Duck Blade Gets Smoother????

Interesting thing happened yesterday I'm looking for some insight into. I picked up an older Duck on the bay and it needed work. Once I completed the restoration it came out looking very nice. From a shave perspective I was thrown for a loop though.

The blade had a small nick about halfway down the middle of the edge so after I butter-knifed it and got a decent bevel again I decide to go with an aggressive Norton pyramid using only the 4K/8K Nortons. After the aggressive pyramid I went with a more conservative pyramid using 8K and 12K stones. The 12K was with one of the stones from SRD. After completing that I did a few tests and while not perfect, it came through well (my head hair is too fine for a HHT). Following that all I gave it about 80 laps on the strop and shaved my very well prepared face.

Here's where I get confused - the first pass was harsh as compare to my normal razors. The Duck cut the whiskers but seemed to drag some and I had to use a bit of pressure at times. No stropping after the first pass. The second pass was much smoother and more like what I'm used to as far as sharp blades go. I'm wondering if that second "pyramid" using the 8K/12K created a little foil of metal that I somehow manage to lose during the first pass - or could the "settling down" of the edge be due to something else?

Anyone have any experience with an edge starting out rough and then settling down after a shaving pass? If all it takes to smooth out a Duck edge is to shave with it, then I understand all the interest in them! :-)

Whatever the roughness was caused by, sounds like it is gone now! Did you by any chance use a loupe to look at the edge, after honing and before stropping? If there had been a wire edge you might have seen it then. Also, when you stropped, did you just use leather or did you use the linen first? I have gotten much smoother and better shaves with using the linen before leather, even right after honing. This is contrary to some other folks beliefs, but it works for me, and Pjrage tried it with success as well. My .02 worth!

Actually that's pretty common. You see it alot when you hone with a diamond pasted strop especially .25 which is why many prefer CrO to .25 because it leaves the edge much smoother shave wise. Once you do a shave or two the .25 edge will get more comfortable. I don't think it was a wire edge because doing a pass usually isn't enough to correct things.

Probably when you finished honing, the edge was just a tad rough. If that happens again try using a linen strop before leather stropping and see if that doesn't do the trick.

Well gents I think that makes it conclusive about the linen strop. Thanks! I thought about using the felt (I use felt instead of linen - just a preference) - but decided that since I'd honed it so much that felt was unnecessary. I stand corrected! Always a font of knowledge here.