Thread: Dr Matt's touch-up strop

OK, back on track?? We have learned how the OP can contact the seller...nuf said.
~Richard

Originally Posted by Badgister

while walking down that road it is best to avoid following the clothed White Rabbit with a pocket watch.

I should add that I'm still all about bevel cosmetics in a tool that has a large enough surface to see them on eg swords, chisels etc..
I just don't carry that over to razors intentionally any more.

Nice to have a thread with my name.
Regarding the strop, I've never had someone tell me it didn't work. If you're not happy with it, send it back for a full refund, no problem.

Neckbone, I've never received an email. I respond to many emails a day and usually within the hour.
It's [email protected]

If you need your razor touched up, send it to me and I'll make sure it sings.

Feel free to email or PM me.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

A fine edge is what it's all about but his videos seemed a little obsessive about bevel cosmetics to me.
I've been down that road & see it more as a side effect rather than a goal.

You must have been talking to my wife. Yes, I am obsessive. My goal in using the microscope and using the pictures is to objectify something that is or has been totally subjective. How do we quantify the intangible?

What is smooth and keen or brisk, sharp and many of the other words we use to describe a feeling from a razor's edge? They all mean something different to different people. But a picture is indisputable. The key is the subjective interpretation of this objective medium. That's the tricky part.

But there are certain things about a microscopic view of an edge that are certain and absolute. The more I look, the more I'm able to "see" what will make a great feeling edge and what smooth, keen brisk and sharp LOOK like.

I just finished a 3 hour honing session on coticules. Dozens and dozens of pictures of different techniques compared to a control edge made by a friend who is a coticule magician. He never used a microscope in his life but creates the most incredible edges.

I can't do what he does but I know if I can get my edge to look exactly like his, I can REPRODUCE that edge at will. The 3 hours I spent honing and documenting edge appearance would take me weeks to months to accomplish by just going with feel and I probably still wouldn't really know what's the best way.

I understand that this analytical objectification of an endeared hobby is not for everyone but it's the way my mind works.

...and Cubancigar, really? LOL!

DrMatt, I appreciate your objective approach to analyzing an edge by means of microscopic photography. Indeed, it is a quantifiable way of seeing how an edge is progressing.

I do have a question though, doesn't an image fail to capture the quality of the peak of the bevel? You can still have a shiny mirror like bevel that will shave poorly if you do not have a well established and perfectly aligned peak.

My quantifiable way of testing an edge is seeing how it performs the hanging test, the swifter and more effortless the hair is severed the better the shave.

Originally Posted by drmatt357

Nice to have a thread with my name.
Regarding the strop, I've never had someone tell me it didn't work. If you're not happy with it, send it back for a full refund, no problem.

Neckbone, I've never received an email. I respond to many emails a day and usually within the hour.
It's [email protected]

If you need your razor touched up, send it to me and I'll make sure it sings.

Feel free to email or PM me.

Sorry it didn't work out for you.

I have learned a lot from your YouTube videos and bought the microscope you recommend.

I struggle with honing and the visual feedback helps.

It could be me, but the daily stropping you recommended with Diamond spray paste seems to dull my edge. However, when I do it once in several weeks when the edge begins not to shave as well it really helps.

What works for the individual may very well be tied to the original honing job itself. I have a lot of razors and probably don't hone often enough to stay in practice or develop an actual honing routine. That's why I rely on that microscope, to tell me when to stop.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

It could be me, but the daily stropping you recommended with Diamond spray paste seems to dull my edge. However, when I do it once in several weeks when the edge begins not to shave as well it really helps.

What works for the individual may very well be tied to the original honing job itself. I have a lot of razors and probably don't hone often enough to stay in practice or develop an actual honing routine. That's why I rely on that microscope, to tell me when to stop.

There are a couple of problems here. First, there is never a need to strop on any kind of paste, diamond or other, every day. I would guess that this is dulling your edge due to crumbling.

Second, you can use a microscope to tell you when to stop honing the bevel but from that point on you can also try alternative feedback mechanisms. Use the thumbpad test. Watch the water moving in front of the blade and pay attention to when it starts to climb up the face of the blade. Pay attention to changes in the feel of the blade's movement on the hone. You can try sneaking up on a good edge by stopping early, stropping, and shaving. If it's not good enough then do more.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I have had a lot of experience with chiropractors over the twenty years I was an ironworker. I have, last time they checked, 1 herniated, and two bulging discs in my lower spine. It is true that chiropractors, using hands on spinal manipulation, alleviated my pain, and kept me going many times when I injured myself.

What I found towards the end of my ironworker career was that it is not a cure, but a band aid of sorts. Reading up on it, and talking to orthopaedic doctors about my particular condition, I confirmed for my self that the main problem I had was weak spinal erectors, poor posture, and a lack of flexibility. When an ortho told me that I was taken aback. (no pun)

I was strong as a bull, and twice as handsome, doing structural steel work for years. It was only after I left that trade and got into the sedentary job of tattooing that I began lifting weights and discovered the ortho doc was absolutely right ....... In my case. YMMV

Your two livelihoods are related. You just changed from making iron to ironing people.

I see so many tattoos these days. I'd be interested in knowing what has made this so popular in recent years.

Originally Posted by Badgister

DrMatt, I appreciate your objective approach to analyzing an edge by means of microscopic photography. Indeed, it is a quantifiable way of seeing how an edge is progressing.

I do have a question though, doesn't an image fail to capture the quality of the peak of the bevel? You can still have a shiny mirror like bevel that will shave poorly if you do not have a well established and perfectly aligned peak.

My quantifiable way of testing an edge is seeing how it performs the hanging test, the swifter and more effortless the hair is severed the better the shave.

I agree with Dr. Matt in that some people are wired in such a way that visual feedback is necessary. He has extensive experience in honing. I don't hone regularly enough to get a feel for when an edge is right. I do, however, think I know where he's coming from in that some people need to see what they're doing, even if it looks good under a microscope and the razor needs more honing.

Originally Posted by drmatt357

How do we quantify the intangible?

Sometimes it helps to close your eyes .