Thread: Stop stropping blindly

So we spend hours honing our razors, trying to get them to pass the hanging hair test, arm hair test, thumbnail test... And then when we're ready to shave, we slap the blade on the leather 30 times and figure we're done stropping.

OK, I'll speak for myself here. That's what I was doing until a few weeks ago. Occasionally I would try to use the HHT after stropping, but a good HHT pass didn't always equate to a good shave.

Then I read a description of the thumbpad test by Scott (honedright). It was the best set of instructions I've come across, and after a little experimentation I was able to get this test to work for the first time. I thought it was worth pulling his instructions out of the thread they were buried in.

Here's what he said:

Thumb Pad Test (after stropping):

Lightly and carefully touch straight down onto the edge of the razor with the moistened thumb pad (do not move the thumb sideways or back and forth, just directly straight down. Do not press the thumb down, just a light feather touch). If the edge is trully keen, it will feel sort of sticky because the sharp edge is catching the moist skin.

It helps if you lightly touch multiple times (sort of like lightly tapping on the edge) as a single touch will often not deliver enough sensory info. This requires lots of practice because the beginner usually doesn't know exactly what they are feeling for. But once you feel it, you won't forget it.

I've tried the TPT by gently brushing the blade perpendicular to the edge and also parallel to it. I was pretty much always able to feel a little bite, and it didn't correspond to a comfortable shave for me.

But this sticky feeling he describes does. If I feel it, I get a great shave. If not, I get irritation and the blade feels a little rough.

This has led to a huge improvement in my shaves, both in consistency and quality. It's helpful to have a way to assess the edge as you're stropping. I'm finding that I can do 100 laps and have a bad edge just as likely as I can do 30 and have a good one. Sometimes 30 laps is enough; other times I need more. Without the TPT, I wouldn't have a way to know whether the razor was ready or not.

Eventually I hope I'll be able to tell whether a razor is ready to go by how it feels on the strop. Until I reach that level, the thumb pad test will be a daily ritual for me.

Just thought I'd share,
Josh

Excellent post again! Thanks for sharing.

Viktor

Thanks alot for this tip Josh.

I will have to really check this out tonight when I do a shave. Also, how is the new job treating you. Seems you are trying to be a keener and not come on gmail.

Ha ha. I'm trying to stay off Gmail during the day, lest my company get wise to the little workaround you told me about. I've been spending all night working on the new house... You'll be seeing more of me soon.

I think I just hijacked my own thread.

Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Ha ha. I'm trying to stay off Gmail during the day, lest my company get wise to the little workaround you told me about. I've been spending all night working on the new house... You'll be seeing more of me soon.

I think I just hijacked my own thread.

Josh

Arrrrg... I think ya did..

So yeah that Thumb Pad Test is the Sh*t

This exact same thing happened just last week and I haven't had a chance to post about it. I did the thumbpad test and ran my finger perpendicular to the cutting edge very carefully and it failed. I didn't give is a second thought at all. I knew the razor was sharp and ready to go and it had been honed in the last month.

I got a lousy shave with that blade, terrible, terrible shave. I realized that I had overstropped the edge and the blade was really dull, suddenly.

I now do the thumbpad test and I rely on the results as well. Love that test.

Thanks for the post and the re-post, too. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow.
Good Job!

Good advice. I'm going to try that, as I have gotten a few Ebay blades and "think" I have them where I want them sharpness-wise. Using this test, I'll *know.*

At the risk of sounding thick.....could someone post a pic of this test? Perhaps it is just me, but I have visions of being nicknamed "No Thumbs" if I do it incorrectly.

I have noticed what other have...consistent stropping, but one day some irritation, other days, none.



Greg (currently with both thumbs, thank you very much!)

It's that unmistakable "close call" feel of the skin getting broken a couple layers by a razor. Any blade will let you slide a finger and cut it, but if you lightly touch straight down and it breaks into the outer layers of your skin you can shave or kill with it.

I've been trying this.
I never did think I'd overstrop, but if the blade don't get into the skin, I go to the linen for a few laps and re-strop and it seems to prevent a bad start.
I used a shavette blade to get a feel for what to expect, those are a bit sharper so it was easier to get acquainted with the feel.