Thread: Honing/Stropping experiment

Hey guys, just wanted to share what I experimented with today.... nothing groundbreaking, but it was kind of interesting.

So here is the setup- I wanted to test shaving after palm stropping only vs. regular stropping.

I freshly honed a John Engstrom 11/16 and a Gold Dollar (trying to cover the good and the ... ... Gold Dollar). I honed both with a BBW/Coticule combo, ending with the coticule and water only. I used no pastes, sprays, linen, felt or anything to polish the edge further.

• For the Engstrom, I stropped about 30 laps on my palm.
  
• For the GD, I stropped 30 laps on latigo

I lathered up some SRD patchouli with a cheap boar knot and went to town.
Both razors performed very well. Smooth shaving without tugging or irritation... very enjoyable.

I plan on keeping the Engstrom going with palm stropping only and the GD with latigo to see how it holds up over time.

So far this tells me that either the palm stropping was comparable to latigo, or that the coticule had both edges smooth enough that neither stropping method did a ton to the edge. I suppose time will tell.

Your thoughts, questions, comments, and donations () are appreciated

Well, obviously, the experiment would be more valid if you did both stropping methods with the same brand of razor.

Regardless, this is a novel experiment. Maybe none of us actually need to buy strops!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Well, obviously, the experiment would be more valid if you did both stropping methods with the same brand of razor.

Regardless, this is a novel experiment. Maybe none of us actually need to buy strops!

Ha ha... validity went out the window before I even got started .. but I thought it would be fun to try.

Originally Posted by Del1r1um

Ha ha... validity went out the window before I even got started .. but I thought it would be fun to try.

Absolutely. I think this is a great idea. I'm going to have to try it out on my main daily shaver. The advantage of getting older may be that our skin becomes more abrasive so we'll need to do fewer strokes!

Just watch out you don't nick the strop your using on that Engstrom.

I guess if your nicknamed leather-skin that could be a real advantage here.

I might as well weigh in: I've got a TI blade that has always shaved well (Not sure what it is though... No stamping other than Thiers Issard) and lately I've been using it for every other shave... One shave will be some other razor stropped as normal (Control sample) followed by the TI, palm stropped, then another "Control" shave to compare, followed by the TI, arm stropped this time (inner forearm), then another "control", then the TI on my palm, and so on.

I don't really find that much of a noticeable difference.

That being said, It's more fun to use a real strop.

Again, as Utopian pointed out, different razors, so it's not a scientific, purely factual finding.. But it was interesting to see how minimal the difference was.

Jimmy, please do not try this. I saw your premium 1.
Nothing worst than a one armed tatoo artist.

Silver2

Update - Shave 2

1. I used The GD for right half of my face, with the same prep as before. Stropped again on Latigo. As expected, no perceived difference from shave 1. Still a smooth, sharp blade.

2. After palm stropping for 30 laps, I used the Engstrom on the left side of my face. The shave seemed to be as smooth as the first shave with this razor. I got two weepers just about 1/2 inch under the corner of my mouth. Still nice and sharp.



Thanks for your post Jeremy, good to hear your results. Just a quick note-- Besides just using the same razor (make, size, model etc.) there are many other factors you'd need to consider in order to make a "valid" test. For instance, we'd have to eliminate factors like time between shaves, stroke count, pressure etc. Additionally, you'd probably have to be "blind" to the razor being used so that your knowledge of your stropping method wouldn't influence your perception of the shave. You may even need to bring in someone to shave you in order to facilitate the blind, and to lower any differences you may have based on the hand you are using (maybe my left isn't quite as good as my right). There are many other confounding factors that you'd have to consider in a clinical setting. But, luckily I didn't have to apply for a grant and pass the IRB, and I'm not trying to be published in a top-tier journal. As such, I have the luxury of relying on my own predictions and perceptions from the start.... up with fun, down with science on this one

Ok, so far I'm 7 shaves in and the palm stropped Engstrom is going strong.
It may have been a left hand thing, but the GD seemed to be slipping back a bit... maybe it's just my subconscious favoring the swede

So far, so good.