Thread: Ideas and Suggestions for SEM honing and stropping research experiment

This thread is dedicated to designing an experiment for measuring the qualitative or perhaps quantitative differences of how certain types of strops can affect the edge of a straight razor. The Device used for evaluating these edges will be a well maintained and calibrated Scanning Electron microscope with a camera. Here we will decide on what experiments will be undertaken, what controls will be in place for the experiment, and anything else that comes up will also be discussed as long as it is related to the project.

Please leave erroneous comments out of this thread as they will not be needed in order for the experiment to proceed. If you feel so inclined to discuss the uniqueness of this project or leave a comment, please do so at This forum page

The SEM power, material, and time is being donated by the company that I work for and me. If you feel that you would like to donate something for this, please PM me for that information. Let it be known that my time is free and any donations will go straight to this project and any leftovers after the project is over will go to the small business the I am employed at to cover equipment costs. The research will be conducted during downtime hours of the SEM and afterwork in order to reduce the cost.

Here is a collaboration of Ideas and volunteered propositions thus far.

Originally Posted by Bart

One big advantage of a SEM is that you can actually see and do measurements on the width and the shape of the bevel tip, a.k.a. the very edge.

This could finally clear up some questions about stropping and how various stropping surfaces affect that bevel tip.
And a whole bunch of other questions, concerning hones and their abilities too.

...shooting pictures fresh off the hone, after the first stropping session on leather, right after the first shave, and after allowing the edge a day of rest), would you be prepared to run them, for the benefit of the whole SRP community?
Bart.

Originally Posted by Leighton

...There is an ongoing debate as to what exactly stropping does and why it works. No one knows for sure, we all have theories. By getting more data on the edge before and after stropping, we can better understand what it is that stropping does.

Does it remove burrs left over from the honing process? Does it actually remove metal and sharpen the very edge? Does it remove corrosion? Does it strip an molecular layer away, giving us fresh metal? Does it realign the bevel?

To the OP: If you need more razors to test, I am more than willing to donate some to experiment on. Same rules as Jimmy, I want them back once the tests are over.

I can even send over razors that have been used x amount of time with no stropping in between and a razor fresh off the hones. Then you can strop it and see before and after pics. But, you'd of course have to post pics for us.

Originally Posted by joke1176

I will send you some slurry from an Escher, a Japanese, a few Thuringians, and a few coticules for particulate comparison... You could really shed some light on the coticules vs thuringians vs Japanese et al debates.

Originally Posted by ChrisL

I'd like to see what an ATS-34 edge that is considered by the owner and contributor to be a great shaving edge looks like in comparison to a vintage carbon steel edge that is also considered by an owner to be a great shaver.

Can anyone else think of unanswered questions that would be great to be answered by the closer look an SEM can provide?

Originally Posted by northpaw

Take the razor in after shaving, snap a few, then strop it and snap a few more. Even better if you could somehow find the same "dot" of blade twice.

Thanks for sharing these.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

As said above, please also take the time to throw in a nice new DE blade to see what that looks like.


One of the sharpest and smoothest cutting (for me anyway) DE blades I've used was a Feather.

Originally Posted by rosscollins3

We need to work out an issue. Would it be okay for an individual to send their razor after stropping to be looked at in the SEM? or is that time lapse too long... I think it may be too long as I usually wait until the lather is on my face to stop my razor.