Maintaining a Mastro Livi Razor Edge
I was talking with a friend of mine who has been using straight razors for the last 40 years. He mentioned that I might lose the really sharp edge using the honing/stropping technique that he and I use on our straight razors. I would hate to do that because I have never felt anything so sharp as this Mastro Livi Grifetto against my face.
I’ve watched the Mastro setting a bevel, honing, and stropping an edge on one of his razors. Unlike most You Tube videos, he doesn’t do 40, 50, 70, or 100 back & forth motions when he is honing or stropping.
I noted he appears to be applying a lot of pressure on his loom strop- first with chromium oxide followed by what I believe to be a plain strop which looked yellow. I figure if I want to keep a sharp edge on my Grifetto, I should try and emulate what the Mastro does.
I’ve been trying to find the ’secret’ to that scary sharp razor edge for a long time <smile>. Some people suggest I need to use the complete set of Shapton glass stones & hone my straight razors up to 30K grit while making sure I constantly keep the Shapton stones flat using the Shapton lapping plate. That is expensive. Having a bunch of expensive stones is more psychological than practical in my humble opinion. I believe technique/muscle memory is the secret. Why should I invest in stones when I could purchase more Mastro Livi razors?
I know a razor edge is about .5 micron thick as measured by Dr John Verhoeven using a scanning electron microscope. So the ’secret’ is what to do in order to achieve it and then maintain it without damaging it. I have a very sharp edge which I want to maintain. It was so good that when I splashed aftershave on my face, the aftershave didn’t burn like it does every time I shave using one of my other straight razors. Perhaps that was just in my head. Nevertheless I would like to maintain the edge.
This is a question I’m almost afraid to ask: Does anyone have any suggestions or have a way to keep a Mastro Livi razor just as sharp as it was when they received it?
Grazie in advance.