Rolls-stropping your DE blades 101....

Just so you know, I have more money than Davey Crockett. I do not do this because of money. I do it because it makes for a more pleasant shave. Stropping does not sharpen the blade at all. It only realigns the edge, thus smoothing it out. And a smoother edge makes for a smoother shave. If you would actually try it, I think you just might agree. But then again, I have only been wet-shaving for over half a century.........

 

Rollsshaver check this out

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350158838215&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:1123

An ad for the Rolls razor for framing

 

Glad to hear you are doing so well ! Pretty sure Crockett wasn't chasing money

 

Yeah, I stole that line from Forrest Gump. Remember when he is telling the folks on the bench about Bubba Gump Shrimp? Yup.........

Lee, I urge you to at least try the entire cork/strop technique at least with one blade. Use the same setup the whole time you are using that blade, and I promise you will notice that your shaves are smoother, and you may even get a few more out of the blade.

 

Oh, a newbie then! heheh

Ha! Bubba Gump Shrimp! I'd forgotten about that!

I'll second that. I use an edge once then toss. Since I've started stropping, that hasn't changed (yet, anyway...) But I've noticed the shaves ARE smoother.

My third try: I used my Ingersoll with it's leather strop. Same excellent results. I was in a hurry. I did three passes quickly. After the first pass when I stroked WTG, it felt BBS. I could feel some stubble AGT, but the 1.5 day growth was MUCH shorter. After 3 passes, not quite BBS, but the best hurried shave in memory. Oh yeah, no nicks or irritation. My "red mustache," is almost completely gone.

My Ingersoll is a fidgety to load. Sliding the handle closed over the blade, it doesn't go over the end of the blade easily. Tomorrow, I'll try my Gaylor handle. Hopefully it'll be easier to load. Then it on to the crank stroppers, Sharpen-M-All, and JCPenny Moredge.

I may try to smooth off the end of slider on the Ingersoll to help it close easier.

Great stuff! Thanks for the inspiration, Rolls.

 

hmmm I am going to have to give this a try, the only part that bothers me is the additional steps to take the blade out and re-install it; but if it gives better results then it may be worth the time..

 

Thanks!

Great info to know.

 

Yeah, I working those number as I do this: Definitely a better shave, but is it worth the extra blade handling? I wouldn't want to shave with a blade I dropped on the floor next to the toilet! And one slice through a finger will undo all that stropping in a hurry! :happy102

Fourth try: The Gaylor was easier to load than the Ingersoll. It also seemed easier to get the blade angle on the strop right. Shave results were pretty much the same, as I expected as I used the same (Ingersoll) leather. Flipping the blade in the Gaylor means rotating the mount. The handle has to go under the leather. With the Ingersoll, just flip the whole thing over.

Next, I'm going to try to tweek the Ingersoll so it will load easier. Then I'll move onto the crank stoppers.

See my last post for links to pictures from stropper.com.

Cheers!

 

It usually takes just a few seconds to take the blade out of any razor, even three piece Techs. It is definitely worth the extra few moments.

 

Well this will be on tap for tomorrows shave then, I forgot today... My memory does not work so well in the morning apparently...

 

I will give it a try

 

I am willing to try stropping the DE blades. I just went and stropped the ones that I have in my razors currently in rotation. I feel a lot more comfortable with the heel of my hand like Dave shows in his video, but I tried some each way.

I typically shave after showering at about 4:20 AM. I don't think that I like the idea of stropping before I shave under those conditions. What if I strop the blade before I go to sleep the night before? The blade would be dry and "rested" from the previous shave.

 

Is this done before ever shave?

 

Yup............................

But, only the stropping part. You should only "cork" the blade when you first open it.

 

Good nuff fo me...............Im trying it tomorrow

Ive been corking the Feathers but no others and I will give the stropping a fair shake.
Gotta say I thought Id seen it all, but...................NO!

 

You should see a blade under low magnification under a microscope before and after stroping. You'll strop everytime after that

 

WOuld you happen to have such photos? If so, can you please post them?

 

I wish I did but I don't have the photo equipment for that. I'm in the process of getting some goodies to run it though the computer. It's not cheap so it may take me a month or so to get setup. I can post pics then.

 

Check this link to some that were posted by Leisureguy
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...b/showthread.php?t=39835&highlight=microscope

 

All those pics are just of basic, unused blades. I would like to see a blade that has been used at least once, before and after being stropped. And also a comparison of a fresh blade, before and after corking.......