I've been reading a website that looks at the edges of straight razors under a microscope. Link Now this guy claims that this very inexpensive product on a pasted denim strop produces wonderful results. After honing stones of 1k or better. And following up with a plain leather strop. This sounds a bit out there. Anyone ever try this?
I can barely hone with stones, I volunteer to watch. I can always play the Korea card, I can't buy that here and it will never make it through customs.
Long before the Internet I used Simi-Chrome metal polish on the backside of my Linen to smooth up the feel of the edge There are actually tons of these ideas sprinkled throughout the Old Barbers manuals from Pencil Lead on Newsprint to actual Lead rubbed on Leather
As a polishing agent ??? Yes, The problem with that Blog, is the experience at Honing SR's by the author, basically the blog was/is written by a novice honer with access to an SEM,, that has always been a point of contention.. Can you shave with a 1k edge ??? Yes been proved many times, since I said it about 7 years ago, there is even a thread about people proving the statement on SRP Can you improve that edge by using a Polishing agent after you have a solid bevel set ???? Yes Is this a viable method to attain and hold a shaving edge ??? Yes Are there better methods/systems ??? Yes You have to at some point realize they are two separate and distinct types of Shavers out there and a whole spectrum between the two... #1 Shavers #2 Hobbyists #1 Just wants to shave #2 Has embraced that SR shaving is actually a hobby, and pursue a level of performance that is beyond simply removing the hair from one's face So it depends on where you are at withing that spectrum
Well as a guy who actually has friends with PHDs who work in the research field... I did notice that his science was a bit skewed towards the results he wished for. He left too many variables to random chance. How far he was skewing his research was the main question on my mind. His pictures of razor edges are fantastic and can be used for understanding the edges we create. But his conclusions are out in left field. No proper scientific research creates conclusions but creates only associations. And variables such as pressure, length of stropping leather the edge is exposed to, speed of honing and stropping, and etc should have been removed from the equation. His pictures do expose such things like burs, chips, what happens to a blade after shaving and etc.
Does it ???? We don't know that the edge was honed to full potential at the outset, or was it one of the few razors that he honed multiple times over and over ??? What was the most disappointing is that several Experienced Canadian SR honers offered to help but were ignored, I often wondered at the outcome if they had honed the razors The potential for real research was at our fingertips