Thread: A bit of heresy

I get the same number of shaves from a DE as I do an unstropped razor. After 4 or 5 shaves I have to throw away one, and strop the other. I never thought of it as unusual, only logical.

Sometimes when you make a "discovery" it is worth asking yourself the following question: What is more likely?: That I, after x years/months/weeks/days of experience have discovered a stunning new truth hitherto unknown to man and the hundreds of thousands of man-hours put in by probably hundreds of thousands of barbers and others over the past 300+ years?; or that perhaps I'm basing my finding on a single data point in a hobby where the term "YMMV" is more ubiquitous than the word "razor"?

I repeat, I have not noticed the phenomenon you have described. In fact, I have noticed the very opposite of the phenomenon you described. So my data point cancels your data point. Where does that leave us?

Note that I am not saying you are wrong. I am saying that it probably works for you but that, over the average, it is not likely to hold. If it did, we'd have seen a gradual dying out of daily stropping over the years.

James.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Use magnification...

Do real tests

and ps:

Stropping does NOT sharpen a razor, nowhere does it say that... (assuming no paste)
The most often used words to desribe stropping are
Burnishing
Polishing
Re-aligning

...and don't forget dressing a razor too. My razor likes a tuxedo and high hat. It says he feels smoother that way.

As I said earlier, try it yourselves. The rest is just opinion, and words, words, words (for instance, stropping is "Burnishing, Polishing, Re-aligning").

Come on. My point was that you don't necessarily get a better shave by stropping. Give it a shot. I knew I might be popping a few balloons.

Originally Posted by pcg

My point was that you don't necessarily get a better shave by stropping. Give it a shot. I knew I might be popping a few balloons.

Actually I agree you would be popping balloons, as that was the old way that Barbers practiced the touch for a Straight Shave,, if they popped the baloon they got a face full of lather and a **FAIL** on their test..

I love that you actually think nobody ever thought to test this in the past, not only the difference of stropping vs not stropping, but even how many laps, and how fast the stropping was done Linen vs No Linen...

You really should go search through this forum look for one that is named "Stropping is King" of course if it feels good on your face more power to ya... But I have this funny feeling that you will learn that perhaps those old farts might have known a thing or two about getting a smooth shave..

I appreciate you sticking to this w/ some balance (& some humor). I am familiar w/ what's on the forum, and have spent 100s of hours stropping during my 1,000s of straight razor shaves. My point was/is that I simply assumed one had to strop before shaving or all hell would break loose. Like many assumptions, that one's wrong. I get a perfectly fine shave w/o stropping. Perhaps others do not. Fine. But the admonition to strop before shaving is unsound. I agree that soaping first & then stropping allows one's beard to soften, but you could as easily be brushing your teeth in the duration.

As I've said several times in this thread, don't tell me I'm wrong w/o trying it yourself w/ several blades.

Originally Posted by pcg

As I've said several times in this thread, don't tell me I'm wrong w/o trying it yourself w/ several blades.

Your Wrong,, been there done that.. that wasn't hard, so have many others.. look at the accumulated damage that the beard inflicts on the edge under magnification.. The edge cannot recover from that as well as when the edge is never let to get that bad... You also are going to let Micro-corrosion build up which de-grades the edge again.. Now if you had actually read the stropping threads you would already know all this and I wouldn't have to be explaining it to you.. If you had really tested before posting this thread you would have seen this and already know this too..

Now you might have a light beard that doesn't bang the edge too bad so you will take longer but it will happen..

Please do some real testing

Now you might be thinking to yourself "Why is Glen being so adamant, I really think I am on to something here"

Well honestly I could careless about your edges you are going to continue until you realize different, but I do care that some new guy is going to try the same thing and either have to pay to have his razor re-honed or is going to possibly give up all together...

So if you really think your right, as I have asked again and again please do the real testing and follow up...

Well I have tried shaving both stropped and unstropped. I will try most anything except for licking hones. Unless one has facial skin the likes of foot soles stropping is a requirement for a good shave.

Anyone believing tens of thousands of barbers who shaved people daily for money were stropping all those razors for the love of leather is at the least naive. Stropping would never have begun as a practice much less grown to be the prerequisite for any shave if it were simply an affectation.

Certainly a shave without stropping is possible but why?

But seriously I have found the most comfortable shave can be achieved by leading with the spine of the razor instead of that nasty sharp edge.

Originally Posted by Grazor

i found stropping a very convenient way to ruin the edge of my first shave ready razor

Maybe it's the technique you're using, I find it hard to believe proper stropping will ruin a razor.

Originally Posted by Firefighter2

Maybe it's the technique you're using, I find it hard to believe proper stropping will ruin a razor.

I think he was kidding