How effective is clean fabric?

I have been spending quite some time studying the effects of various stropping materials on razor edges. A side benefit of this study is I have come up with a technique to produce extremely narrow honing bevels. 40µ is pretty common. The narrowest are in the 25µ range!

I use a Timahagane test blade for these tests. The Timahagane has a low abrasion resistance, even though it is very hard (64HRC). This helps to amplify the effects of stropping, making things easier to see. Honing was finished with a Shinden Asagi. The Kasumi finish also helped make it easier to see what is going on. The strops were held very tight. Only the weight of the razor was used for pressure.

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This is the initial edge. The honing bevel is about 25µ wide.

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This the same edge after 40 laps on a fairly smooth Flax Linen strop. The spots are silica inclusions in the steel. They made very handy reference points for lining things up. They were also a great reference to measure edge wear, after many tests.

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A chin whisker, for scale reference. It is a little wider th ean the frame of the photo.

Most surprising was how much steel coarse cotton canvas removed from the edge. Several microns of edge width were removed after only 40 laps.

I want to thank Tony Miller for helping me with this study. Tony provided me several different fabrics to try.

Eventually, all the results will be on my web site. I will also be repeating this testing with a tool steel razor, instead of Timahagane. Various leathers are also on the docket for testing. After all these years, it is wonderful there is still so much to learn.

Ive heard this and known this for years. Flax linen definitely gives an edge a bump. And your pics prove that but its so easy to try it and then see what the effect is on the edge. This is one of the reason I dont hone very often and get 100 shaves plus per hone. Please note this is about flax linen, not seatbelt material nylon webbing etc that is out there. I got mine from Torulf from scrupleworks. Me and a few pals did a group buy on 4 to lower shipping costs. (no affiliation to anyone btw)

Very Interesting.. It would be nice to see the effects of different grades of leathers or if there were any noticable differences between them.
Thanks for sharing..

Easy enough to test on your own. For me I find they all work the same. I prefer horsehide because it's a pleasure to use. But as far as the edge goes I haven't seen any difference.

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Originally Posted by JOB15

Very Interesting.. It would be nice to see the effects of different grades of leathers or if there were any noticable differences between them.
Thanks for sharing..

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There is a difference, at least on Timahagane/tamahagane. I will eventually have results on my web site.

What I have found most interesting about stropping on linen, flax, paste and leather in general is the amount of pressure that is put on the edge and the area immediately behind the edge, as opposed to the whole bevel.

Which is probably why new guys, have such an issue with stropping and edge retention. Add a little pressure and it is easy to roll the edge. Add a dirty/dusty strop…

Stropping on anything abrasive works to remove steel from the bevel and edge, even a brown paper bag.

Nice photos, stropping is way under-rated.

So glad there are guys like yourself Tim that do all the hard work and investigations for the rest of us to enjoy..
Thank you sir! Scott.W

It is very possible for different leathers to have differing effects, at least in theory. Various chemicals, barks, tannins, etc...are used in various processes and remnants of them do remain in the leather and are likely to have their own abrasive characteristics, anywhere from slight to more effective. Some leather have a very firm, hard surface or temper, others quite soft and yielding. This coupled with the chemicals/tannins, I would think would vary how effective or quickly a strop could restore an edge.

That said any strop of any leather (or several other materials) will be effective but just like with cloth, some are possibly more effective than others and some steels may be more receptive than others.

It has been very educational getting Tim's feedback and photos as he has worked though various materials.

Tony

I pasted a linen strop with Williams shaving soap.
After a bit the linen turned gray from the metal removed by the linen

Williams you say? Old or new? what's the magic ingredient?

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Originally Posted by tintin

Williams you say? Old or new? what's the magic ingredient?

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Old formula

Well, this explains why I get such good shaves off of my Westholme flax linen strop! Might also explain why I can go years without needing to touch up my two main blades!

Thanks, Tim! Looking forward to seeing more info on this, too!