Rolls-stropping your DE blades 101....

Yep, I did a quick search just to find something. The Qx3 microscope is what I'm working towards that will give great photos of used blades after various stages of use and care.

 

I got my second Rolls today by the way--very neat contraptions

 

Have you used the other one yet?

 

Jeez......... I am helping to hijack my own thread................

 

LOL----no it just arrived about an hour ago My very good friend Eric (Omegapd) gets this one.

 

I'm keeping the original box and instructions though

 

Cool.........

Okay. Lets get back on topic now.............

 

Will do------

 

I get nothing... I will have to check the post again from home.

I am certainly interested to see what difference stropping makes. Then I would like to see the difference between stropping on your arm and stropping on the heel of your hand.

Oh... is there truly an optimum number of times to strop each side of the blade? For some reason once I start hand stropping, I want to just keep on going.

 

Honestly, the very best results come from using an actual razor strop or a horsehide belt. But, most DE users do not have one, so your forearm is a suitable replacement.

 

It turned out tweeking the Ingersoll so it closes over the blade easier was trivial. I pulled the slider back (open) all the way, held the handle and pushed the blade holder so it bent ever so slightly away from the slider. That opened up just a tiny gap that allowed the slider to go right over the balde and still hold it well.

Next I tried the JCPenny Moredge. This was pretty easy to load and use. When the lid is closed, the blade is held between four rollers with spirals of leather around them. Turning the crank turns the rollers so both side of both edges are stropped at the same time.

Finally the Sharpen-M-All. This is very similar to the Moredge, but has two rollers instead. It strops one side of both edges at a time. To strop the othe side, the blade hold is flipped over. One also has to hold the blade holder in place with the thumb while stropping.

All in all, these stroppers produced about the same results: a nice smooth edge for a nice smooth shave. The Ingersoll on the arm was the easiest for me. No strap to worry about, easy to load and store once loaded. I liked the way the Gaylor worked but could see maintaining the leather getting tiresome over time. The Moredge would probably be my second place just behind the Ingersoll.

All these blades were "corked" on a styrofoam packing peanut once after opening and stropped before each use. It definately improves the shave. While I'm pleased with the results, I still haven't decided for myself if it's worth the extra handling. I'm going to try a week on and a week off to see.

Thanks so much for the tip and inspiration to try out my stroppers! Excellent thread!

 

I tried this over the last few weeks with feather blades and didnt really notice a difference in the amount of shaves I get out of a blade..

I usually get 4 shaves out of a feather before I can tell that they need to be changed. With the stropping I got 4 normal shaves but trying the 5th my face had some razor burn and red marks that I have never gotten before.

My wife also saw me doing this on my arm in the morning and freaked out.. she thought I was trying to cut myself. I guess I should have warned her before I started doing it that I was trying out something new!

 

ANy of you guys still stropping? If so, what have your results been like with various blades?

 

Still stropping. I don't know if I have noticed any difference. However, I am using different blades so I don't have experience with the blades without stropping.

 

Since I am only a straight razor user, I am not sure whether this is a good video or not. However, after reading Rolls' description of how he strops his blades, this looks pretty close to me (except this guy strops on the side of the hand).

Rolls, please comment on what you think of this - is this kinda the idea?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogq4wfpT7hc

James.

 

I have seen this video. I believe he is a member of some of the forums, but I forget his SN.

To me, just using that little space on the side of your hand might not be enough.

Okay, James. Imagine using a strop for your straights that was no longer than a dollar bill. It would most likely not be as efficient in realigning and polishing the edge as a longer strop would. What do you think?

Same principle goes for any other blade really. The longer the stroke you can make during your stropping pass (so long as you are able to hold the blade flat and not roll the edge), the better.

All this is just based on the observations I have made during a lifetime of being a shave geek.

 

Ahh, yes I see what you mean. It is certainly true that straight razor stropping is more efficient with a reasonable length strop than a shorter one. And thinking about it, the DE blades are also, like a straight, just sharpened metal. Stropping them makes perfect sense to me!

Actually, honing (sharpening) them makes perfect sense to me too. I have seen in antiques shops curved glass-like instruments for just such a purpose, I think. I also have a stone with a V cut into one side which I assume was used for sharpening DE blades also.

Thanks for the info Rolls! One last thing - can you roll the edge of a DE blade by incorrect stropping, like you can with a straight? I suppose if you did this by using your own skin, you would have a bit more to worry about than rolling the edge, huh?

James.

 

James, I think the rolling that could happen while stropping on your arm would be very minimal compared to what can happen while using a leather strap.

I actually have a handful of strops that I use from time to time also. Two old Illinios strops, a Russian "red shell", a neat little yellow horsehide travel strop, and one that I have no idea where it is from, but it has a horsehide strap, a pasted canvas strap, and a felted strap all in one strop. I use that one the most, starting with the felt, and then the pasted, and then the leather.

 

Still doing it. Cork on a packing peanut with a fresh blade, first use only. Strop 4X each face of the blade down the arm before each shave.

I'm not 100% that it does do anything. I'm also not 100% that it doesn't help at all. It takes less than a minute, and I'm willing to take Rolls' word for it that it does.

 

Thanks Rolls. I guess I have never thought about it before, but I imagine the historical transition from straights to safety razors would have dragged with it some of the straight paraphernalia.

Sounds like you have some ripping strops!

James.