Stropper Machine

[media]

I just won one of these MIB off the bay for only $5.

Does anyone use one? If so, do they work well?

I've heard they can more than double the life of the blade.

For those of you that have never seen one, you insert the blade on the side and turn the crank. inside there is a leather belt and strops the blade while flipping it over every couple seconds.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[RexHavoc]

I think the current wisdom on these are they were for the older blades, before exotic coatings were employed in the manufacturing of blades, i.e. Platinum, chromium etc.... that said, the blades are cheap enough to toss after two or three shaves anyway, which is why alot of us changed from the expensive cartridges.

 

[baba]

I think the current wisdom on these are they were for the older blades, before exotic coatings were employed in the manufacturing of blades, i.e. Platinum, chromium etc.... that said, the blades are cheap enough to toss after two or three shaves anyway, which is why alot of us changed from the expensive cartridges.

I have heard the same thing, that they are best served for use on vintage blades. Does anyone know this for sure, were there tests done?

But I have some old Gillette blades and a Twinplex stropper and it seems to work quite well. If I get 5 shaves out of one blade it is a miracle (my beard is tougher than Chuck Norris) and with the use of the stropper I got just over 10 shaves per blade. Only done this once so far, but it works for me, just make sure the leather on the inside is supple and free from dirt or gunk.

Cool find! I bought mine for $10 at an antique store.

It is a marvel of engineering.

 

[michiganlover]

I think the current wisdom on these are they were for the older blades, before exotic coatings were employed in the manufacturing of blades, i.e. Platinum, chromium etc.... that said, the blades are cheap enough to toss after two or three shaves anyway, which is why alot of us changed from the expensive cartridges.

+1

Any attempt to strop the blade immediately removes the blade coatings, which should by rights result in a much less smooth shave. Also, the vintage blades these were designed for were likely thicker than their current counterparts.

When you can get blades for as little as .10 cents each I don't see the point in trying to double their useful life.

 

[pauls51]

As the above have pretty much stated; with the cost of blades it isn't worth your time to properly stropp the blades.

Having said that though, it would look good on display next to your razors!

 

[_JP_]

They are an interesting collectible.