How often do you use a pasted strop?

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
SolingenFan
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How often do you use a pasted strop?

Post by SolingenFan »

I use it every 2-3 shaves.
5-10 strokes.
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

I think that going to a pasted strop every 2-3 shaves is a bit soon. What grit?
Richard
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ScottS
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Post by ScottS »

Are you using an unpasted strop with each shave???
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Chifunda
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Post by Chifunda »

I seldom use a straight anymore but for at least two years I shaved with nothing but. I had four razors in my rotation and used an unpasted strop ~ 20-25 strokes before each shave. Every three to four weeks I would give each one ten or a dozen passes on a HandAmerican pad with green chromium oxide.

Only once did I have to resort to a Norton hone, and that was to repair a ding caused by ticking the edge of my Puma against a faucet. :roll: :(
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

ScottS wrote:Are you using an unpasted strop with each shave???
I don't know how to keep the razor sharp enough otherwise.
If I don't put it on a red pasted strop, it will not cut easily enough.

Is rotating several razors a solution to this?
dada
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Post by dada »

This is the first time I hear about anything like this. You should be able to get at least 7-14 shaves with leather only from a quality razor with a good edge.

Is your beard extremely tough? How often do you change DEs?

Can it be that the edge was not properrly honed when you started, and just needs some foundation work that can't be fixed by the paste? I don't use many pastes (just Chromium) but I hear they make for a somewhat fragile edge and round the bevel - maybe this is the issue?

If you don't have a hone, I can take a look at the edge and work on it if you are willing to pay shipping (pm me if interested)

Cheers
Ivo
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Post by mparker762 »

SolingenFan wrote:
ScottS wrote:Are you using an unpasted strop with each shave???
I don't know how to keep the razor sharp enough otherwise.
If I don't put it on a red pasted strop, it will not cut easily enough.

Is rotating several razors a solution to this?
2-3 shaves is less than you can get out of a DE. The linen is your primary means of keeping your razor sharp - if it isn't staying sharp then you need more laps on the linen. How many your razor takes depends on a number of factors, such as the pH of your water, the toughness of your beard, etc. I think on his DVD that Lynn says he does 25 laps on the linen every day; it takes me about 50 to keep the razor sharp. This is the first time I've stuck with a single razor long-term to really dial in my linen technique, but I'm nearly two months in and it's not getting any duller.

How many daily laps on the linen are you doing now?
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

How many daily laps on the linen are you doing now?

I do about 5-10
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Post by mparker762 »

SolingenFan wrote:
How many daily laps on the linen are you doing now?

I do about 5-10
That's not nearly enough. The linen is your primary finishing/refreshing hone, but it's slow so it needs a lot of laps. Try doing a lot more, say 25 or 30, and see if the edges last any longer. Some of the linen today doesn't do much (Illinois linen has some plastic coating that renders it nearly useless), but the linen on my old Jemico Bismark strop seemed to work fine, and the stuff on my vintage strops work great. I've got a Tony Miller linen strop that works pretty well also, though I don't have as much time on it as the others. But 5-10 laps definitely isn't enough on any unpasted linen strop. On his DVD Lynn says he does 25 laps on the linen before each shave, and I do well with 40-50 really light laps on the linen and about 20 laps on the leather every morning. It's something you'll have to experiment with.
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

I hope that works!
I will respond as soon as I have my next shave.

Need to recover now from 2 consecutive days of WTGXTGATG shaving.
:oops:

I have a Dovo strop.
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

mparker762 !

How can I thank you.

My blade has become razor-sharp!!
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Post by mparker762 »

SolingenFan wrote:mparker762 !

How can I thank you.

My blade has become razor-sharp!!
Glad to help :D Everybody knows that you're supposed to refresh on the finest grit hone available, then fall back to coarser grits as that one fails, but it's easy to forget that your "finest grit hone" is your linen. The next step is to figure out how many laps you need to do each day to keep the razor at a constant level of sharpness. For me that seems to be somewhere between 40 and 50, but it may be less for you, and there's no point doing the extra laps if you don't need them. But it's nice to know that you can refresh a dullish razor on the linen if you need to, and stropping on the linen is a lot easier than trying to get that perfect edge on a hone.
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

I did WTG and ATG. And on the cheeks some XTG in both directions.
My cheeks are as soft as baby-skin now. Brilliant.
It did make a huge difference.


The razor could for the first time actually cut without pressing on it,
I just used the razor's own weight, and let it glide.

However, I start thinking, since it still took some effort ,
if it is better to find a heavier razor.

I now have a Dovo, but don't know what specs it has.
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Post by mparker762 »

Or use less pressure when stropping on the linen. It's like any other hone, the less pressure you use the sharper the resulting edge will be. I've got a heavy beard, and I've been using a singing TI, and the strop will get it sharp enough that I have to be careful or I'll get razor burn.
SolingenFan
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Post by SolingenFan »

I am getting the feel of moving the razor on the strop
with only gravity to push it.
For shaving:
I do short , consecutive strokes, and position the blade
so that it cuts "like a guillotine" , I mean leading with the tip.

I guess the next thing will be to learn avoiding accidents, since this blade is now quite easily cutting through my skin as well.
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Post by EL Alamein »

Some very good advice in this thread. That said, in answer to the original question I never use a pasted strop on my personal shavers. I go right from the hone to the strop. I do use my linen every day though.

Chris
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

Chris and mparker, what is your advice for the best linen? Tony Miller's linen feels very rough and I'm interested in his genuine linen. I also have an Illinois 127 whose linen I feel indifferent towards.
Richard
EL Alamein
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Post by EL Alamein »

Richard, I'm partial to the linens of yesteryear myself. Illinois made a linen that was light green in color and very stiff/starchy but not as stiff as the one they make today. This green linen is one that I have used for many years and it works very well for me. I am a little biased towards it since it is what my very first strop came with.

I have also tried the older fire hose type linens and although they are nice I don't find them to be as effective. I do not like the very stiff white linen Illinois uses today.

The other linen I like is the chalky white linen that the Jemico red Russian strops come with. They seem to do a very nice job for me as well.

Chris
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

Where is a good place to pick up a Jemico?
Richard
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Post by sebell »

I like the linen on my Dovo Best Russian strop. It is a
genuine linen treated with some of their white paste I
believe.

- Scott
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