Thread: Over stropping

My name is MapleLeafAlumnus, and I'm a stropaholic...

Next time someone asks why I spend so much time in the can, I am simply gonna say, "I was stropping my Dorko"

Stropanonymous members sound off!

So that's what the green stuff is for!

Originally Posted by tiddle

Stropanonymous members sound off!

YO!!! Present and accounted for!

A recent study showed precisely this behaviour. A randomly selected sample of 2500 straight razors were made shave-ready. Each was then shaved with over a period of 3 days under strict laboratory conditions. The razors were then sent to a specially developed stropping laboratory where they were stropped by a purpose-built stropping robot under identical conditions for 200 laps each. During stropping the edge was monitored for shave readiness. The results of the study are best summed up in the following graph taken from Jimbo et al, 2012:



It can be clearly seen that approximately 98% shave-readiness is achieved at 60 stropping laps, on average (figures available upon request from corresponding author). Furthermore, increases in shave-readiness are marginal above 60 laps.

The authors conclude that one may strop past the 60 lap mark but that doing so has limited potential to yield a better edge in terms of shave-readiness (p-value < 0.00001).

Reference: Jimbo, G.T., Normous, D. and Biggun, I. V. A. (2012) Interaction Dynamics of High Carbon Steel with Applications to Fast-Stropping Machines in Hilbert Space: Hell Bent on Leather. Neuture, 69, 221--237.

James.

That's a pretty low probability value! Skinner would be proud of the statistical presentation.

How do you explain/interpret the inflection point at approximately 10 laps of stropping and what implications might it hold for simply skipping the first 10 strokes to bypass the relatively slow growth to shave readiness and begin stropping at 10 laps and take advantage of the high rate of growth?

My studies (n=623) demonstrate that one can achieve shave readiness values of 105-107% by stropping only with 57 laps but starting at lap 11 instead of zero.

References and data available upon request (and for a small fee)

I lose count before I reach 10 usually

Michael

Originally Posted by Jimbo

The razors were then sent to a specially developed stropping laboratory where they were stropped by a purpose-built stropping robot under identical conditions for 200 laps each. During stropping the edge was monitored for shave

Ah! That's where the similitude ends, we all strop different to the machine, so for some would be 40 for others 80 but only the person doing it would know how many would take for it to stop improving. For me, I think, it happens about 60-75.
Very interesting study, never read about it, but confirms my findings, that after a set amount the edge stop improving, unless I take it to the pasted strops. Double O