Thread: Ballistol & Horse Hide experiment

Weeper Update - Day 3

It is still a weeper maker, about the same number of weepers as the day prior. I used the same preparation. 10 On Linen, 50 on Nylon, 50 on Ballistol conditioned Horse Butt strop. I am still stropping with the Horse Hide strop flat on the bench.

The shave is very smooth & comfortable and I do not feel the cuts during the shave. The fine weepers disappear and seal up with a cold water rinse and leave no marks or open back up.

Again I suspect this is a result of the synergy of paste, Nylon strop & final finishing on Ballistol Horse Hide.

Originally as a test, I had applied Ballistol on a small scrap of Cowhide about a 3 X ½ X 3/16 inch thick. I applied it to half of the piece with a Q-Tip. The Ballistol treated part is clearly more flexible than the untreated section, almost like rubber. The Ballistol does impart some new flexibility to the leather and feels similar to rubber.

Horse Hide does appear to be, denser than cowhide. The Horse Butt strop I have is about a 1/8 inch thick. I suspect it does not deflect under compression as much as cowhide due to its composition and thickness. Thereby Horse Hide does not have the tendency to roll an edged as much as cowhide which may explain the results I am getting.

Edge rolling is something that those new to stropping seem to have a problem with, which is why I believe Nylon/Poly, should be the strop to learn on. Another benefit is Nylon/Poly is almost impossible to nick and as a result allow new stoppers to learn the physical mechanics of stropping without slashing a leather strop.

Which brings up the common issue with honing on a stone and the varying results and resulting in numerous threads on the subject -“Pressure”.

Pressure clearly has a dramatic effect on honing the bevel no matter the stone used. This has to have the same effect on stropping and stropping materials. Any strop that compresses less would have less chance to roll the edge and there by polish the edge without rolling it. This is the strength of Poly/Nylon combined with the abrasiveness of nylon/poly and Horse Hide or possibly other dense abrasive hides.

Photo 1 test razor and Horse Butt strop
Photo 2 Razor, Strop & test scrap Left half treated.
Photo 3 Test Scrap Left half treated
Photo 4 Ballistol treated half under compression
Photo 5 Un-treated half under compression
Photo 6 Surface view Treated under compression
Photo 7 Surface view Un-treated under compression.

What the photos do no demonstrate is under compression (in Photos 6 & 7) the treated section is much smoother that the untreated. The untreated feels rough with hairline cracks.

Ballistol does treat the leather making it smoother while not increasing the draw as much as oil based product such as Neets Foot or Olive Oil.

I like the Horse Hide more as compared to Cow Hide, especially treated with Ballistol.


Marty

Mart, very informative. Thanks for sharing.. :~)
How is the blade now??

To each his own, I guess.

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

To each his own, I guess.

+1 to that...

Forgive my ignorance, What the Hell is a Weeper Maker...I know Boiler Maker, Widow Maker, Peace Maker, etc...

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

To each his own, I guess.

Well that is obvious..

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

To each his own, I guess.

Originally Posted by Domino

Well that is obvious..

Obvious, yet apparently misunderstood. This most likely was a polite way of saying that some would not consider "weepers" to be a goal for their shave.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding.... I can't speak for Marty but I don't think his intended goal was for "weepers".