Thread: Should I hone after new strop?

Hey guys, this is my first thread on here. Sorry if this was previously asked but wanted some clarification before I do anything.

Here's the story:
I got a 5/8" Thiers Issard Straight Razor from the Art of Shaving as a birthday gift a year ago. Wasn't shave ready so I sent it in to Lynn to get it honed and it was amazing. I had the Dovo 2" strop but have since thrown it away since I beat it up learning how to strop correctly and wanted to get a new 3" strop.

Now here's the big question/scenario:

I've maintained the sharpness since it was honed with the usual stropping as I got better. But, my cousin who lives with me used it one day (or tried to use it) and upon stropping and trying to shave with it I noticed it had dull points. More specifically it was sharp throughout the blade but dull in the center. That's when I found out my cousin had used it. I have since disinfected it and all that good stuff. Now what should I do? Regardless I need a new strop which I will purchase but will that do it or do I need another hone and start researching on hones, buying the hones, etc?

Again, I apologize if this was previously mentioned. Thank you in advance for any help/advice!

If you have done this long with one honing, you don't have to buy stones, just send it in and have it honed again, then hit your cousin on top of the head for using your razor. Now if your honing it all the time from crappy stropping maybe get you a hone or a barbers hone is inexpensive, but also not needed if your a one razor guy who strops right. Lately I have to send mine in because I try to hone. Tc

So do you not have any strop right now? It is possible that the edge might be able to be fixed with stropping, but that is much more difficult without a strop.

Anyway, stropping is always the way to start when trying to fix an edge and then working the way down the hones would be the next step. That is, try rescuing it with just the finishing hone. If that doesn't work then maybe the next one down will, but if that doesn't do it then you likely need to re-set the bevels.

Did you ask your cousin specifically what he did with the razor? That might help. Hopefully you had a nice discussion about boundaries after this screw up. Since he used your razor it seems fair for you to clean the bathroom with his toothbrush.

Bathroom,,,, toothbrush

Send it in, get strop, charge cousin.

If you already have a new strop on the way, there's no harm in seeing if it will bring the edge back. On the other hand, if you have managed to keep the edge sharp enough for an entire year with only a strop.... You'll be shocked when you try it after a honing!

My personal opinion, send it out for honing and if both the honing and new strop are coming from SRD, might as well bung them both in the same box.

As for chucking the old strop..... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Unless I lop a strop in half, and there's NO chance of saving it... fine, I'll toss it (but I WILL save the hardware), but if it's just nicked a bunch of times and it still works... hey, keep it as a spare! I have 5 strops here... one is my Dad's who was a barber. I found it last weekend and decided to try and get it back into usable condition. I started to think about it, and I realized it must be at least 75 years old. It's very rubber like.... kind of an odd feel but it looks to be the same condition as the one that Liam uses at the Waldorf (check youtube). He strops on a scary slack strop.... Anyway, the point is that when I took a closer look at this strop, which would have come off Dads barber chair (He owned Dicks barber shop, and at his busiest, he was across the street from Hudsons Bay down town in Winnipeg and there were 5 other barbers working in his shop), it wasn't exactly shy of nicks... in fact, there's too many to count. Never the less, it's what hung on his chair and he had customers who waited for him to serve them, over going to one of the other barbers in the shop.

So... send the razor in (it's past due), order a new strop, but dig the old strop out of the garbage if you can.... It was working fine when you last used it.... it will keep working fine until you cut it in half.

I don't have any of my Dads razors or his hones, never mind the Latherking he had, but I have his strop and it feels fantastic compared to ALL my other newer strops. My strops are great, look great and keep my razors at the ready for the next shave, but that 75+ year old strop from my Dad has a feel that cannot be duplicated.

Regards

Christian

Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

If you already have a new strop on the way, there's no harm in seeing if it will bring the edge back. On the other hand, if you have managed to keep the edge sharp enough for an entire year with only a strop.... You'll be shocked when you try it after a honing!

My personal opinion, send it out for honing and if both the honing and new strop are coming from SRD, might as well bung them both in the same box.

As for chucking the old strop..... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Unless I lop a strop in half, and there's NO chance of saving it... fine, I'll toss it (but I WILL save the hardware), but if it's just nicked a bunch of times and it still works... hey, keep it as a spare! I have 5 strops here... one is my Dad's who was a barber. I found it last weekend and decided to try and get it back into usable condition. I started to think about it, and I realized it must be at least 75 years old. It's very rubber like.... kind of an odd feel but it looks to be the same condition as the one that Liam uses at the Waldorf (check youtube). He strops on a scary slack strop.... Anyway, the point is that when I took a closer look at this strop, which would have come off Dads barber chair (He owned Dicks barber shop, and at his busiest, he was across the street from Hudsons Bay down town in Winnipeg and there were 5 other barbers working in his shop), it wasn't exactly shy of nicks... in fact, there's too many to count. Never the less, it's what hung on his chair and he had customers who waited for him to serve them, over going to one of the other barbers in the shop.

So... send the razor in (it's past due), order a new strop, but dig the old strop out of the garbage if you can.... It was working fine when you last used it.... it will keep working fine until you cut it in half.

I don't have any of my Dads razors or his hones, never mind the Latherking he had, but I have his strop and it feels fantastic compared to ALL my other newer strops. My strops are great, look great and keep my razors at the ready for the next shave, but that 75+ year old strop from my Dad has a feel that cannot be duplicated.

Regards

Christian

Thanks Christian! Yes I'll see if I can dig up my old strop, think I have it in a box of stuff I have set to throw out and keep it as a spare as you suggested.

Yes, I plan on getting the strop from SRD as well as the razor honing service.

Thank you again, Christian, appreciate everything, you and everybody else helped a lot, especially telling me about your dad's old strop and the story with it.

Originally Posted by Utopian

So do you not have any strop right now? It is possible that the edge might be able to be fixed with stropping, but that is much more difficult without a strop.

Anyway, stropping is always the way to start when trying to fix an edge and then working the way down the hones would be the next step. That is, try rescuing it with just the finishing hone. If that doesn't work then maybe the next one down will, but if that doesn't do it then you likely need to re-set the bevels.

Did you ask your cousin specifically what he did with the razor? That might help. Hopefully you had a nice discussion about boundaries after this screw up. Since he used your razor it seems fair for you to clean the bathroom with his toothbrush.

Yes no strop at the moment and haven't used the straight since. Was going to get a brand new strop and either try stropping to save the edge, send it in to get honed or read up on all the honing material and start honing myself. I'll be honest, the thought of possibly messing up my razor terrifies me but I know in time I'll get into it. That's why I've been either curious on whether I should even bother and just send it in and get the strop so I can maintain and such.

Yes, my cousin did the normal stropping on linen then on leather BUT didn't actually do it with good form (had him demonstrate it and once I grabbed my razor back I decked him lol).

Originally Posted by Utopian

Hopefully you had a nice discussion about boundaries after this screw up. Since he used your razor it seems fair for you to clean the bathroom with his toothbrush.

Bwaaaaaa Haaaaaa Haaaaaaa!!!!! I feel the same way!

Best advice I can give. 1. Have your razor honed again by a PRO. 2. Invest in a 3 inch strop (Not an expensive model) which are easier for those newer to stropping. 3. Buy yourself a medium finishing hone eg a 8k Naniwa specialty stone. That way, you know what a sharp razor feels like, ie a Thumb pad test, shave test, and by using a 3 inch strop you will be less likely to nick it even with slightly poor technique (No need to x stroke the strop). Once you reach a stage where the strop no longer keeps the razor sharp, you will have watched every video ever made on touch-ups and the ideal way to improve an edge that has 'Gone off the boil' and doesn't respond to the strop, is a 12 to 15 light strokes on the naniwa 8k. By the time you do that, you most likely have another razor....and the rest my friend is history

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

If you have done this long with one honing, you don't have to buy stones, just send it in and have it honed again, then hit your cousin on top of the head for using your razor. Now if your honing it all the time from crappy stropping maybe get you a hone or a barbers hone is inexpensive, but also not needed if your a one razor guy who strops right. Lately I have to send mine in because I try to hone. Tc

Never honed before, in time I'll get into it but only been stropping. Lol trust, I exploded when I found out and hit my cousin pretty hard. They're going to cover the cost for honing it and for the strop.