Here's an idea I had: maybe you guys can tell me what you think of this. I've found that edges @ the refinement level of say a coticule or a Norton 8k (shave ready, but maybe not 'scary sharp') benefit in both smoothness & sharpness from a good linen stropping. Jnat edges, less so & even there I can have too much of a good thing if I overdo it. CBN edges are degraded slightly--the edge is still plenty sharp & lasts just the same as if I had finished at that level to begin with (no crumbling or anything), but not quite what it was. It's gone from lightsaber :jedi:to simply "very good", where a coticule or Norton edge can be brought up to very good by good stropping.
I'm definitely more conservative w/ linen stropping these days, typically only doing 10-15 light strokes right before leather (before a shave only). I'm thinking maybe the guys who wrote those old barber books might have discovered something similar. Maybe that's why they recommended no linen right after honing...?:hmmm: We've got to keep in mind, a lot of the old knowledge has been lost, so we're essentially relearning a lot of this stuff as we go along. I'm sure a lot of what we still struggle to figure out was common knowledge in the old days of proper razors & this might be one of those cases.
Whaddaya say, gentlemen? Anyone seen something similar? And to be clear, this is unpasted, clean linen. I have no idea how chalk or wood ash or something might influence the results, but it does make me curious to try... ;)