Thread: Stropping after 0.5um?

OK after putting a nice 0.5um lapping film edge on a razor, what does stropping on a leather strop do for you? Smooth it out a bit? Or what?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

OK after putting a nice 0.5um lapping film edge on a razor, what does stropping on a leather strop do for you? Smooth it out a bit? Or what?

That's pretty much the idea. It smooths it out and polishes the edge.

CrO2 strops and sharpening stones remove the steel from the edge and make the edge sharper.

Stropping on leather is a non abrasive process that helps align the edge and makes the edge keen not necessarily sharper, stropping this is necessary if you want to have a smooth shave

Please also see parallel thread I started over on B&B:
http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38585

Look at those images. I had exactly the same results. It didn't make the edge smoother, but really rather beat it up.

I hope this can foster some good sharing of info, new testing, new ideas, etc.