I know this will be controversial but nothing wrong with a good punch up now and then!
I have heard that you should rest your blade between shaves, the reason being that the edge will "reset" or "restore" itself somewhat. Of course you still have to strop it before lathering up. Not sure how long the rest period is supposed to be, but I can see the sense in giving your blade a rest. I usually leave it a week and fortunately, I currently have 6 shave ready razors in my roll and I have the luxury of being able to do this. One of the downsides of course, is that you don't get a couple of days in a row to get familiar and comfortable with your blade. Although I have used the same blade a few days/shaves in a row to get more used to it.
I know full well that a lot of people will think that resting your blade is a old wives' tale and won't be afraid to tell me. That's OK, just as long as you can spin a good argument.
I should add that at the present I am currently up to shave number 68 (yes, sadly I document my shaves on a spreadsheet) so I have yet to reach that magical figure of 100, and to be totally honest, with my skill level, I can't really tell the difference between resting it a week or going a few days in a row - either on my face or on the strop, or treetopping. The blades just seem to take it in their stride.
When I get a bit more skill, I should do a comparison with a couple of good blades, ie Sheffield or Solingen and a Gold Dollar and put the theory to the test.
cheers
Andrew
I have heard that you should rest your blade between shaves, the reason being that the edge will "reset" or "restore" itself somewhat. Of course you still have to strop it before lathering up. Not sure how long the rest period is supposed to be, but I can see the sense in giving your blade a rest. I usually leave it a week and fortunately, I currently have 6 shave ready razors in my roll and I have the luxury of being able to do this. One of the downsides of course, is that you don't get a couple of days in a row to get familiar and comfortable with your blade. Although I have used the same blade a few days/shaves in a row to get more used to it.
I know full well that a lot of people will think that resting your blade is a old wives' tale and won't be afraid to tell me. That's OK, just as long as you can spin a good argument.
I should add that at the present I am currently up to shave number 68 (yes, sadly I document my shaves on a spreadsheet) so I have yet to reach that magical figure of 100, and to be totally honest, with my skill level, I can't really tell the difference between resting it a week or going a few days in a row - either on my face or on the strop, or treetopping. The blades just seem to take it in their stride.
When I get a bit more skill, I should do a comparison with a couple of good blades, ie Sheffield or Solingen and a Gold Dollar and put the theory to the test.
cheers
Andrew