The straight razor R+D thread

[Legion]

This thread is for you tinkerers out there. The folks who just Can't leave things alone.

Have you experimented with something new and novel to try and improve the straight razor experience? Have you tried to use a material or product that you have never seen used for shaving purposes before? Or have your secret experiments found the ultimate way to make your blade so sharp it can split the atom?

We want to know about it. The successes, the failures or just the harebrained, inebriated ideas you have come up with and thought "I wonder if that would work?"

If you have tried, or thought of trying, an idea that you think might be new to us, post it here and let us know how it goes. Or maybe just get yourself a bit of feedback.

Remember, as Charles F. Kettering wrote “If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.”

[Luc]

[cough] Kangaroo strop [/cough]

Can you please talk a bit about it?

I owned one, very very thin leather, it worked well. I was always affraid to cut the strop in half, it's so thin, credit card thin.

[Gustav]

I have been toying with the idea of shaving using grape seed oil or something similar instead of lather so you could actually see the stubble get mowed down. It would also give me some rough idea of which passes are the most effective. Sure you can see that in the used lather but it would be nice to have some instant feed back.

[Legion]

[cough] Kangaroo strop [/cough]

Can you please talk a bit about it?

I owned one, very very thin leather, it worked well. I was always affraid to cut the strop in half, it's so thin, credit card thin.

Sure.

It is thin But roo leather is one of the strongest leathers in the world for its weight. (This wont stop you cutting it in half, though. )

Kangaroos do not sweat, so the grain of the leather is very fine. This makes for a very smooth and even drawing strop that works very nicely at aligning an edge.

Because of the leathers thinness most of my experiments thus far have had the leather bonded to paddle strops, and that works very well. I have formed the opinion that stability in a strop can be a very good thing when it comes to maintaining the bevel on a blade once it it set by a hone. The combination of a thin yet tactile leather and a stable fixed backing would seem to provide this.

I have also been doing a lot of experimenting with different substances, and combinations of substances, to change the draw on the leather, and what effect that has on the edge. Also, like cow leather, there are different grades and tanning processes that roo leather can have, so more trials there.

I'm pretty happy with the way the paddles are going out thus far. Next up I am going to start doing some prototype hanging strops using kangaroo leather, in combination with other materials, to make as close as I can to an Uber-Strop. I'm going to combine things and try to take the best characteristics of two different materials, both structurally and stropping wise. Two different leathers, unusual modern and traditional "linen" components, That sort of thing. I'm just waiting on some hardware I have ordered to show up for them. I'll be keeping you up to date with my progress on that.

I like to experiment. I read these old manuals and they talk about things like stropping on dolphin leather or honing with whale oil. Obviously that sort of material is not a goer any more, but I look around and think "what can I try that the old guys didn't have?" "If I combine this traditional practice with modern ideas and technology can I do it better than they could?"

So I experiment and play. I just get a headache trying to make my beard grow faster so I can do everything as quickly as possible.
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[Legion]

I have been toying with the idea of shaving using grape seed oil or something similar instead of lather so you could actually see the stubble get mowed down. It would also give me some rough idea of which passes are the most effective. Sure you can see that in the used lather but it would be nice to have some instant feed back.

Yeah. That is an interesting idea. It reminds me of a product that is available in Australia called Milk which I did a review on here. It is more of a cream that doesn't lather and you just spread on with your hands. You can see the stubble get mowed but it is hard to see where you have already shaved and no longer has any product left. So you end up going over the same bit with no lubrication sometimes.

Cool idea though. Grape seed oil is probably good for the skin too.

[Seraphim]

Tinker with shaving stuff?


Nah...who would do such a thing?!

[Drybonz]

How about a knife with a built-in, mini blow torch to cauterize your cuts as you shave?

[Seraphim]

How about a knife with a built-in, mini blow torch to cauterize your cuts as you shave?

Just heat up teh straught red hot before shaving, and it will have similar effects, I'd wager....

[Drybonz]

Just heat up teh straught red hot before shaving, and it will have similar effects, I'd wager....

Now you're thinking!

[JeffE]

You guys are thinking too small. I need some kind of advanced, alien-tech, Romulan cloaking device for my shaving gear collection -- keeps the CFO from doing an inventory!!

[Troggie]

You guys are thinking too small. I need some kind of advanced, alien-tech, Romulan cloaking device for my shaving gear collection -- keeps the CFO from doing an inventory!!

keep the expensive ones in your sock drawer.. they never look there

[Drybonz]

keep the expensive ones in your sock drawer.. they never look there

Hmm... how about a medicine cabinet that looks like a sock drawer? I think we could sell those.

...or maybe a sock drawer with a false bottom and secret compartment?

[wdwrx]

great idea for a thread.
Tinker... I got that one down.
I've been struggling to get my coti edges as sharp as I can, and so I've tried a few different honing fluids. Whale oil is out, these days, but I've tried honing with a few different viscosity oils and other fluids, the one that provides the finest edge I've gotten yet is Johnsons and Johnson's baby oil, stinks to high heavens though. Rubbing alcohol and glycerine, EVOO and canola oil, castor oil and medical grade mineral oil, even, once, vinegar. They all seemed to set a finer edge than straight water (except the rubbing alcohol.... )
A good friend of mine has had really good luck using coffee as a honing fluid on his cotis, and though I am at a loss as to exactly what the effect is, I have noticed that it seems to accelerate the build up of swarf.
I've also made a few attempts to hone a blade that has been heated in near boiling water. Well worth a try, as there is a distinct and noticable change in the draw across the stone. Finer edge or not, I can't really say.
I've tried several differently pasted strops; coti slurry powder, BBW slurry powder, graphite and wax, and I have sanded my Kanayama linen to damp down the vibrations. The coti slurry pasted strop seems to add a bit of keenness to an edge that might be lacking that little bit extra. The graphite is a nice touch too as it seems to really smooth the edge out. But, to be honest, nothing has worked as well for me as using oil coming off my coti. It's made all my pasted strops redundant.
Future experiments will involve impregnating my Kanayama linen with beeswax and a further sanding, and figuring out a way to make a strop out of silk.
As you may be able to tell, I haven't done anything truly original, most of my inspiration has come from old publications from the day when every man jack shaved with a straight razor. It's cool to follow in their footsteps, especially since I'm shaving with their razors.

[twoods]

Very interesting ideas bud. I know a coticule isn't porous like a Norton stone, but wouldn't the oil mess up the stone ? I sometimes use dish soap or lather on it.

JF

[wdwrx]

Very interesting ideas bud. I know a coticule isn't porous like a Norton stone, but wouldn't the oil mess up the stone ? I sometimes use dish soap or lather on it.

JF

Not at all. Bart mentioned once that he experienced a bit of staining on one particular stone, but IIRC, it didn't affect the stone in any other way.
I haven't noticed any draw backs, or staining, other than having to clean the stone, and the stone functions perfectly with water for raising slurry and doing a normal dilucot after having had the oil on it.

I thought I'd try oil on it one day when I noticed that the box of my vintage said "Can be used with water or oil." I went away from it for a while, but I've now come back to it as a regular part of my regime.
I have a feeling that shaving lather performs very much the same, though it's been a while now, I'd noticed that the edge was finer than what I had been able to achieve with just water. I also noticed that the lather offered some support to the blade, making even lighter strokes possible.... I should try using lather again and compare the final results.

[twoods]

I find that a nice layer of lather works extremely well. Gives a nice cushion and provide for the smoothest stroke. I also use it almost every time I hone. Good to see another canuck

[Legion]

great idea for a thread.
Tinker... I got that one down.
I've been struggling to get my coti edges as sharp as I can, and so I've tried a few different honing fluids. Whale oil is out, these days, but I've tried honing with a few different viscosity oils and other fluids, the one that provides the finest edge I've gotten yet is Johnsons and Johnson's baby oil, stinks to high heavens though. Rubbing alcohol and glycerine, EVOO and canola oil, castor oil and medical grade mineral oil, even, once, vinegar. They all seemed to set a finer edge than straight water (except the rubbing alcohol.... )
A good friend of mine has had really good luck using coffee as a honing fluid on his cotis, and though I am at a loss as to exactly what the effect is, I have noticed that it seems to accelerate the build up of swarf.
I've also made a few attempts to hone a blade that has been heated in near boiling water. Well worth a try, as there is a distinct and noticable change in the draw across the stone. Finer edge or not, I can't really say.
I've tried several differently pasted strops; coti slurry powder, BBW slurry powder, graphite and wax, and I have sanded my Kanayama linen to damp down the vibrations. The coti slurry pasted strop seems to add a bit of keenness to an edge that might be lacking that little bit extra. The graphite is a nice touch too as it seems to really smooth the edge out. But, to be honest, nothing has worked as well for me as using oil coming off my coti. It's made all my pasted strops redundant.
Future experiments will involve impregnating my Kanayama linen with beeswax and a further sanding, and figuring out a way to make a strop out of silk.
As you may be able to tell, I haven't done anything truly original, most of my inspiration has come from old publications from the day when every man jack shaved with a straight razor. It's cool to follow in their footsteps, especially since I'm shaving with their razors.

Heaps of interesting ideas to ponder. Well done!

[honed]

I love this thread!
Tinkering is the way to go thru life with style.
I'll contribute myself soon, promise!