Thread: How many shaves before honing

It all depends on your stropping skill. Unfortunately you have to learn to strop, to maintain a razor. As your stropping technique improves, so too will your edges and time between honing.

Some of us have stropped on paste daily with the same razor for over a year, with no degradation of the edge.

The trick is stropping and learning the skill, it does take some practice and a decent strop. Plain leather and linen can keep you shaving for a long time.

Stropping can improve or maintain an edge… and just as quickly ruin one.

Still learning- Gents I often hear reference to linen, but what exactly is this? Is a it strop made from linen? If so where can you get one?

I'm not convinced that my stropping doesn't just hurt the edge. It's trickier than I'd expected.

Yes, true linen is made from linen for the abrasiveness of linen thread.

Most new strops use a woven cloth, canvas, nylon or suede leather for cleaning the razor prior to stropping on leather.

True linen will also add some keenness by polishing the bevel and edge. You can buy vintage strops inexpensively and they can easily be refurbished, and provide excellent service.

Yes, when you first start out, you may do more damage than good. Find a local mentor...

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yes, when you first start out, you may do more damage than good. Find a local mentor...

I'd love to, but easier said than done!

Originally Posted by skunkfunk

I'd love to, but easier said than done!

In the absence of a mentor, three things:
* go a little slower and always make sure the spine and edge are on the strop
* make sure the strop is clean and smooth...clean and smooth
* measure progress rather than results. The only thing you really need is experience, and there's only one way to get it.

Originally Posted by skunkfunk

I'd love to, but easier said than done!

You might try SirStropalot http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...stropalot.html or shooter74743 http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...oter74743.html for starters on the Mentor help...(Both are in OK if memory serves)

Most of us have been in the place you are in now...hang in there and it comes together sooner than you think.

Glen/gssixgun did a great experiment - I know the time I spend reading and following the thread gave me a great foundation in edge care.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...eriment-4.html

The best advice I got from the forum was to ease in to process and ask for help.
And to understand/accept that there are many methods to get to/maintain the perfect edge.

It is worth the effort - the realization after that first pass with a razor you have brought back to form is magic...and it does not take a footlocker full of hones and gadgets (unless you want it too, many of us find it a relaxing hobby all by itself)

Please keep us posted on your progress....

Originally Posted by QXDPC

Still learning- Gents I often hear reference to linen, but what exactly is this? Is a it strop made from linen? If so where can you get one?

I use a Star Shaving strop that has a felt strop and a leather on the one buckle, however I also have a vintage strop that has a linen side to it as well, which I use regularly.
IIRC the Illinois 128 (available trough Amazon) has a linen side too.
It seems to be called a Fromm Strop now - http://www.amazon.com/Fromm-IRS827-R...383C4RWADMGJ0Z

When I started shaving with a straight razor, I used a CrOx bench strop about once a week to repair the damage I was doing using a hanging strop and bad technique. I used a 12k hone about once a month. After a few months I was only using CrOx about once a month and the 12k sporadically.