Thread: Why is my brand new Livi Regrind putting scratches in my strop?

Recently purchased a Livi New Grind from SRD. I was pretty stoked when I received it - gorgeous, like a work of art.

I was looking forward to having my first shave with it, and I went about my normal pre-shave stropping ritual on my Kanayama 60000. 40 strokes on the linen, then I turned the strop over to the leather and started stropping. Business as usual. However, after about 10-15 strokes I noticed something was wrong. There seemed to be small marks appearing at the top and bottom of each stroke. I slowed down, but at the same time I was thinking "Nah, it can't be. Just my imagination." So I continued. 10 strokes later and I thought, "Holy $#@! Every stroke is putting tiny scratches in my strop!"

So here's the deal. The Livi has etchings in the spine. The scratches are only located at the top and bottom of the stropping surface. So it must be those little "X's", right? But they aren't very deep, and they don't feel rough at all to my fingers. I really don't use pressure at all when stropping, I'm at a loss as to why this has happened.

The question is - is this normal? There are many Livis like this out there in the straight shaving world, they can't all be scratching up their owners' strops. Has anyone experienced something similar? Is it just that the Kanayama is a very "sensitive" strop? Is there anything I could do to stop this? I haven't had this razor for too long but I would hate to have to return it, it really is a beauty.

Here are some high-res photos of the damage. Keep in mind that the strop is only a few weeks old, and I haven't experienced anything like this with my other razors. I know that it in no way renders the strop useless, but still. If this happens every single time I strop, what will my poor strop look like in a year?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5204.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5187.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5188.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5193.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5194.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5195.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5196.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5197.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5198.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40321/IMG_5199.JPG

I get the same thing from every razor that has a tooled spine. Really doesn't matter what the strop is. You should see what a heavily tooled spine will do. Even the rounded Henckels spine with the tooling gives me marks on all my stops including my Kanayama's. I sold my Kanayama 90000 because considering what I paid for it, I couldn't bear to put any scratch marks on it. Would have killed me.

Have fun,

Lynn

It's most likely the etched spine. My Bismarck w/filed spine does the same thing, scratchs up my latigo where it is turned on the spine. If it makes you feel better you can try taping the spine with scotch tape before stropping.

may be a rough finish on those X´s

maybe some kind of polish on a cloth could make them less agressive
or something else

if that blade is attatched using microfasterners you could get someone to put in a tumbler
(i seem to recall that dulls edges and round corners)

Originally Posted by Lynn

I get the same thing from every razor that has a tooled spine. Really doesn't matter what the strop is. You should see what a heavily tooled spine will do. Even the rounded Henckels spine with the tooling gives me marks on all my stops including my Kanayama's. I sold my Kanayama 90000 because considering what I paid for it, I couldn't bear to put any scratch marks on it. Would have killed me.

Have fun,

Lynn

Sorry to hear about the scratches but a + 1 with Lynn's post,as with those carved spines that is the nature of the beast. That is why it is nice to have one strop dedicated to those once you find out the hard way. I haven't sold my Kanayama 90000 yet but I'm thinking about it. I haven't stropped a razor on it yet either.

I just read this same post on another forum.

I can only say that anytime you have a tooled spine, regardless of the strop, it is going to show marks and scratches. It is no fault of either the razor or the strop, but as said, the nature of the beast.

Have fun,

Lynn

+1 with what was said above. I get the same thing with all my worked spine razors. I learned to ignore it.

Wow, that's really a bummer. So this is just the nature of all engraved spines? Why would anyone ever make a razor that does that do a strop!
I guess for those with multiple strops it's not a problem, but I've only got one at the moment. I'll try some metal polish first, and see if that helps at all.

600-2000 grit wet-r-dry sandpaper if you want to actually solve the problem for good... Be careful how you do this as you only want to smooth the rough spots. nothing more, use the highest grit that will smooth it up...

The front corners of the big Friodurs are notorious for this too...

It's also probably because it is brand new. I have had a similar problem with the scrollwork on an Ellis, but never with vintage blades with worked backs. Time and stropping round out the sharp edges in time. You can try to accelerate this process with different methods, just be careful.