Since we're all talking about stropping being king...

I had had Lynn hone me up two razors in early September. At this point, I am past the 40-shave mark on each razor, and I'm pleased to report that they are both going strong. They still pass my HHT, and still give very close, comfortable shaves.

I'm jazzed about this because it means that I'm definitely not killing my edges either with my stropping or with my shaving. So, as the shaves begin to deteriorate, I'll know that it's just plain, unavoidable wear that is bringing me back to the hone. Woo-hoo!

My strop is a low-end Illinois job (207), and the blades are Solingen (a new Dovo and an ebay Wester Bros.). My stropping routine is basically:
1) 10 light laps on the leather just to gentle the fin into decent alignment;
2) 20 laps on the linen, starting with gentle pressure and easing to light;
3) 30 laps on the leather, enough pressure to feel the draw, and easing to light;
4) 7 laps before the third, against-the-grain pass, for maximum smoothness;
5) 7-10 laps after cleaning and drying the blade.

Little victories, gradually acumulated, are what makes this great. Times like this make me confident that someday, I might even hone competently!

Deepweeds