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

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.

JimmyHAD, it is so good to be reminded that old dogs can learn new tricks.

Hope for this ole bugga yet

Thanks for sharing that. Something new to try.

Glad thats working out for you Jimmy, sounds very interesting, thats a quick stropping routine (30) definately worth trying.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Glad thats working out for you Jimmy, sounds very interesting, thats a quick stropping routine (30) definately worth trying.

Believe me Martin, if it didn't work I would have hung it up after a day or two. Still going strong weeks into it.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Believe me Martin, if it didn't work I would have hung it up after a day or two. Still going strong weeks into it.

Be interesting to see how long you can keep that going.

off the top of my head there were some assertions made by the author that I don't hold to. Foremost his saying that if a razor is lessening in sharpness let it sit for 2 weeks and try it again. The edge will have self restored. I don't believe that is correct. He favors hot water over cold and I am a firm cold water shaving advocate. YMMV.

He also recommends running the razor under hot water before doing passes. I did that today and the jury is still out. It wasn't better but it wasn't worse. Out of the 1905 or '06 booklet, that I got the cold water method from, the author of that recommends two WTG passes rather than a WTG, ATG. He says the results are not far from the alternative WTG/ATG and no risk of irritation. I've done that many times and I like it.

Interesting posts. I have a respected friend who shaves with a straight all his adult life and says " never strop after shaving" I do strop after a shave to clean the edge and he does not. We both shave and enjoy our shaves and razors. I cannot do a good Against the grain because of limitations and hair growth patterns and use WTG and across the grain. I have better luck with some soaps that others hate.
I also try ideas and some have born fruits!
Thanks for the thread!
~Richard

Thanks Richard. Reading some of these old tomes on straight razor shaving is very informative IMO. Especially those written when it was the 'only game in town', before the safety razor made the straight obsolete for most men. I've always stropped following cleaning and drying the razor after the shave. No one told me to do it or not do it. I figured it would be insurance that I got any moisture, micro gunk out of the striations of the bevel that wiping missed.

I have always been a firm believer in stropping prior to the shave. Linen and leather. I never had any truck with those who are leather only. Until now. This business of stropping following the shave is working a treat. I'm not proselytizing on that or cold water shaving. If someone wants to try it give it a go. If not that is fine too. If it is working why fix it.

So why this 'new' way circa 1841 working for me is what I've been pondering. We talk about how fragile our paper thin edges are. Could it be that all of that prior stropping is microscopically working the edge bak and forth ? Kind of work hardening it as we strop ? I don't know what the answer is. Food for thought though. .

Now that I think about this, my better shaves are when I don't strop before shaving. I am at the stage where I'm still trying to use all my acquisitions, and that they don't get much repeated use, but strop on fabric and leather after honing, and I am generally happier with a shave if I leave any additional stropping until after shaving.

On the subject of Martin's articles, the other point I found helpful was having a little more angle when stropping my wedgier razors, I have found that to help a bit too. Interesting bits to glean from the past.