Stropping instead of Corking?

I have been experimenting with several blades in my new Weber PH over the last month or so. After trying many I have come to the conclusion that, for me, Feather and Personna Med Prep are where it's at. The Feather is obviously sharper, but tends to leave me with a few weepers now and again. The med Prep is smoother, but I would prefer it to be a little sharper. So, while searching the endless posts of this forum I ran across a mention of "CORKING".

Is this a possible way to bridge the gap between the two? Could I possibly be capable of smoothing out a Feather? So I began my search for a cork, or even a piece of Styrofoam as recommended in another post. NOTHING! I am not a wine drinker. I prefer Jamison on the rocks and don't make a habit of collecting the evidence.

As I pondered my dilemma I began to think back a few months to my interest in straight razor shaving. Why cant I just strop a DE blade? So I tried it and experienced the best shave since I started with the Weber. In fact, I believe it was probably my best shave ever. A smooth and bloodless BBS shave with 2 passes and a touchup.

So if you use feather blades but wish they were a little more forgiving, try a light stropping. I gave each side of the blade one swipe on the leather and it completely mellowed it out. I have found my blade.

Definitely do what works for you. For me - I would rather not fuss with stropping or corking razor blades unless nothing else worked. But there are so many blades choices out there, I just find one that works well for me right out of the box.

Just be advised that pretty much all razor blades caution you not to wipe the blade. My guess is two things: it could remove the blade coatings, or it is a lawyer inspired product safety warning.

Then again, it is just shaving, so do what works for you.

Stropping/corking DE blades is one of the more controversial subjects on B&B, like The Veg, Arko, Tabac, pre-shave oil, numbers printed on the DE blades, etc.

Can you describe how you strop it, how do you get the right angle so as not to round the trailing edge?

I use the Feathers mostly when using a DE, and hand stop them, right when opened and after each shave. Seems to work for me, but haven't really put a lot of effort in finding out whether it is effective or an affectation ..

To strop it I hold the blade cocked to one side so as to avoid manipulating the angle and lightly strop one length of the leather per side just as you would do a straight razor. It doesn't seem to take much. just smoothing out the rough edges left from manufacturing.

Since I only find corks from the Big 8 of Bordeaux to be effective, it's too expensive for me.

Bladeslinger said:

To strop it I hold the blade cocked to one side so as to avoid manipulating the angle and lightly strop one length of the leather per side just as you would do a straight razor. It doesn't seem to take much. just smoothing out the rough edges left from manufacturing.

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There are no "rough edges left from manufacturing". Frankly, you are simply dulling the blade and removing the sputtering deposits that are applied to the edge, after the final grind/hone. My suggestion would be to find a different blade that feels comfortable to your face, straight out of the wrapper and into your razor.

Galaktus said:

Just be advised that pretty much all razor blades caution you not to wipe the blade. My guess is two things: it could remove the blade coatings, or it is a lawyer inspired product safety warning.

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Coatings, in my opinion. The warnings first appeared in the early 1960s, around the same time as coated blades. Before then gents used to wipe off their uncoated carbon steel blades, to prevent rust. Here are some early Krona blade packs of the Kuhnl type. Based on patent dates, I think the pack with "DO NOT WIPE" on it is 1965 or later and the other is 1963 or later.



Here is an modern Personna, unused, before and after corking. To me it seems clear that the coating has been disturbed. Of course that might improve the shave for some gents: YMMV and all that.

Mischka said:

There are no "rough edges left from manufacturing".

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Try a Balaka carbon blade and let me know how that worked for you.

Galaktus said:

Try a Balaka carbon blade and let me know how that worked for you.

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I was referring to the specific brand, Feather. QC is top notch on their manufacturing line. I am unfamiliar with the Bangladesh plant where Balaka originate, so I cannot vouch for them.

Every blade has a degree of roughness.

I have recently been learning to hone straight razors. I have been concentrating on setting a bevel with a 4K waterstone prior to finishing on an 8K. The 4K edge is capable of shaving my face but the shave is rough since the edge is sharp yet jagged. By taking it down to 8K the edge is not really that much sharper, just smoother, and produces a much more comfortable shave. The same principal exists with DE blades. Some are smooth. Some are sharper. The best are both.

My purpose for presenting this post was to share my experience. I have quite a few feather blades, among others. I appreciate the level of sharpness that they offer, but feel that they could be smoother. So as an experiment I attempted to smooth them out a bit. I believe it worked. Have I damaged the coating? Probably. Do I care about the coating when I have just achieved a better shave? Hell no!!! There are no coatings on any of the edges of my straights and they shave beautifully.

Just something to ponder.

Amen, brother.

dreadpirate said:

Definitely do what works for you. For me - I would rather not fuss with stropping or corking razor blades unless nothing else worked. But there are so many blades choices out there, I just find one that works well for me right out of the box.

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Sounds to me that turning a 30 cent blade into a 10 cent Astra blade does not make economic sense.

This is the reason I just don't use Feather's anymore. So many other DE's out there that are both sharp and smooth. I want a blade I enjoy using from the first shave with no fuss.

Feathers cost to much for me since Red Personna's and Astra SP work just fine.

I tried hand stopping as an experiment...I didn't notice much of a difference with any blade I used. I keep to a '3 and out' policy. Good blades needn't cost the earth. I'm happy just to toss them as they wear. 3 shaves from a Platinum Lux is fine for the money. Personna Blue Labs cost around twice that of Rapiras but still represent reasonable value so they go at 3 as well.

I like to palm strop my blades, just about between every shave. It smooths them out and gives more shaves from them, at least for

me that is... as usual though YMMV.

Mischka said:

I was referring to the specific brand, Feather. QC is top notch on their manufacturing line. I am unfamiliar with the Bangladesh plant where Balaka originate, so I cannot vouch for them.

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Ah, sorry. I tried a Balaka once, I got about 1 inch under my sideburn, and that 1 inch journey told me that they are crap blades.