Thread: Muscles loose their memory when you are tired!!

Well, I suppose it had to happen sometime, I had stayed up until 3:30am honing three razors, then got up at 7am to go out for Christmas Day with the family.
I felt a bit tired and had to shave so I went through my usual prep - fill the sink and lather bowl with hot water and a bit in with the soap, strop, shower and then shave.
Two of the razors I had honed were for a friend and the third was my first Swedish frameback.
I did 60 passes on the linen with each of them (as usual) and then onto the leather side of my vintage Illinois 992 for another 60 laps each.
I had done the frameback last on the linen and found it a bit difficult to control the flip with such a thin tang - just couldn't get the rythm to kick in, so I decided to do it first on the leather.
The 60 laps on the leather went OK with no mishap, however, I still had trouble with the flip.
Stropped the second one and was pleased to feel the rythm coming back so, onto the third and back up to speed - then it happened - I CUT MY STROP
I'd probably done about 40 - 45 passes with the third razor when it happened - missed the flip and sliced the leather about an inch from the top and about two thirds of the way across.
It's not a deep cut (but it is wide) and it is easily repaired, however, it is a nuisance and it upset me to think I had done it.
I strop fairly quickly and therein lies the issue, I think - I didn't take into account how my lack of sleep would affect my reaction time.
I hope this Christmas Story gives someone else out there an idea on what NOT to do.
Hang on and enjoy the ride

Yea, slooooow down. Some motion is important but SPEED isn't very helpful. My big worry is every time I make a stropping mistake that is clear to me, what on earth am I doing to my delicate razor's edge?

Sorry about the strop. I can certainly empathize. Str8 Shaving is not something I try to do when tired.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Sorry about the strop. I can certainly empathize. Str8 Shaving is not something I try to do when tired.

The shave was fine - I was just stropping too fast for my reactions.
Hope your Christmas was great

This is actually a pretty cool topic. I don't think I own a strop that doesn't have at least a few marks on it. I look at stropping like swinging a golf club or a baseball bat. Some times I can hit the ball and sometimes I can't. Just think about it. Like the OP stated, stropping when tired can alter your stroke. Too fast, too slow. Are your feet in the same position? Do you have the exact same tension every time you are stropping? Same pressure every time? I normally just try to develop a nice rhythm but I can tell if I have had too much coffee, if I am getting tired from stropping after the 20th razor or even if I am just thinking about something else. When I switch strops to one with a little different draw, I have to re-acclimate to that strop. I have never really thought about this before this thread.

Thanks!

It would be interesting to hear other peoples take on this.

Originally Posted by Havachat45

The shave was fine - I was just stropping too fast for my reactions.
Hope your Christmas was great

Sorry about your strop mate
check your pms - message sent

Our Christmas was quiet and relaxing just how we like it
Hope all our members has a great day

I didn't think one could have too much coffee, Lynn - I know I can't.....hehehe
Usually I just get into a good rythm and think about other things - almost like meditation - I do the same when sanding blades or scales, too.
It seems I'll have to pay more attention when I'm tired.
I really don't know if my arms would take stropping 20 razors - my hat is off to you.
I'll post photos of the damage, in this thread, when I get a chance.
Thanks to all for their best wishes.

Stropping has been my toughest nut to crack. I'll be glad when my muscles memorize what they're supposed to do when I'm rested!