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Is it ok to hone and strop double edged razor blades?

My grandfather did it every day. He'd strop them on a glass in the bathroom. Must have worked since he used the same blade seemingly forever.
 
Your grandfathers bladed most likely were uncoated carbon steel .Modern blades have coatings so I would not strop .A lot of blades shave even smoother after first shave . D/E blades are very cheap and will last for a least a week depending on how tough your beard is .
 
Your grandfathers bladed most likely were uncoated carbon steel .Modern blades have coatings so I would not strop .A lot of blades shave even smoother after first shave . D/E blades are very cheap and will last for a least a week depending on how tough your beard is .

Why is it a bad idea to strop coated carbon steel?
 
Stropping will most likely remove the coating which makes the blade feel smooth .In some cases a few laps may improve blade feel .But one pass on a shave will probably smooth the blade out a little .You can experiment to see if stropping helps .For me it would not be worth the effort if you a just trying to use the blade longer .Good blades range from 6-14 cents and will last a least a week .
 
Blades would have been a lot more expensive relative to income then. However, if it works and you like doing it, why not?
 
R

romsitsa

Hello,

modern blades are plated, this gives the final shaving edge. Stroping/honing simply removes this plating, so it can be done, but it won’t restore the edge.

Adam
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
All you can really do is give it a go and see what results you get. If you think that it works then great, if not then what have you lost. A bit of time and maybe a little skin.
 
Hello,

modern blades are plated, this gives the final shaving edge. Stroping/honing simply removes this plating, so it can be done, but it won’t restore the edge.

Adam
But they’re honed before they're plated so perhaps you’d end up with some kind of edge that could be restored....a plain steel edge? And they’re not all plated are they?
 
I wouldn't bother to strop de blades since they are cheap.
However, if the zombie apocalypse happens I would try to stretch the life of the blades by stropping them.
The most important thing when the zombies walks round the corner is to stay clean shaved.
 
To hone a DE blade, you'd need a holder that positions the blade at the correct angle.
I've honed Personna blades for a Sextoblade using a sacrificial Weck razor.... I can't say the honing was a success, but sharpening on a pasted strop was 'almost' a success. Stropping in general was better overall but still not worth doing IMO.

Many modern blades are triple beveled so finding a holder that positions the blade correctly for honing is a challenge. The metal is thin and prone to flexing, which is problematic. I am not certain that it would hold up well for anything other than a 'tune up'. For stropping, the same concerns apply, but maybe it's not so critical.
 
Why not to bother? Reason #1: they only cost a dime. Mine anyway. I toss most after 2 shaves. I will sometimes hand-strop before a shave if I see soap residue from the last shave on the blade edge.
 
To hone a DE blade, you'd need a holder that positions the blade at the correct angle.
I've honed Personna blades for a Sextoblade using a sacrificial Weck razor.... I can't say the honing was a success, but sharpening on a pasted strop was 'almost' a success. Stropping in general was better overall but still not worth doing IMO.

Many modern blades are triple beveled so finding a holder that positions the blade correctly for honing is a challenge. The metal is thin and prone to flexing, which is problematic. I am not certain that it would hold up well for anything other than a 'tune up'. For stropping, the same concerns apply, but maybe it's not so critical.
This. With a traditional straight, the spine sets the angle for you but its much more difficult to do that with a DE because the blade in flat.
While you might be able to get a bit more life out of a DE blade by stropping it, the benefits are probably minimal and DE blades are so cheap that its probably not worth the effort unless you are REALLY cheap.
 
Recently I shaved a few times with a 1910-dated Gillette 3-hole blade in an erly single-ring Gillette. I did have to sharpen/hone the blade on a vintage purpose-made DE razor hone and it did work. I did it just for the experiment of it. Regardless, it did not shave as well as a modern feather or polsilver blade I can get for a few cents.

So is it worth it? Not really. Was it a fun experiment? yup.
 
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