How to maintain a stainless straight?

[Hak.1963]

Hi all!

I have a few vintage straight razors from Heljestrand, Jernbolaget and Giant (Sheffield).
They are all carbon steel and they are easy to strop before the shave, but I don't use my straights so often.

I also have two shavettes, a Dovo Stainless and a Parker SRX, wich I use more often than my vintage straights.

I am thinking of buying a modern stainless steel straight razor but how do one maintain a stainless?
Do I have to hone it with a stone every now and then?
How will a strop work on a stainless?
I heard that you can use a strop with a special paste, true?

 

[rbscebu]

I have a few (23) stainless steel SR's varying in hardness from about 63 to 70 RHC. Normal high carbon steel SR's (I have 9) will have a hardness of about 60 RHC or less.

All stainless steels oxidise, mostly forming chromium oxide rather than iron oxide (a.k.a. rust). To help reduce oxidisation, particularly at the edge, I keep all my blades oiled between uses.

Harder steels take longer to hone, as in time, not pressure, with my 70 RHC blades taking about twice as long as 60 RHC. That being said, most harder steel keeps its edge longer without more honing.

As for stropping, no "special" pastes are needed (if you insist on using pastes). All you need do is normal clean leather stropping. You will find that you might have to increase your stropping laps buy up to 50% with high hardness steels.

Maintenance on all my SR's (stainless steel or not) is normally; clean leather stropping (50 to 80 laps) before each use, about 8 laps on clean linen after use to dry and clean the edge, followed by 50 to 60 laps on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop before oiling and putting away. Works well for me and blades never need honing again.

 

[Hak.1963]

Thank you @rbscebu for a very good and detailed answer

So, normal leather strop but more "laps" on the strop will do the trick.

 

[rbscebu]

Thank you @rbscebu for a very good and detailed answer

So, normal leather strop but more "laps" on the strop will do the trick.

Yes, but not a lot more. My stroppping technique has developed to where I can "feel" and "hear" when a blade is sufficiently stropped. My normal high carbon steel blades need about 50 to 60 laps and up to about 80 to 90 laps for my hardest stainless steel blades.