Thread: Letting the edge rest

The quote from Dovo is the one I was talking about, but I've seen the same thing mentioned in other places. Boon is one of them.

I don't think anyone is saying that you don't have to strop if you let the razor rest for 48 hours. The way I understand it is that the microserrations will come back to close to their stropped condition after 24-48 hours. If you strop then, you'll just push the fin a short distance when you strop, and you'll be back to your shaving sharp edge. However, if you srop right after the shave you will be pushing the microserrations a large distance, which causes metal fatigue (like breaking a tin can lid by repeated bending), and eventual breaking of the microserrations.

I never tried the 6-10 shaves without stropping. I always thought it was a mistake and they were talking about honing (refreshing the edge). Like Rich, I never use the same razor within 48 hours, but I always strop before I shave.

I have to say that I'm skeptical that you could shave 6-10 times without stropping, just by not using the razor for 48 hours. I think the razor would be useable without stropping, but it would deteriorate more with every shave. Maybe you could tolerate a few inferior shaves, but why bother?

I'm always up for an experiment, but I don't use any one razor often enough to do this one.

heres a question from a newbee but its relevent to this discussion:
If it is best to let the razor rest, how many shave ready razors did those old time barbers keep around for each days use?
One for each client?
One for the day?
I tend to think that the number would be close to the later as even back when these were common household items they were not cheep, and barbering has never been a rich mans trade.

What was good enough to give a professional shave to a descerning gentleman would be good enough for me.

The manual that came with my new Henckels Friodur recommends stropping 10-15 laps before and after the shave.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

heres a question from a newbee but its relevent to this discussion:
If it is best to let the razor rest, how many shave ready razors did those old time barbers keep around for each days use?
One for each client?
One for the day?
I tend to think that the number would be close to the later as even back when these were common household items they were not cheep, and barbering has never been a rich mans trade.

What was good enough to give a professional shave to a descerning gentleman would be good enough for me.

You have agood point. I used to go to an old barber and he only used a few razors in a day. Also, it was not unusual for him to strop mid-shave. If the microserrations are misaligned, how does the razor know if you're stropping mid-shave or after the shave?

Well I tried it 3 times with one razor, which is not enough for a good experiment but I'll post my observations anyway. I shaved with the same carbon steel razor for 3 shaves, each 3 days apart, without stropping. During each shave, towards the end the shave became uncomfortable. At the beginning of each shave, after 72 hours rest the shave was again good, atleast the cutting ability of the razor was. But it was not as nice and smooth as stropping provides. The cutting ability was fine, the comfort was not. I surmise that stopping realigns the fin and smooths the edge for comfort and that the fin may actually realign itself after resting.

Additionally, on day 2 I cut myself. I haven't done that in well over a year. I have to admit though that I did make a mistake, so that may have no effect.

It felt like the edge was realigned but not as smooth and aligned as it would feel had I stropped. It felt a little like back in the day when I didn't know how to hone as well as I do now.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I shaved with the same carbon steel razor for 3 shaves, each 3 days apart, without stropping. During each shave, towards the end the shave became uncomfortable. At the beginning of each shave, after 72 hours rest the shave was again good, atleast the cutting ability of the razor was. But it was not as nice and smooth as stropping provides.

That's a great experiment, Alan! And I think the results are pretty convincing.

It supports Dovo's recommendation not to strop at the end of a shave, because the edge is too misaligned and you'll end up breaking the fin, and honing a lot more than you have to. But after the edge recovers, it's only slightly misaligned and can be stropped.

I also realize why barbers stropped mid-shave. The idea was not to let the edge get too misaligned. Then, they could use it all day.

So, should you strop at the end of the shave to squeeze out moisture and clean the edge? You can if there's not a lot of misalignment. And if you've got a tough beard and always have a misaligned edge after a shave, strop mid-shave so you can strop at thend of the shave.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

That's a great experiment, Alan! And I think the results are pretty convincing.

It supports Dovo's recommendation not to strop at the end of a shave, because the edge is too misaligned and you'll end up breaking the fin, and honing a lot more than you have to. But after the edge recovers, it's only slightly misaligned and can be stropped.

I also realize why barbers stropped mid-shave. The idea was not to let the edge get too misaligned. Then, they could use it all day.

So, should you strop at the end of the shave to squeeze out moisture and clean the edge? You can if there's not a lot of misalignment. And if you've got a tough beard and always have a misaligned edge after a shave, strop mid-shave so you can strop at thend of the shave.

Those conclusions make a lot of sense and have helped clear up a lot of confusion for me regarding edge re-alignment and stropping. Cheers guys!

James.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

That's a great experiment, Alan! And I think the results are pretty convincing.

It supports Dovo's recommendation not to strop at the end of a shave, because the edge is too misaligned and you'll end up breaking the fin, and honing a lot more than you have to. But after the edge recovers, it's only slightly misaligned and can be stropped.

I also realize why barbers stropped mid-shave. The idea was not to let the edge get too misaligned. Then, they could use it all day.

So, should you strop at the end of the shave to squeeze out moisture and clean the edge? You can if there's not a lot of misalignment. And if you've got a tough beard and always have a misaligned edge after a shave, strop mid-shave so you can strop at thend of the shave.

Excelent logic it makes sense, uses all the available facts and explains the reasoning behind common belief. We have a winning theory

Originally Posted by PuFFaH

6-15 shaves out of an razor without extra stropping? and then to imply that someone would move the razor back and forth withould turning it over, well, words escape me

It may well be that an error in translation is the cause of all this. I could not find the original German version of the DOVO FAQ thing to check.
The German word "abziehen" is used for both whetting and stropping. The context gives you the clue as to the meaning of the word. A translator who is not familiar w/ stropping and honing may easily get it wrong. 6-15 shaves between 2 honing sessions is not that unusual.

Originally Posted by Kees

It may well be that an error in translation is the cause of all this. A translator who is not familiar w/ stropping and honing may easily get it wrong. 6-15 shaves between 2 honing sessions is not that unusual.

That's what I thought, but it also seems you could go at least 3 shaves without stropping (why?), if you let the razor rest.