Thread: Does the pasted strop really reduce wear?

That would be a fine experiment. At times I've wished I could shave 10 times in 1 day so I could try out different theories. As it is, my experiments are so spread out in time that they're hopelessly mixed up with other uncontrolled factors, like improvements in my technique & the raising of my standards, that have occurred over the same time period. So I'm never 100% sure that my conclusions are accurate. A shave that I thought was smooth 6 months ago, I now think is crap, so that technique that I thought was worth re-visiting, isn't. Or conversely, I begin to wonder if a honing method that failed in the past failed because it was no good, or because I was using too much pressure on the blade at the time. All these variables make it damnably hard to pin down what you have to do to get a consistently perfect shave. And the advice we give each other is tainted by the fact that no two faces are the same. I had a buddy Sam who used to get a whole month out of a disposable multi-blade cartridge. Back when I was using them, I used to eat them in 3 days. And let's not even get started on the variety of hones out there. Right now I'm using Tilly's 3-hone set. If I were using, say Shapton ceramic/glass hones, who knows how that might affect my results.