Thread: Newbie needs help,, in Red Deer Alberta

Thanks for the suggestions. I should mention that I strop my razor flat.

Not sure where to go at this point. The only wet stones I have are stones I have used for many years on my hunting knives. I wouldn't dare put a straight razor on it.

Chris

Don't touch the razor to a stone, YET !!! hehehe

I am trying to remember who is in Red Deer but there is somebody up there hopefully they will chime in here...

I am going to adjust your Thread title to reflect that too
Maybe that will get you some hands on help

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Don't touch the razor to a stone, YET !!! hehehe

I am trying to remember who is in Red Deer but there is somebody up there hopefully they will chime in here...

I am going to adjust your Thread title to reflect that too
Maybe that will get you some hands on help

Thank you Glen! Most appreciated and my apologies for the duplicate thread.

Kind regards

Chris in Red Deer, Alberta

Even if you're keeping the blade flat while stropping, you need to be wary of using pressure when stropping. That could damage the edge.

One other thing to consider is stropping speed. There have been some (unscientific, but still compelling) studies that have shown that you need to strop pretty quickly to get any real benefit. Also, if you stop with your edge on the strop at each end of your stroke, you'll almost certainly damage the edge, as I don't think it's possible to completely avoid moving the blade edge first - ever so slightly.

I don't know about Red Deer, but Ryan82 and Catrentshaving are both in Edmonton. It might be worth while to PM them. Good luck!

Thanks for all the comments and information. My stropping speed is pretty slow actually as I am fearful of damaging my razor.

My last question is: Can I repair/fix my blade/problem simply by stropping?
By that I mean strop 50/50 on each side of the paddle, test the blade, strop again...Repeat as necessary until I take a shave test?

Thanks again

Chris

Chris,

You'll have to experiment with speeds. You don't need to have the razor zipping up and down the strop like you see in some of the videos, but it should still be pretty quick.

Also, when you strop slower the tendency is to use more pressure than you're aware of (at least for me).

With some quick stropping on linen and then leather, you should be able to reclaim some sharpness on your razors. Since they're already at the point where you're considering sending them out for honing, you don't have much to lose in working on your stropping technique first.

All the best.

Yohann