Re-Stroping with paste ?????

[GsSixgun]

OK maybe this is my imagination, so I'm asking if anybody else has tried this, or has noticed this???
I am actually doing a complete re-stropping of all my newly honed razors, after the first shave. Now I'm not talking about just a naked leather pre-shave strop, I'm taking them each back to a red paste paddle then the black then the linen the the naked leather. I am getting a way sharper and smoother blade edge this way.
Maybe you have noticed, that the first shave from a honed and stropped razor is pretty good, then when you revisit that razor, you do your normal pre-shave strop, and then shave. Now comes the revelation, WOW, that was a way better shave.... Hmmmmm must have let the blade rest, and the edge aligned, yeah, yeah, right. Here is what I think and maybe I wrong but I'm finding a whole new level of sharpness from not just 1 or 2 razors but from every razor I've tried it on. I think after you hone and strop you can only get the razor so sharp, then you shave, and I think that you create small serrations in the blade edge, then the blade rests at least overnight and the edge comes back a little. So when you strop in a normal pre-shave you smooth these serrations and get a slightly sharper blade and your happy.
So what I have been doing now is taking that second stropping a little farther, I wait at least 24 hours then take the blade back to a red pasted paddle then all the way back through step my step to naked leather and I am getting a significant improvement in sharpness...
Now your first thought was that I didn't have the blade very sharp to begin with You will just have to take my word for this that I did, and try this out for yourself... I think you might find a whole new level of sharpness there... And if you have already tried this please leave a post and let me know about your results

 

[mparker762]

If your original honing was done on the pasted strops then the edge should have been aligned about as well as it will ever be aligned. It's possible that you are overhoning your edges a bit on the original honing, and the leather stropping and shave cleans this off so that when you go back to the pastes you're starting with a relatively clean edge.

It's also possible that you simply stopped too soon on the original honing. This could be because your sharpness test isn't sensitive enough and is telling you the razor is sharp enough before it really is sharp enough. Next time you need to refresh your blades try doing twice the normal number of laps on the pastes strops and see if that also gets you to the same level of sharpness as the hone/shave/paste sequence.

I do find on some of my hones that I get somewhat better edges if I strop on leather a few laps, then do a few laps on the hone, then strop a few laps. But I've always found that if it takes multiple honings to get a blade up to snuff then this means there was a problem with the initial honing.

 

[richard12550]

Hi, just a newbie here to straight razor shaving. But I just read a article about this problem you are having. It expains that a wire edge can develop if honed incorrectly. That edge breaks off during shaving. So you need to strop again with paste. But, the same wire edge returns!
Can anyone explain this? Probably due to incorrect honing!

 

[GsSixgun]

Now your first thought was that I didn't have the blade very sharp to begin with You will just have to take my word for this that I did, and try this out for yourself...
This is why I put this in here, trust me the blades are wicked sharp to start with, and there is no Fin, (wire edge) to break off and rebuild... but after I re-strop it's just smoother and sharper, try it and see if I'm not right!!!!

 

[FloppyShoes]

In theory, there will always be a very tiny wire edge if you hone CORRECTLY. Incorrect honing will cause this wire edge to be too big or to break off. A very small wire edge is okay, since it is quite sharp. It never lasts long, however, and breaks off or gets mangled on the first shave. Then a little pasted stropping is needed to clean off the mangled wire edge and expose the true cutting edge. This edge then lasts 'till the next honing. That's how I imagine it anyways. I base this only on my experience and a vivid imagination.

Cheers

 

[GsSixgun]

OK I hereby give up on this thread... thanks for all the advice and ideas but thats not what I was writing about, so I'll just keep doing what is working for me... and I'll enjoy my nice smooth shaves every morning

 

[Suzuki]

OK I hereby give up on this thread... thanks for all the advice and ideas but thats not what I was writing about, so I'll just keep doing what is working for me... and I'll enjoy my nice smooth shaves every morning

And that's all that matters - what works for you!

Glad you found somehthing that does.

 

[ouch]

Sorry you didn't get the response you were looking for in 28 hours.