Quote Originally Posted by jleeg View Post
At some point I started touching the block while shaving just because it's astringent properties rid any slipperiness from fingers, those holding the razor and those stretching my skin. It's surprising how the soap yields under alumed fingers. Give it a try. The skin stretching part is a key ingredient to the perfect shave and alum really helps.
I would be careful about alum being in contact with steel. IIRC alum has corrosive properties when it comes to steel.

Bob