Thread: When is your Straight Razor Sharp

Originally Posted by Utopian

India Pale Ale

I don't care for it. Stouts are better!

Bitters are generally better than India Pale Ales - despite the name, less bitter (less hoppy) than an IPA. American breweries tend to overhop, at least for my taste.

I agree about a lot of American ales being to hoppy. I prefer A true Scotch ale. Hard to find a good one. The Scotch ales of old were very high Alcohol with little or know bittering hops. Many of them used spent hops from making IPA's & many also used heather in conjunction with the spent hops. Not a session beer but one to be sipped & enjoyed like a fine Scotch single malt. I brewed for about 10 years & do miss it but trying to get rid of diabetes means drinking no to just a little beer. I also have a real good cigar about once or twice a year.
IPA was developed with adding lot's of hops to pale ale so it would survive the trip to India with out refrigeration. Hops are a great preservative for the beer.


Da Slawmeister

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Gentlemen

As long as I have been drinking I have been drinking real ale. Old Tom is about the finest you can get.

Voted worlds best ale.

So far, I have not been able to find it.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that my straight razor doesn't get as sharp when I hone while drinking ale (Firestone 805 for me). But then again, at that point I don't really care.

Originally Posted by Slawman

I agree about a lot of American ales being to hoppy. I prefer A true Scotch ale. Hard to find a good one. The Scotch ales of old were very high Alcohol with little or know bittering hops. Many of them used spent hops from making IPA's & many also used heather in conjunction with the spent hops. Not a session beer but one to be sipped & enjoyed like a fine Scotch single malt. I brewed for about 10 years & do miss it but trying to get rid of diabetes means drinking no to just a little beer. I also have a real good cigar about once or twice a year.
IPA was developed with adding lot's of hops to pale ale so it would survive the trip to India with out refrigeration. Hops are a great preservative for the beer.
Da Slawmeister

I used to drink a good bit of IPAs, in part because I liked the India-association. Funnily enough, in India today all one finds is lager.

I recently bought a 60x, lighted loupe. It is fantastic, and has been helpful. wish I bought one a long time ago.

From my original post of "Is your Razor Sharp", I have come upon lapping film. I know it must be addressed somewhere on this sight, but I would like to say I find the lapping film to be an excellent finish after the final hone. I use the green and white lapping films, that is 1 micron and ..microns, 14,000 grit and 50,000 grit. Razors which have given me problems in the past to sharpen, the lapping film seems to have resolved those problems. On the site "bestsharpeningstones.com, under lapping films they demonstrate the difference by showing pictures at 80x magnification. It is clearly a significant difference.
Some people may have difficulty with the lapping film because they can be easily sliced up if care is not taken and especially if the surface you affix the film to is not perfectly flat. Plate glass is probably the most ideal surface to adhere the film to. I have been using granet splash board pieces to mount mine on. After I have completed an average of 100 laps on each, dependent upon how sharp the edge seems to me then I finish off with the strop.
I am certain some members will forgo the lapping film because they have taken the time and applied the appropriate practice of getting their razors sharp to begin with and do not require the need to go to such fine lengths to get a sharp razor, but it would be interesting for a few members highly skilled in sharpening their razors to give this a go and report back with their experience with the medium.
Thanks to all of you who have contributed to this thread. This has been a fine accomplishment for me in several years.

Do you use the lapping film like a strop or a hone (Edge leading or edge trailing) ?

I use it exactly like a hone, not a strop. It is critical that the surface you place the film on is flat. I have an engineers straight edge for checking flatness of items as a engine block or head. Also the surface must be perfectly clean. If a piece of lint gets on the surface or even on the tacky side of the film it creates a hump and you get an un-even spot with the chances of slicing up the film. It runs about $4.00 from bestsharpeningstones.com. They have excellent pictures (2) showing the results on an edge. The .3 micron (50,000 grit rating) takes a lot of laps to polish up the cutting edge. The smoothness of the edge surface I believe adds to the reduction of movement friction while shaving. I can't prove this but I get exceptionally pleasing results. I can't use it all the time as it runs about $4.95 for an 8x11 sheet.
I have started using this with all the vintage razors I buy. I cannot answer the value of lapping film for artisan straight razors. My guess it would not make a lot of difference.

Originally Posted by Glock27

I use it exactly like a hone, not a strop. It is critical that the surface you place the film on is flat. I have an engineers straight edge for checking flatness of items as a engine block or head. Also the surface must be perfectly clean. If a piece of lint gets on the surface or even on the tacky side of the film it creates a hump and you get an un-even spot with the chances of slicing up the film. It runs about $4.00 from bestsharpeningstones.com. They have excellent pictures (2) showing the results on an edge. The .3 micron (50,000 grit rating) takes a lot of laps to polish up the cutting edge. The smoothness of the edge surface I believe adds to the reduction of movement friction while shaving. I can't prove this but I get exceptionally pleasing results. I can't use it all the time as it runs about $4.95 for an 8x11 sheet.
I have started using this with all the vintage razors I buy. I cannot answer the value of lapping film for artisan straight razors. My guess it would not make a lot of difference.

Thanks. I have plenty of hones along with diamond pasted leather paddle strops up to 200K but always interested in hearing about alternatives.