Thread: Longevity

I take your point. Nonetheless weekly or semi-weekly honing sessions seem a bit overkill. If they are necessary that makes the advice to new guys that they only need razor and strop to straight shave very deficient. We should amend said advice to Razor and Hone. Some guys claim to get 7-10 shaves between stroppings (see Stropping is King thread), so that's a week to a week and a half for an everyday shaver like myself; or a month for a 3x a week shaver. If you're going to have to touch up hone with that same frequency spend the $80 on a barber's hone and a finisher instead of a nice strop!

Axel--Where's hellhole MN? I'm in extreme NW Iowa, but just moved from Eastern SD and I must have been pretty close to you there.

FWIW I have one blade that hasn't been on a hone or pasted strop since I got it well over a year ago, and it's still my best shaver. Granted, I only shave with it a couple of times a month, but I'd still guess that to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40 shaves without a touchup, and it's a wonderful shaver.
I have other blades that will give only 10 shaves or so before they need a touchup.
It really depends on the steel.

Well, I stropped some more this morning and did a quick WTG shave. There was some improvement. Tonight I stropped until my left hand got tired of holding the strop...I don't even know how many passes, but more pressure than I'd been using and more speed than I could generate before. Two things happened: 1) I shaved my strop. I didn't nick it, I shaved a little leaf of leather off the top down by my hand. 2) I shaved (yes for the second time today...I could always shave 2x a day with a cartridge, and this morning's shave was quick with no cleanup) and it felt like my 3rd or 4th shave instead of my 9th or 10th.

12 Shaves in and I think I'm getting somewhere with my stropping.

Well, I dunno how many actual number of shaves mine has, but I only have 2 razors since I have started a little over 2 years ago or so. They have not been touched by a hone yet, and I still get decent shaves on them. I shave on average 2 times a week with my straights.

Hey, that reminds me...I should update this.

I've continued to work on my stropping and gotten 16 shaves with it, without touch ups. I've only stropped it on canvas and leather.

In trying to figure my stropping out I tried some other straights, so I'm 18 shaves in, but 16 of them are on my Genco and it's still shaving great now that I figured out stropping.

So with an extremely well honed Genco, I was able to get 9 great shaves (my first shaves at that) essentially without stropping. I was stropping, but my technique was TOO light and I really, honestly, don't think it was doing much if any good. So, that being the case, I'd say that a guy who can't get more than 9 shaves out of a blade before going to a touchup hone isn't really doing anything with his stropping. Especially if it's a guy who's gotten his shaving technique down.

I think I'll slip a piece of paper into the box with the Genco and keep a tally of the shaves I get with it just with stropping so that I can keep good track of how long I can keep it maintained. That will help me know if I'm hitting the 2-3mo mark, the 6mos mark, or beyond.

But for me, the answer to my original question was 9. I could go 9 shaves without really stropping, but then things got uncomfortable. Stropping has given me another 6 and counting.

Peace,

I too am guilty of being a hone addict. I'll get a couple of nice shaves but rather than perservere on the strop i go back to the hone to try to, as someone else put it, "dial in" a more perfect edge. But reading this post makes me want to test it out and see how long i can shave on just the strop.

Originally Posted by holeHeartless

I too am guilty of being a hone addict. I'll get a couple of nice shaves but rather than perservere on the strop i go back to the hone to try to, as someone else put it, "dial in" a more perfect edge. But reading this post makes me want to test it out and see how long i can shave on just the strop.

There were some who experimented with this to the point of boredom. They could go on for months on end, but got bored of shaving with the same razor. To prevent razor-burn-out I've wrapped a post it note around my Genco's box and am keeping a tally. I threw a pen in with the razor boxes so each time I shave I can make a mark and keep track. When stropping no longer does it for me, I'll add up the tally marks and see how many shaves I got.

Peace,

As noted, you were not stropping effectively enough. In the beginning you need to go lightly though. Look up one of my old posts on graphite if you want a simple effective honing remedy.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

As noted, you were not stropping effectively enough. In the beginning you need to go lightly though. Look up one of my old posts on graphite if you want a simple effective honing remedy.

Interesting concept here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ew-hone-3.html
So do you just graphite up one side of your canvas strop? I've got one side with chalk on it. The other side is just clean. I do have another canvas strop to keep a clean one around.

I apply the graphite to a plain leather strop, on the leather side. You can wipe it off or even better you can use a dedicated strop. I warn you though, this technique will apply a wicked sharp edge on your razor. I used to do 50 to 100 passes on the strop. Just be careful shaving afterwards. You'll find the right formula for your own face in time.