Thread: Fabric after Honing?

I'll keep this one short -like I haven't said that before >.<-

I recall hearing /somewhere/ that you shouldn't use a Fabric component after Honing.. Well, I just touched up a GD 208 on a Keen Kutter - I accidentally dulled it with some overzealous stropping, lesson learned- and figured I'd test this. I did 6 passes on the Keen Kutter, 10 laps on Chrome Ox loaded Cotton, 25 on TM Nylon, then 50 on Latigo and 50 on Horsehide... That edge feels SHARP.

So, I wanted to ask those of you with vastly more experience than me... Is cloth after honing a bad thing, or what? Because, from watching Lynn, I know he uses a .5 Diamond sprayed felt Flat Bed after honing... So, is it just plain fabrics that are bad after honing, and pasted ones are okay, or are all fabrics after honing bad, or is this just a myth?

Thanks guys!

Cheers,
Jeremy

And, weird thing, I tried the same pattern with my Dovo Best Quality, same amount of laps on all the same things, and the edge felt dullish on TPT.. Did 20 passes on Crox, 50 Latigo, 50 Horsehide, no nylon, and now it feels nice and sharp -feels the same as the GD-

Weird.

If you go to the 1961 barber manual that I am always linking to you'll find that they recommend leather only after honing. Of course they recommend stropping fabric/leather once the razor has done a shave and thenceforth until the next honing. Somewhere in there they even say that there is a debate (even then) as to whether the fabric is even necessary or effective at all.

So I've asked the same question and the answer I got was to do whatever works best for you. I am in the camp that believes fabric is very beneficial anytime before the leather. OTOH, I've tried it leather only after honing as well. I think I get better results hitting the fabric after honing and then going to leather but it is so hard to quantify some of this stuff.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you go to the 1961 barber manual that I am always linking to you'll find that they recommend leather only after honing. Of course they recommend stropping once the razor has done a shave and thenceforth until the next honing. Somewhere in there they even say that there is a debate (even then) as to whether the fabric is even necessary or effective at all.

So I've asked the same question and the answer I got was to do whatever works best for you. I am in the camp that believes fabric is very beneficial anytime before the leather. OTOH, I've tried it leather only after honing as well. I think I get better results hitting the fabric after honing and then going to leather but it is so hard to quantify some of this stuff.

So it's basically a perspective point... as is so much else

Well, I guess I'll just try and find the right pattern for each individual razor... Already found some differences between my current two... although I'm not sure if that was due to different conditions of the razors -maybe the Dovo just needed more laps on the Crox, and the nylon would have given the same results on it as the GD, after those extra laps-

Such a wide world of possibilities... It's exciting!

Thanks,
Jimmy

I tend to agre with Jimmy. I know when I get off the hones, I go to the fabric on my premium IV and the 50-75 laps on the leather. After that I go to horse hide. The horse hide is super fast, but I don't know if it accomplishes anything after the bridal leather or not.
My limited experience.

Applying any form of grit or paste nullifies the entire point. There isn't any need to use linen after honing. There shouldn't be any problem with it either.

Seems like I'll stick with Hone, Diamond pasted felt, nylon, leather, horsehide... or somethign similar.

Thanks, Gents!

Cheers,
Jeremy