My Face is in Ray's Hands .....

[jgkeegan]

Some of you might have read this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163363&highlight=thirdeye

Yesterday, at a garage sale, I came across a glass strop and I purchased it. I just performed Ray's 50 strokes per side (kind of suggestive, isn't it) on a new Bluebird Blade which I will use tomorrow morning in my VISION at the same setting that I have been using. (I will also have a back-up, unstropped blade nearbye just in case). I haven't cut, nicked or scraped myself this year. If I die of razor cuts tomorrow, you all know who to hold responsible.

James

 

[Shavely Manden]

I stopped by Ray's shop a couple of weeks ago, and he was kind enough to demonstrate the stropping to me before he put it on the site. However, I've got to say that it didn't do much for me--the only time I've cut my face to shreds with a fresh Iridium was after my first and only attempt at stropping. Ah, well...YMMV, as ever.

 

[Doric]

Sounds interesting, if it serves you well I may just have to try it out myself.

 

[BladeRunner001]

Some of you might have read this thread:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163363&highlight=thirdeye

Yesterday, at a garage sale, I came across a glass strop and I purchased it. I just performed Ray's 50 strokes per side (kind of suggestive, isn't it) on a new Bluebird Blade which I will use tomorrow morning in my VISION at the same setting that I have been using. (I will also have a back-up, unstropped blade nearbye just in case). I haven't cut, nicked or scraped myself this year. If I die of razor cuts tomorrow, you all know who to hold responsible.

James

I would say that your face is in good hands

 

[jgkeegan]

Sounds interesting, if it serves you well I may just have to try it out myself.

If I survive, I'll follow-up in the morning.

As I understand it, this does NOT sharpen the blade but simply makes it smoother.

The Bluebirds are pretty smooth but Ray said he tried it on a lot of different blades, which is what I might do if it seems to work.

James

 

[Swampfox]

Oh, that Ray! I was going to say, if your face was in my hands, you might end up being dropped into a vat of acid! (Take note of my current avatar.)

 

[jgkeegan]

I am alive.

In fact, I am no different than I was yesterday, except I am a day older.

My shave went exactly as it would have if I had NOT stropped the blade, as far as I can tell anyway.

Maybe I am a lousy stropper. Hmmmmm.

Then again, maybe one time is not a good enough sample.

James

 

[DE Shaver]

At risk at sounding a little flippant, I think the effort isn't worth it. Stropping is really meant for knives and straight razors (reusable blades) and not thin, disposable DE razor blades. Considering you haven't had any nicks or cuts, what problem are you trying to resolve? I presume you just want a smoother shave.

 

[jgkeegan]

At risk at sounding a little flippant, I think the effort isn't worth it. Stropping is really meant for knives and straight razors (reusable blades) and not thin, disposable DE razor blades. Considering you haven't had any nicks or cuts, what problem are you trying to resolve? I presume you just want a smoother shave.

Flippant is next to godliness!!

There was no problem to resolve. My actions simply represented my ever present drive to experiment and try new things.

I like Ray and I wanted to see if it worked as well for me. As I said, I'm jot at all sure I recognized any difference.

 

[DE Shaver]

Flippant is next to godliness!!

There was no problem to resolve. My actions simply represented my ever present drive to experiment and try new things.

I like Ray and I wanted to see if it worked as well for me. As I said, I'm jot at all sure I recognized any difference.

Ah... I can appreciate that. Likewise, I now have a sizable number of razor blades because wanted to experiment with them. Have fun then!

 

[jgkeegan]

Ah... I can appreciate that. Likewise, I now have a sizable number of razor blades because wanted to experiment with them. Have fun then!

Same here, although I have fallen into an erratic rotation involving Kai's, Feathers, Super Irridiums, Bluebirds, and the Bolzano Superinox Inossidabiles.

I have a small package of Big Bens I want to try, and I'd also like to try the Rainbows, but haven't really come across any lately.

 

[kingfisher]

Same here, although I have fallen into an erratic rotation involving Kai's, Feathers, Super Irridiums, Bluebirds, and the Bolzano Superinox Inossidabiles.

....

Which do you prefer between the Kai's and the Bolzano's? Just curious.

 

[jgkeegan]

Which do you prefer between the Kai's and the Bolzano's? Just curious.

The Kais.

But you should know that I often like most the blade I used last. In this case, I tried to make an honest reply but I did use Kais more recently than Balzano.

 

[Shavely Manden]

I am alive.

In fact, I am no different than I was yesterday, except I am a day older.

My shave went exactly as it would have if I had NOT stropped the blade, as far as I can tell anyway.

Maybe I am a lousy stropper. Hmmmmm.

Then again, maybe one time is not a good enough sample.

James

Did you use any water? Ray did mention in his post that a dry strop didn't seem to do any good, but the addition of soapy water made the difference.

 

[jgkeegan]

Did you use any water? Ray did mention in his post that a dry strop didn't seem to do any good, but the addition of soapy water made the difference.

Of course! I used soapy water, just as Ray suggested.

The thing is, Bluebirds are smooth anyway, at least in the razors I have used them with. My shave today was smooth, just as it would have been had I not experimented with the strop. Maybe the next time I try it, I'll try it with an open comb where the difference might be more defined. Today I used the Merkur VISION, a razor I like a lot and which, for me, provides a very good, smooth shave with all of the blades in my regular rotation (Kai, Feather, Irridium, Bolzano, Bluebird).

--James