Thread: Progression Stropping

"a blade can only be so sharp."

I'm learning this too. But its fun to see if you can get more.

Originally Posted by Gasman

"a blade can only be so sharp."

I'm learning this too. But its fun to see if you can get more.

I think thats why I keep chasing that edge, I want the whiskers to fall off as soon as I open the razor at one time I was honing 2-3 times a day, needless to say I wore down a lot of razors early on.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

I won't say it's a waste of time I say do what you think works for you, if you feel the edge is better by progressively stropping on say 3-5 different types of leather and you do hundreds of laps each time then go for it, for me I as stated have tried it using three different strops and did 100 laps on each strop using the same razor, I used a Scrupleworks oil tanned, TM Spanish bridle and a Kanayama 70, I did my progressive stropping routine on a razor that had just been honed and was a solid HHT4+ as I used .5 CrOx and .25 diamond paste just to get the keenest edge possible after coming off my JNAT and the shaves were super good all 5 shaves then I used just linen and leather and did 20/40 and the shaves were as good for the next 5 shaves, maybe some can tell the difference but I personally could not and I don't base my shaves on an HHT so i say do what works, heck I hone razors that shave really well just to hone so thats the same as progressive stroppingin my opinion but I love to hone but now after several years I am finally figuring out that a blade can only be so sharp.

wow.. i wouldn't have said it better!!! and i agree with you on the later post.. a balde can only be so sharp... but I wouldn't mind if the whiskers fell off as soon as you open the razor.. soon enough you would have a razor SO sharp, that you bears wouldn't even grow again out of pure fear!!!! haha

as for chasing the perfect edge.. is it not the path of the human being to try to find perfection in whatever endeavor he or she wants to run?

Originally Posted by Gasman

I agree 100%. Now if I can just find that one strop that is just perfect. Guess I'll have to buy another 5 or 6 for testing. LOL My Latigo just doesn't make me happy at all. Thinking I'll have to pay the fee so I can sell a few things in the future. Starting with the SRD Latigo.

i dont know man, i have avoid my latigo for a while since I was using only one strop... but now that i'm doing progressions all the time. latigo is a must.. i also have a SRD... black stuff.. if you are willing to let it go there i always someone that can offer your SRD latigo a home LOL maybe in a beautiful country in central america.. HAHAHA

who knows.. maybe in the future you will be more into using two strops instead of one!!!

BTW that bufalo you have.. is it also from SRD??? i've been thinking i should get one of those some day... just to see what's the fuzz :P

Yes, Buffalo is the SRD strop. I loke the feel of it. Not a lot of drag on it and i find rubbing it brings the drag up some but then it slowly gets less as you keep going. At this time it is my go-to strop.

Originally Posted by Gasman

So whats your opinion of the sequence of leather?

At this time; I start with my Scrupleworks and finish with my Scrupleworks - the same one.

Got the Scrupleworks around the same time I got my Kanayama 70,000, but I took so much of a liking to the Scrupleworks that the Kanayama never had a chance.
In fact, I found the Kanayama somewhat cumbersome to use, the Scrupleworks leather is all I ever hoped for, and the strop is much more ergonomically to use.


While I am prepared to invest more time in a straight shave than in a shave with a safety razor, there is a tradeoff between the extra time I am willing to spend and the improvement that I expect to see.

Using your example; as I cannot see any measurable improvements, I cannot find any justification to go to such extreme lengths.

Your findings might be different, but for me this is a non-starter.




B.

Well, thats the nice thing about this forum. We can all have our different opinions and it all good.

Here is how I got to stropping a lot after honing. At the time I was honing to 8K. The shaves always got smoother after about 3 or 4 shaves. That is the shaves got really great after about 300 or 400 rounds on the strop. I thought what if I strop 400 passes right after I hone. It has been smooth shaves ever since. Then other things happened, new hones and new razors and more hones and more strops. I think in the end I could have been getting great shaves with my 8K and stropping a ton after each honing session. There are a lot of us chasing that last few percent of sharpness or smoothness and not just in progressive stropping. 20K synthetic hones, stacks of naturals from all over the globe. It sure is a lot of fun.

I use progressive stropping after honing only.
Like Rezdog, I learned long ago how good stropping and lots of it improves an edge and increases comfort of the shave.

My progression after honing is accomplished by first a hundred passes on a lead-treated hanging strop followed by 2 or 3 different leathers on Lipshaw strops, depending upon the grind of the blade.

Heavier grinds will get 100 on a heavy-draw English bridle from Neil Miller which was treated with 3 coats of oil by Neil Himself. No need to use this one on thinner grinds, so the next in the progression is Neil's lightly oiled red bridle. This one has a much lighter draw and is where I begin on thinner blades. 100 more on the heavies and 200 as-beginning with the thin ones.

I end my after-honing strop progression with a super-slick panel of European Tallow tanned shell.

In doing this, my freshly-honed blades are comfortable and smooth right away.

Future stroppings could be on any one of several different hanging strops before and after shaving, 40 on Lipshaw black and 80 on Neil's Red bridle gets them back in the rack.

I always go from heavy to light. Some say it matters not.
I say they have no idea. Works for me! JMHO....YMMV.

I like stropping. A lot.

I did an experiment to see if too much stropping can harm an edge. It doesn't. I did 1000 laps from my heavest draw to the lightest, the shave was nothing less than perfect.

As long as your having fun carry on.