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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, JULY 16, 2021
Yesterday I received a remarkably clever stropping device called a constroption from Howard Schechter I’ve never liked using hanging strops, probably due to my Parkinson’s, and have been a devoted paddle strop guy as a result. Howard is one of the renowned honemeisters out there, and my oldest son’s honing guru. The device consists of four progressively treated strops from 0.5 micron on strop #1 to 50,000 grit on side 4. It’s a simple four sided wooden device that turns on a central axis, allowing the user to rotate the working surface. The first two surfaces (#1 & #2) are the typical 0.5 and 0.25 microns, but the last two (#3 & #4) consist of special grits developed by Howard, who, by the way, has a background in academic geology. After using it, I'm hooked.
I grabbed my Japanese silver steel Tanifuji Airi 11/16 which I thought was ready for a trip back to the stones for this morning’s mug shave.. The constroption not only restored the edge, but seemed to impart a level of keenness I’ve never experienced with this razor before. The result was one of the closest shaves ever. I’ll be spending the rest of the morning running all the rest of my straights through it. I don’t know if it was my technique improving or the stropping received, but after two passes I was oh-so-smooth! My nickel plated Shake Sharp cleaned my dome up in two ATG passes. I feel clean, cool and dolphin smooth!
RAZOR: Tanifuji Airi 11/16 (Mug), Nickel Plated Shake Sharp (Noggin)
BLADE: Two stacked Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
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