Pressed wool felt

[zerocover]

I've recently acquired a Big Mamma strop from star shaving supplies. Over all I'm very happy with the leather on it and can get great shaves after 100 laps.

The strop also has a felt side. Whenever I use the felt side my shave is terrible to the point where I have to re-hone the edge. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. More importantly I've come to realize I have no idea how to use a felt strop, and i've just been avoiding it.

Do I have to treat the felt with some sort of paste to get it to work right?

 

[RF1963]

I have a leather strop backed with linen. Before I shave I do 20 passes on the linen followed by 60 passes on the leather and get good shaves.

This is not meant to insult your intelligence but when you use the felt you are following with the leather, right?

You can use the felt as a precursor to the leather as it arrived from "Big Mamma". If you wanted to introduce a sharpening element you could apply any of the diamond pastes to the felt and use that to refresh your blade when you felt it start to tug, then finish on leather.

This link takes you to an explanation of diamond paste system and how to integrate a paste system into your routine. Although it's promoting one manufacturer the basic principle holds true whichever range you buy into

http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/SharpeninginstructionsDiamond.pdf

 

[professorchaos]

Without fail, I use pressed wool felt, untreated, after honing each razor. What it does to the edge might be magic.

 

[zerocover]

RF1963 thank you for the pdf. I might give pastes another try.

To clarify. When I refresh my edge I go from a DMT 8ee to a Chinese waterstone then normally do 100 laps on the leather. This gives me great butter smooth shaves. I was thinking I could use the felt to refresh the edge between honings to keep that great edge.

I may have 1 of 2 problems here.

1. I think the edge left by the waterstone might be more fine then what the felt gives me, if this is the case felt I should not hit the felt after a CWS.

2. I'm probably over stropping on the felt. I do at least 60 up to 120 passes, before I hit the leather. Maybe 20 would do better.

Of note I've had problems with CrOx pastes where they dulled my edge too, so maybe I'm just not the kind of person that should use abrasive flexible surfaces (some people are stone guys and some are paste guys right?)

 

[RF1963]

You could perhaps prime the felt with 1 micron or 0.25 micron diamond paste to refresh between honings if that is your plan.

For your information I follow the timetable the pdf puts forward; as maintenance every 3 weeks I put the blades (I have 3 in rotational use) over a Naniwa 10K stone, followed by the 1 micron paste (on a rough leather paddle strop), then the .25 micron (on a less rough paddle strop) followed by Chromox on a smooth leather paddle strop. This gives me a nice sharp smooth shave (aided by daily linen/leather 20/60 stropping).

 

[DESkydiver]

I use my felt strop after every shave about 5 laps to help dry it off, and then 25-30 passes on leather. I get 15 - 20 shaves before I need to touch up on the coti.