I think we all know the importance of leather stropping to maintain a straight razor.
In my opinion there is allot more potential then it's given credit for. The leather contains silica, which polish to some degree, however there is also allot more going on if you can exploit it.
I have noticed that the draw of the strop changes as the razor starts to conform to the leather. Light weight of the razor work on the strop does not give the same results.
I have not used any linen for this "test"
A schematic overview of the effect. This is not new information. For rotating steel component this wear mechanism is well documented.
This is a test i did today using a Dovo razor i honed on a coticule. The coticule edges look quite ugly under magnification. However, they show this effect quite well.
This is a La Veinette coticule edge honed with slurry to clear water.
This is after 50 laps on clean leather. Not much change is seen. However, there is some effect at this stage.
Now the razor is stropped until i feel a change in the draw. The razor is starting to conform to the leather. Fast strokes and more pressure is used. The results are in my opinion quite noticeable, and it's not just a polishing affect from the silica in the leather. I have not rounded the edge past the size of the existing serrations.
I also find it more difficult to achieve with stiff wide strops. This was done using a inexpensive buffalo hide strop, which does have a fast draw. A latigo strop with more friction might have worked faster. I have not tested this using different strops.
In my opinion there is allot more potential then it's given credit for. The leather contains silica, which polish to some degree, however there is also allot more going on if you can exploit it.
I have noticed that the draw of the strop changes as the razor starts to conform to the leather. Light weight of the razor work on the strop does not give the same results.
I have not used any linen for this "test"
A schematic overview of the effect. This is not new information. For rotating steel component this wear mechanism is well documented.
This is a test i did today using a Dovo razor i honed on a coticule. The coticule edges look quite ugly under magnification. However, they show this effect quite well.
This is a La Veinette coticule edge honed with slurry to clear water.
Now the razor is stropped until i feel a change in the draw. The razor is starting to conform to the leather. Fast strokes and more pressure is used. The results are in my opinion quite noticeable, and it's not just a polishing affect from the silica in the leather. I have not rounded the edge past the size of the existing serrations.
I also find it more difficult to achieve with stiff wide strops. This was done using a inexpensive buffalo hide strop, which does have a fast draw. A latigo strop with more friction might have worked faster. I have not tested this using different strops.
