Thread: Lemming Leaps

Got a good shave last night but I had to strop often during the shave. It felt a little rough but the blade was sharp. I did not put it to the .5 paste again. I'm under the impression this technique might be .5 paste every shave, which is a theory I don't buy in to. Got a good shave, but again not great. Finally,a little out of frustration I ran the blade on a barber hone ten strokes and test shaved, which fixed all the discomfort issues that were developing. I think the slack strop creates sharp; but at a cost. The edge seemed to need aligning. A sharp blade that isn't aligned correctly was a new sensation to me. I fixed it with a hone but its possible better stropping (or different) stroping technique would be better with this type of bevel. Even the razor slap on the strop would atleast come close to flattening it. But since it seems to misalign while shaving I'll keep testing it out. From here I can tell it shaves very well.

At this point I give big thumbs up to using .5 paste on a slack strop but thats the only part of this technique I can endorse. The razor shaves great. But its a delicate edge.

I'll need to stop soon as I think I'm at the limit of my understanding on what this actual technique is about.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I'll need to stop soon as I think I'm at the limit of my understanding on what this actual technique is about.

Don't stop. If I might suggest, be persistent with tis and the effects should show in the long run. What do I know though, I'm not shaving ith it.

X

I know what you mean sometimes its just too much. Takes the fun out of shaving.

A suppose if you're expecting immediate results. What kind of angler casts his line in the water a few times, gets no bites and sails back to shore. Results come from listening, being attentive to the changes. Listen longer and you'll be surprised what you can learn.

X

Yeah but you still have to throw the line in at some point. There is theory and then there is practice.

Ok, another session. This time as an aside let me say that I have honed up two more razors (carbon) on the TM strop with dry .5 paste and two more razors are now in the bin of great shavers, moved from the difficult to hone cellar. As a technique I'm loving the sagging strop with paste.

Tonights session went as might be expected. I took a perfectly good razor and instead of shaving with it decided to see the over effects. Are they just around the corner or far in the distance? Well, they were only 20 strokes away. I checked the edge after 20 passes on .5 and the razor DID NOT DRAW ON THE STROP. That, as you all know, was a telling signature. I went to the microscope and expected to find a rolled edge. I saw what I characterize as the micro starbursts of an overhoned edge. I believe this might make sense given the aggressive nature stropping with a sag might have. I shaved anyway, pushing through a slight painful shave. I think the edge will settle over the next few days and I'll just run with it. I believe that no more stropping on paste is called for for about a week.

Unless ofcourse I hear a chorus for a backhoning and "restart"

One thing I keep forgetting to mention, is the amount of sag I put on the strop. I have found, actually around the third stropping session, that the strop has a natural sag point that it likes to sit at, around 1 1/2 inches of sag. It just sits here naturally. Anymore, or any less, is almost hard to achieve.

Again, I'm finding this method more aggressive and effective than my flat paddle strops or stroping on a flat hanging strop.