from people with more experience than I have):

. . . Remove as much metal as you have to, to get the razor sharp, and no more.

Charles

Thanks to everyone who gave some info. It is much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

IMHO, sending your razor out to a honemeister every time it needs a routine touchup is not a viable option, unless you are in that "higher budget" category. Plus, it kinda defeats the whole self-sufficiency concept that attracted us to this hobby in the first place.

Touchups are painfully easy to do, and the options really are wide-ranged: barber hone, finishing hone, 8K, pasted strops etc. Of course HAD comes into play, but that's another story...

Unless, of course, you buy a new razor from SRD this holiday season.

One of the most valuable tips that I learned off this forum was to wipe down my blade well after shaving and then give it about 15 laps on the leather strop before putting it up.

I have a 3 razor rotation and that tip alone has delayed me having to touch up my razors by many weeks and sometimes months.

20 laps on the linen, 30 laps on the leather before a shave and I'm shaving smooth.

As far as I know, any finisher would do the job. Look at the old barber´s manuals, they only used one hone on their razors.

I like using natural hones a lot, especially coticules (you can do serious honing work on them, too).
I don´t have one of the following hones, but I´m pretty sure that any natural finisher like Escher, Charnley´s Forest, a translucent Arkansas, … are sufficient to keep an already shaveable edge sharp.
I have no doubt, that synthetics will work good, as well. Which hone to buy is absolutely personal preference, in my opinion.
And since you need a finisher anyway, starting at the finer end and buying coarser stones if you feel the need sounds like a valid plan to me.

Regards,
tok

Originally Posted by kelbro

One of the most valuable tips that I learned off this forum was to wipe down my blade well after shaving and then give it about 15 laps on the leather strop before putting it up.

I have a 3 razor rotation and that tip alone has delayed me having to touch up my razors by many weeks and sometimes months.

20 laps on the linen, 30 laps on the leather before a shave and I'm shaving smooth.

how does stropping after the shave save your edge as opposed to just stropping before the shave?

Stropping on the linen/webbing after the shave removes any remaining lather you can't see, but stains (rusts) the edge. Stropping on leather after the shave makes sure the water particles a towel can't get off since they are quasi-embedded in the steel's pores are removed.

I've tried both methods. Stropping after shaving did make the edge last longer between touch-ups, but it wasn't dramatic. ie: 8-10 laps on a pasted bench strop weekly versus every 10 days.

Originally Posted by volleykinginnc

how does stropping after the shave save your edge as opposed to just stropping before the shave?

I think that a lot of edge deterioration is the result of corrosion. Cleaning the residue off before the blade is stored for a couple of days can't hurt. Might also be that whatever traces of oil are in the strop help too.

I don't use the linen after the shave, just the leather. I use the linen before the shave (about 20 laps to straighten things out) and then about 30 laps on the leather.

My edges go for a long time before needing a touchup.

Originally Posted by volleykinginnc

how does stropping after the shave save your edge as opposed to just stropping before the shave?

Strop dressing for leather contains just enough "oil" to
help protect the edge from rust. A little erosion from
corrosion will sharpen the edge but more than a little
might prove to have a negative effect. A strop also
removes the last of the soap residue that drys and makes
the edge feel a bit sticky (to me it does).

For a razor that you use often it can be nearly impossible
to notice any difference.

Try it... your face will tell you if it has value in
your world (different water, different face chemistry,
different face, different razor, different .... etc).
Revisit this type of subtle difference in a year.