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01-15-2012, 01:16 PM #10
- Join Date
- Apr 2006
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Thanked: 346I've had an Iwasaki western-style tamahagane razor for several years, so it was interesting reading your impressions of Tim's tamahagane-like razor.
Mine shaves exceptionally well, but it doesn't need any more frequent stropping than any other razor. It does rust if you so much as look at it sideways though; so I keep it dripping with oil. Not sure why Tim's needs such frequent stropping. I wonder if there's some natural vanadium or molybdenum in the Japanese iron sands.
It may not have the modern alloying elements, but it is still a hypereutectic steel, so it will be full of abrasion-resistant carbides. But the steel between the carbides will wear away more readily, so a strop will sharpen it very well. My Iwasaki and my TI "wootz" razors both seem to sharpen easily with a strop the way the old Sheffields do. But lots of razors will stay sharp for months with just a strop, I had a Heljestrand that went for nearly 200 shaves with just stropping, and a number of solingen and american razors go 120-150 shaves.