Martin103 enables an old dog to learn a new trick. Circa 1841 !

[JimmyHAD]

I read Martin103's post of a magazine article here with great interest. "Razors and Comfortable Shaving", From the Magazine of Domestic Economy 1841. I was intrigued enough to try one of the author's assertions in my shaving routine. First let me say that I tend to be a creature of habit. I've been cold water shaving with very little prep for a couple of years now. I always strop before and after the shave with no exceptions. I've read suggestions to try shaving straight off the hones and have never tried. Not even once.

So when I read that the best way to get the most out of your razor was to strop it after the shave, never before, I was interested. I must add that , having a lot of razors, I have a very large rotation. I might not shave with a given razor for months, usually a different one daily. So following the author's instructions, I picked a Ralf Aust and a TI Super Gnome to use in my little experiment.

I rotated with these, shaving daily, alternating between one and the other, and only stropped 30 round trips on leather after the shave. Over 2 weeks of this and both razors are still shaving superbly and as seemingly as sharp as when I began my little experiment. Lynn honed the Ralf Aust and I did the TI Super Gnome. I had always been a believer in linen/leather before the shave and leather only after. I probably will go back to my larger rotation habit but I'm going to continue only stropping after the shave as long as it continues to work.

Thanks to Martin103 for facilitating this old dog learning yet another trick.