This want I am using. I prefer this size because I prefer not to have a substrate.
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-H...es/Wood/Balsa-Wood-Block---1-x-2-x-12/p/26518
How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop
- Thread starter Slash McCoy
- Start date
This want I am using. I prefer this size because I prefer not to have a substrate.
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-H...es/Wood/Balsa-Wood-Block---1-x-2-x-12/p/26518
Question about skipping stropping for a few days.
Can I shave Monday to Friday, ignoring the balsa, then on Saturday morning use the .5u, then the .25u then the .1u to make it good again? Would it really have gone south to a serious degree?
Would be nice to travel with a Method edge, packing only leather, and leave the delicate balsa at home.
Can I shave Monday to Friday, ignoring the balsa, then on Saturday morning use the .5u, then the .25u then the .1u to make it good again? Would it really have gone south to a serious degree?
Would be nice to travel with a Method edge, packing only leather, and leave the delicate balsa at home.
- Thread starter
- #843
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
That will work. Going back to the .5u and doing all three stages will bring it right back up, most likely. If it still feels really really sharp, maybe just go a dozen on the .5u and your normal lappage for the other two grits.
If it were necessary, I do believe it possible.
That's good to know. I have those lovely balsas in .5 and .25, just sitting there. Would be good to use them.
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
I've done that successfully. Three or four days worth, no problem.
Again, when I use my Feather SS with Pro Guard blades, each shave would degrade the blade to some degree. I assume the same goes for a SR. I do 15 linen and 25 horse post shave including palm stropping between passes.
Before shaving I have settled into 25 linen and 50 plus horse followed by palm stropping. I do believe these simple practices can help preserve. After shaving I leave the razor open while I am away at work to dry.
My friend @steveclarkus has recently started using a couple of his shavettes. These are a fun alternative to traveling with a proper SR. If you decide on a shavette, let me heartily recommend the folding Feather SS with Pro Guard blades. These are very nice quality shavettes and the blades last decades....LOL!!
I have a question about ongoing improvement.
I have a straight that I maintain exclusively on balsa. In the last couple months I've been really paying attention to the honing. About once a week I return it to the progression of .5u, .25u and .1u. And on some days I also give it a bit more laps on the .1u than the Method calls for.
I also upgraded my balsa to nice big 8x3's. And I'm taking care when I hone. Nice careful x strokes.
I seem to be noticing a slight ongoing improvement.
Or it may just be that my shaving technique is what's improving.
Do other people notice that over time, your Method edge continues to improve and improve? Or do you just get to that good stage and plateau there?
I have a straight that I maintain exclusively on balsa. In the last couple months I've been really paying attention to the honing. About once a week I return it to the progression of .5u, .25u and .1u. And on some days I also give it a bit more laps on the .1u than the Method calls for.
I also upgraded my balsa to nice big 8x3's. And I'm taking care when I hone. Nice careful x strokes.
I seem to be noticing a slight ongoing improvement.
Or it may just be that my shaving technique is what's improving.
Do other people notice that over time, your Method edge continues to improve and improve? Or do you just get to that good stage and plateau there?
- Thread starter
- #849
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
It seems to be a diminishing returns thing. As the path stretches off into the infinite, more incremental iotas of improvement become more harder won, and less noticeable. Once you get your first edge that matches a Feather DE, it sort of becomes physically impossible to find increased sharpness. That is my observation, and anyone who disagrees, I will not argue. The curve of the reality approaches the plane of the infinitely perfect in ever closer distances, but never ever actually touching. There comes a point where sharpness is limited by the granularity of even the best steel with the best heat treatment.
I honestly can't imagine stropping on something so short. Do try, some day, to put together a set of 12" balsa strops.
But yeah, your shave technique most probably is improving. That doesn't mean your edges aren't also improving, though.
I honestly can't imagine stropping on something so short. Do try, some day, to put together a set of 12" balsa strops.
But yeah, your shave technique most probably is improving. That doesn't mean your edges aren't also improving, though.
I wrote 8x3. It's actually a 12x3 balsa. All three balsa strops are big, with one inch fat acrylic under them. I like em huge.
Yeah, Slash, I think what's happening is both things.
I'm getting a bit better at the balsa stopping.
And I'm getting a bit better with my shave technique.
What a nice hobby this is.
Oh, I should say that the Method edge is super sharp. Today's lesson is that I should not do an evening shave after a couple martinis. Photo below for proof.
Yeah, Slash, I think what's happening is both things.
I'm getting a bit better at the balsa stopping.
And I'm getting a bit better with my shave technique.
What a nice hobby this is.
Oh, I should say that the Method edge is super sharp. Today's lesson is that I should not do an evening shave after a couple martinis. Photo below for proof.
And here's an idea. See if you agree or not.
I've changed from balsa use after every shave. Now, I shave for a week with only leather, then on Saturday morning, give it .5u, .25u then .1u. Fifty laps each.
I only did it for convenience. Because I have more time on Saturday mornings.
And Slash said it would be ok. And he was right.
But you know, I'm starting to suspect that the Weekly Method is creating a sharper edge than the Daily Method.
Anybody else have ideas or experience on this?
These are small changes and its easy to fool oneself.
I've changed from balsa use after every shave. Now, I shave for a week with only leather, then on Saturday morning, give it .5u, .25u then .1u. Fifty laps each.
I only did it for convenience. Because I have more time on Saturday mornings.
And Slash said it would be ok. And he was right.
But you know, I'm starting to suspect that the Weekly Method is creating a sharper edge than the Daily Method.
Anybody else have ideas or experience on this?
These are small changes and its easy to fool oneself.
Well, I suppose I'm answering my own question. Yesterday I felt my balsa honed Bismarck was not quite as impressive as I like. It's seen nothing but leather for nearly a week.
So I gave it fifty on the .5u, .25u and .1u.
Then leather this morning. And had a very very nice shave indeed. Sharp and smooth.
I wait a handful of days doing leather only, no balsa at all. then to the trio of balsa. Been doing it like this for some weeks now.
I really think I am preferring this method. And that's saying a lot, considering I'm comparing it to daily .1u after every shave, which itself is a good method.
Of course another factor may be that today for the first time I tried Mitchell's Wool Soap, and was very impressed with it.
So I gave it fifty on the .5u, .25u and .1u.
Then leather this morning. And had a very very nice shave indeed. Sharp and smooth.
I wait a handful of days doing leather only, no balsa at all. then to the trio of balsa. Been doing it like this for some weeks now.
I really think I am preferring this method. And that's saying a lot, considering I'm comparing it to daily .1u after every shave, which itself is a good method.
Of course another factor may be that today for the first time I tried Mitchell's Wool Soap, and was very impressed with it.
- Thread starter
- #853
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Obviously it works good for you. It would work pretty good for anyone. Myself, I do think that daily stropping on the .1u balsa is superior, (though not by much), due to reduced wear, and continuous max sharpness instead of peak sharpness once a week. YMMV and there is no law saying you HAVE to totally optimize things anyway. There are other factors at play, such as convenience.
I think a raw newbie ought to stick with the program as per The Method. Once you have created a few crazy sharp Method edges, nothing wrong with going off and doing your own thing.
I think a raw newbie ought to stick with the program as per The Method. Once you have created a few crazy sharp Method edges, nothing wrong with going off and doing your own thing.
I think I am liking the change. The edge goes a bit south. Then I bring it back and really enjoy it’s perfection.
I can see eventually getting yo the stage where I just want it good every day.
I can see eventually getting yo the stage where I just want it good every day.
And another thing I am trying. It's a compromise. I found doing forty on leather and fifty on balsa, every time, to be a bit much.
So the compromise is twenty on leather then shave, then twenty on balsa then put it away.
I know that with only twenty on the balsa, eventually the edge will go a touch south. But then I'll go to the .5u, .25u and .1u balsa and bring it back. And that's ok, because that happens on a saturday morning when I'm doing everything else anyway. The other razors on the black ark, lapping my hones, topping up the Ballistol, all the enjoyable calming hobby things on a weekend morning.
I don't mind doing twenty and twenty every time.
So the compromise is twenty on leather then shave, then twenty on balsa then put it away.
I know that with only twenty on the balsa, eventually the edge will go a touch south. But then I'll go to the .5u, .25u and .1u balsa and bring it back. And that's ok, because that happens on a saturday morning when I'm doing everything else anyway. The other razors on the black ark, lapping my hones, topping up the Ballistol, all the enjoyable calming hobby things on a weekend morning.
I don't mind doing twenty and twenty every time.
So far this seems to be working out well for me.
Just twenty on the .1u after each shave.
Then on saturday morning bring it all back with fifty on the .5, .25 and .1.
Wow, definitely very sharp after that. My saturday shave was excellent.
Just twenty on the .1u after each shave.
Then on saturday morning bring it all back with fifty on the .5, .25 and .1.
Wow, definitely very sharp after that. My saturday shave was excellent.
Just curious... How many shaves do you get, with 0.10u touch ups, before going the full diamond progression? Is that 3, 5, or 7 shaves Saturday to Saturday?
It's about seven or eight shaves. During this experiment I'm just using the one blade. And occasionally I'll do a second shave in the evening.
I do twenty on leather before the shave, then twenty on the .1u after the shave.
This is all so subjective. The Saturday morning shave, after the balsa trio, feels excellent, but that's probably just as much to do with the fact that it was slowly dulling during the week, as to do with how wonderful a balsa trio is.
Those who like honing would like the fact that the blade loses some edge, and then suddenly comes springing back to life after a balsa trio.
Those who are just into shaving, I think they wouldn't like this. They would want it to be always same same, so they would prefer The Method.
No idea what I'll want in a few months. Probably change my method again.
I do twenty on leather before the shave, then twenty on the .1u after the shave.
This is all so subjective. The Saturday morning shave, after the balsa trio, feels excellent, but that's probably just as much to do with the fact that it was slowly dulling during the week, as to do with how wonderful a balsa trio is.
Those who like honing would like the fact that the blade loses some edge, and then suddenly comes springing back to life after a balsa trio.
Those who are just into shaving, I think they wouldn't like this. They would want it to be always same same, so they would prefer The Method.
No idea what I'll want in a few months. Probably change my method again.
All of it is very subjective. I've had shaves where I was sure that the edge was 'off', and the next week using the same razor with nothing but the normal stropping on clean strops the shave was great. Same soap same prep same everything.
Agreed, it's all very subjective. The key is to find what works for you.
7 razors on deck for the week with a weekly trip to the 0.1u to tune up the edge with 60 laps seems to suit me just fine. And it only takes me 20 minutes a week.
7 razors on deck for the week with a weekly trip to the 0.1u to tune up the edge with 60 laps seems to suit me just fine. And it only takes me 20 minutes a week.
