I’m still thinking that stropping is a highly overrated activity.
According to Brad Maggard, old soft Sheffield steel “springs back to life” when stropped. I’m now thinking that a comparative Sheffield edition of the #NoStrop challenge is in order for science.
I got my smush today, thanks @[email protected]!
The edge has hit its stride and – at peak smoothness now – is a joy to use. I like hollow grounds for their gentle touch, and I like heavy blades for their smoothness ATG. When a comparatively light blade like this one gives you a smooth fool’s pass, you know the edge is on point.
I saw and photographed split tips in the brush a few days ago, but I can’t find them anymore, and the brush seems in no hurry to start a mass splitting event. I’m starting to feel impatient.
Oops, almost forgot to post my shave. This day really got away from me.
Good shave, still enjoying my choices.
A puck of tallow Tabac
It’s honing weekend in the HoneMeisterschaft! I.e., the first time since August started participants actually should do something 😅
I have a fairly minimalist honing setup. For instance, despite being tempted on multiple occasions, I have not yet dived into the natural stone finishers. I have a Naniwa 3k/10k Super Stone combination stone, a lapping plate to keep it flat, and a big bag full of styrofoam packing peanuts (actual styro, not the starch-based bio-degradable ones). I also have a Jeweller’s loupe, but I’m not using it anymore. That’s it.
The 3k side is maybe a bit fine for setting bevels, but with a bit of patience, I’ve also managed that in the past (even on chonky vintage wedges with wide bevels).
Is partially copied from “Simple Straight Razor Honing” on Science of Sharp, but instead of counting strokes, I rely on how the razor feels on the hone and, most importantly, the @[email protected] packing peanut test (here shown on a styrofoam deco ball, but packing peanuts are cheaper and work just as well).
Starting out honing razors, the most difficult part for me was to figure out what works and what doesn’t. I’d frequently spend an hour or more honing a razor without palpable progress. I tried to visualise progress using loupes, a microscope lens, etc. Every once in a while, I’d get that glorious edge through trial and error, but the lack of reproducibility was frustrating. At some point, @[email protected] shared with me how he uses packing peanuts to test the progress he makes during honing, and it’s been the missing link to get reproducible sharp edges. Styrofoam has thin membranes around porous beads or puffs. It’s a bit like a tomato in that a sharp knife slices through the skin effortlessly and allows you to make clean cuts, while a blunt knife struggles to cut the skin and crushes the meat underneath. Packing peanuts are like that and make the difference between more and less sharp parts of the edge obvious. Except, the peanuts all feel exactly the same.
Even though a few laps on the finisher would have been just fine for refreshing today, I decided to do the whole process.
I soaked the water stone for a bit over ten minutes. It hasn’t been lapped in a while and looks correspondingly dirty in the water bath.
There were a few dished areas of the stone,
and lapping both sides flat took a while.
With a freshly flattened and soaked stone, I started off by thoroughly killing the edge,
An then rebuilt it with trailing edge strokes on the 3k side, frequently interrupting to check my progress on packing peanuts. At first, progress is very fast and some areas of the edge become noticeably sharper than others. This shows where to apply more pressure and when the edge felt uniformly sharp, I moved over to the finisher side. Same process again, trailing edge strokes and peanut tests until it’s uniformly sharp enough to just melt into the styrofoam.
To finish, I stropped on chromium oxide-loaded canvas for a few laps to get any potential burrs of and smooth out any potential rough bits (I only use loaded canvas right after honing, and only clean canvas and leather after that) and test again on the peanut. (The reason for that last test is that some razors I’ve honed for the first time got really sharp on the peanut test, but after stropping would feel horrible. The edges would just crumble during the first shave. This can be remedied by killing the edge and start over from a coarse stone to cut away the weak surface steel).
Now I’m not sure how it went for everyone else, but my blade did not really need a refresh of its edge yet, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the refresh. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a huge difference. The fool’s pass did feel noticeably smoother, and that’s always nice.
Great shave today, and I’m looking forward to reading all the honing posts today. Have a great Sunday!
No, not at all. There were the first two or so shaves when I thought the edge changed (smoothed out or settled), but that might also just be getting used to the new edge. Nothing after that.
I still expect to get a difference from the refresh, though. At least I hope so, or else the next HoneMeisterschaft will have to be a 2 month challenge🙂
Your no strop project seems to show a bit of edge deterioration, if I read your SOTDs right.
Ot made me think that I’d like to try a direct comparison using two razors with similar edges and steel and use them alternatingly, stropping one but not the other until a difference manifests. Might take a while, though.
some of the more subtle nuisance
Great autocorrect 😂
I think I know what you mean. I can’t get bored of it either. Not for nothing that Varen is one of only two full size soaps I’ve killed
I’m in the phase of AA where routine has taken over. My lather is great, the brush is breaking in nicely, and the edge is still comfortable. The edge refresh weekend of HoneMeisterschaft comes just in time to make things interesting again.
I’ll try to find a moment tonight after Djunior’s bedtime to give the Frio a fresh new edge for the remainder of August, and I’m looking forward to reading the other HoneMeinsters’ pets about refreshing their edges and the difference it makes.
Varen is a fantastic choice for AA. I did Varen February last year and I loved it.
Great shave this morning, the edge is still going strong at 14 uses.
Fellow $HoneMeistershaft participants: remember this weekend to refresh your edge!
I shaved early this morning, but didn’t get a chance to post until now.
I’ve gone practically nose-blind to Roman Spice. Bummer.
Good shave, otherwise!
Quick morning shave before a busy day. I found the first split tips, we’re officially entering the next phase of operation Raw Hoggin’.
These averages seem high, no? I remember using my Moar Boar for killing Varen, and using about 1.5 g per day
Ah. Not a ringing endorsement
Yeah, it’s easy to get nose blind to RS, it seems
That sounds right. Its tips haven’t started splitting yet
Day 21/31 of Looking for Serenity in Austerity
Solid shave, the routine continues.
$FriodomRiders $HoneMeisterschaft $RawHoggin