Thread: Does 30+30=60?

Originally Posted by TheLegalRazor

I'm familiar with the view that the steel should "rest" before being stropped. However, barbers from the past would use the same straight all day, stropping it throughout the day. Professional cooks use their knives all day and take them to a steel throughout the day. It's an interesting concept and I'd like to hear more about the basis of it.

I've heard this concept too, and I'd also like to see more information on it.

Try this: hone a blade that passes hht before stropping, strop and shave then try the hht. At this point it won't pass the hht, then clean and dry the blade and let it rest for a couple days. After a few days try the hht again before stropping, and see if it passes, mine usually always do. This test proves the edge does in fact grow back. Obviously I don't strop after shaving.

Originally Posted by Hardhead

Try this: hone a blade that passes hht before stropping, strop and shave then try the hht. At this point it won't pass the hht, then clean and dry the blade and let it rest for a couple days. After a few days try the hht again before stropping, and see if it passes, mine usually always do. This test proves the edge does in fact grow back. Obviously I don't strop after shaving.

This is a good piece of common sense.

Hello all! New to the forum!

Originally Posted by TheLegalRazor

On weekdays I strop the night before to save time in the morning, and on weekends I strop immediately before I shave. I've never noticed a difference.

I'm familiar with the view that the steel should "rest" before being stropped. However, barbers from the past would use the same straight all day, stropping it throughout the day. Professional cooks use their knives all day and take them to a steel throughout the day. It's an interesting concept and I'd like to hear more about the basis of it.

I'm a butcher/meat cutter and I put my well kept blades through up to 8 hours of continuous punishment on extremely demanding days (such as the holiday season!).

I've found that honing with a knife/butcher steel is a balancing act. A knife edge has "memory", something that will suffer from the eventual diminishing effects of metal fatigue. A brand new edge requires few passes on a polished steel to realign the edge and stay kept. But with continued use more maintenance is required.

For instance..I steel 2 light passes per side of a new edge after... Let's say roughly 15 minutes of use. Fewer extremely light passes keeps the edge in good health, but overdoing it will shorten the edges life in the long run!!! However, the more worn the edge becomes, the more passes I have to make to get a smooth response from my blade.

An edge that rolls from use and realigns from steeling will eventually lose its "programmed" edge due to fatigue. I find the best option to combat fatigue is to set the memory one last time when I pack my knives up so they don't go to bed with the wrong edge memory.

But again, its a balancing act where how often, how hard, how many passes and even when play parts of their own.

Think of a knife edge as a sort of battery. Use kills the battery and diminishes performance. Steeling restores performance, but also happens to slightly diminish the battery as well in the long run. Steeling at the right time with proper technique and the correct amount of passes when compared to the condition of the edge will slow the death of said battery.

I'm happy to go into more detail if anyone would like! But I'm aware this is a "Straight Razor Place".