Valet Auto Strop Strop reconditioning

[Tanuki]

It looks great!

+1 to that! Impressive before/after contrast.

Now I'm feeling the need to dress my recent Model C strop acquisition. It came in the flat box shown below and has the expected creases from the folded years. Otherwise , it is close to (well dried) NOS.

I am thinking of using Fromm strop dressing. I also have a little Rolls strop dressing, as well as a variety of leather dressing compounds. But maybe I should wait for a report from @misterelie on the performance of the mink oiled strop. Also, was that straight mink oil or a mink-oil based leather dressing? And if so, what brand?

 

[misterelie]

The mink oil I used was called "Sofsole" Mink Oil. Got it from Amazon. It says it is real mink oil, but not sure. Either way seemed to do the job. Your strop is far and away in much better condition than mine was. And I couldn't see that imprint until I put the oil down. Yours shines through really well. I'd probably caution against the Rolls Strop Dressing. I'm a Rolls Razor user and I have their original dressing. It is more than just strop dressing, I believe. It seems to have something in it to give the strop more of a "bite" than a regular strop would have. Internet says there's a small amount of jewelers rouge in it. But I cannot verify that. The Rolls strop after condditioning definitely feels different than my regular straight razor strop, so I would agree with prevailing rumors that it is not normal stuff.

Now, to update on performance with the shave:
I have now shaved two and a half times with the FHS (stainless) blade. The first time was the fresh blade. Honestly, it was the smooth close shave I'd get from the Oneblade but with the massaging feel of the combs and a little more aggressiveness. I should compare the oneblade with this razor some time, but I'd put them almost even with the Valet being just a bit more aggressive.

Shave two, on the other hand, was the half. On that day, I did my first strop. I went about 25 cycles on the strop. The strop itself was fine, but the razor was tight. I figured it needed a bit of oiling. More on that for tonight's in a sec. But after 25 passes, I tried the shave, and I could not get through more than one cheek one pass. It pulled like it had no blade - worse than an FAS shave, even. I'll say here that while I'm new to the valet Autostrop, I'm certainly not new to stropping a straight razor. With the Oneblade, I usually get 3 to 5 shaves before I have to change the blade; there's a slight diminishment of the sharpness of the blade each shave, but never like this. It almost seemed like my stropping dulled the blade, which is possible, but the more aggressive shave probably had more to do with it than I did, I think.

Shave three was tonight. This time, before stropping, I added a drop of 3 in 1 oil to the roller and the gears to help loosen the blade. It did its job. And I think it helped a bit. This time, I stropped 60 cycles. The blade edge improved, but still was not pleasant. I got would be the equivalent of shave 6 out of 5 with that blade in a Oneblade, or using a Gillette DE blade one day longer than I probably should have (I know you all know what I'm talking about). So it worked, but I'm not keen on repeating the process.

Things I do not know: On shave two, did I dull the blade or just not strop it enough? In shave 3, it took 60 cycles to get the blade in dull shape. How many would it take to get it acceptable; or would it ever? Lastly, the underside of the strop has a different, more rough texture. Would I get better results stropping the razor on the underside of the strop?

Continuation: I'm tossing this blade. Let's say it was a first attempt and possibly I ruined the blade. I'm not sure it was me or it needs more work. Regardless, start fresh. However, tomorrow, I plan of filing the notch out of an FAS carbon blade and properly seating that in the razor. Now, these blades are horrible to begin with and I'd never normally use. But, they are closer to the material of the original Valet blades, I believe, and before I use it, I will try to strop it another 60 cycles to see if I can get a good shave #1 out of this blade. If I can make it acceptable, then we'll work on more advanced longevity tests. Until tomorrow!

 

[razorboi]

Interesting experience.
Thanks for the report on your results.
I'm sure I can't explain it, but I'm confident the immediate dullness on the second shave was attributable to the stropping, and not to an aggressive first shave.
Blades degrade much quicker from oxidation than from wear.
There was a television commercial for Schick, where 17 barbers were shaved consecutively with one blade and it still looked and performed virtually like new. But if that blade had been left to dry naturally and oxidise every day after every shave, it might not last half as many shaves.
Anyway, you shouldn't need to strop 60 times. I think the Auto-strop instructions called for about 10 laps at each shave. Also, only the smooth side was intended for stropping.
I believe conventional wisdom is to also strop after the shave to preen the blade and ensure it is completely clean and dry before storing.
Here is an old psa about razor-blade care from the 1940's, worth watching in its entirety, but showing proper stropping/use of Valet razors at 3:45 onward.

Note proper stropping technique, the importance of angle of attack in shaving with an Auto-Strop, post-shave stropping, and strop care tips. Also, it states that post-shave stropping is important to the preservation of the edge as it removes the damaging water/moisture and imparts oils from the strop that protect the edge in storage.

 

[LJS]

misterelie, you mentioned you were familiar with straight stropping, then you can always try a straight razor on the strop and see if you can get decent results. It would at least tell you if you have a strop problem vs a razor function or blade issue.

I have some valet strops that have been loaded with some sort of abrasive in the past. Not 100% sure what, but they have too much effect on steel to not have something. Always a possibility with vintage and used strops.

 

[Tanuki]

@misterelie that was an excellent report. Thanks for the mink oil lead. Having just sent in the final Christmas Amazon order, I decided to charge ahead with my 1907 Fromm strop dressing. There will be some mink oil in the basket when some post-holiday order goes through. I have other strops and plenty of work boots to keep in shape.

My Model C strop is in excellent shape, but was quite dry. I'm not sure what the hide is. It does not seem to be the same as my other AutoStrop strop, which looks very pigskin to me. I'm not surprised that there might be abrasives on used strops. The patterning on the back sides is typical of strops that are pasted. The cross-hatching is meant to hold paste, even if AutoStrop never suggests that.

So I gave the strop a fair amount of Fromm's on both sides, then hung it to let the dressing penetrate. It darkened quite a bit, and now feels much the same as my pigskin VB1 AutoStrop strop.

I have picked up a lot of wild AutoStrop hardware in the last couple of months. One razor with promotional branding on the case (The Philadelphia Enquirer) came with a blade mounted that was still shiny. Maybe unused? So what the heck - I stropped it maybe 10 laps and got ready to try it for a stroke on my morning stubble.

I chose Barbasol 1919 brushless/latherless cream, seeing as it was only one stroke and 1919 and 1907 nicely bracket my mom's birth year. Gotta be a lucky daily double.

On stropping: I noticed my two instruction pamphlets give opposite instructions on blade insertion.

I inserted through the front. My main concern was nicking (or even cutting through) the strop, so I stropped slowly and stopped to angle the handle at the end of each stroke to raise the blade off the strop before I reversed direction.

But the shave - on the first stroke the blade felt a little rough, but it didn't tug. It seemed to be cutting! Close examination of both blade and face revealed that stubble was being removed effectively. I Barbasoled my whole neck and went after it. N-S, S-N, then clean up in my usual search for ATG in the maelstrom that is the right side of my neck. It continued to feel a little rough the whole way, but never tugged a bit.

The neck-only shave went to CCS easily, with hints of DFS in the better behaved beard growth areas. I gave it alum and an aggressive bath of Osage Rub/witch hazel mix and experienced only a very mild burn. Now, an hour later, I can still feel some irritation, but the shave is very smooth to the touch. I can imagine a shaver back in the day being darn pleased with this set up.

So I am astonished by the stropped blade. I will probably shave with it again, before I get around to unwrapping my compatible stainless Feather blades. Now I'm off to give it a careful post-shave stropping.

 

[misterelie]

@Tanuki Any idea what that blade is? An original Valet? If you are able to get that blade to keep its edge, I'll be very interested in hearing how long that goes. I always see Valet blades come up on auction. If those can be put back into use, then I might start doing that as well.

I agree about the differences in insertion. I still have the original instructions and it says to go through the back. For grins, I tried inserting the strop from the front and it just plain will NOT work without damage to my hands. I also think you're correct about it being pigskin. The back of the strop sure looks like it. Also, I believe slow stropping is correct. Just like the Rolls (strop damage on Rolls Razors very often comes from people slapping it back and forth quickly, like you see almost everyone do on the internet). I love my Rolls keep it in great shape, and use it monthly, if you couldn't tell I am bad about post shave stropping. I do it with the Rolls, but nothing else. Just habit trained into me by disposable blades. I need to make the post strop part of my regular routine.

@LJS The valet strop is not as wide as my straight razors. I don't have the skill to strop the whole razor evenly and give a fair test like you suggest. I've never learned how to do that as I have never needed to. Also, general question: if the Valet strops had some sort of abrasive in them, any idea if they also sold dressing to refresh it? Kinda like Rolls?

@razorboi Thank you for that video. Helpful. I'll see if I can match that up better and report some results.

 

[Tanuki]

I doubt that AutoStrop sold abrasive paste/dressing. If it worked, it would reduce blade sales, plus it would contaminate, wear and/or clog the razors' moving parts.

I have got to get my Rolls up and running!

I am good about post shave stropping. These days just a few laps on linen. I even pre/post forearm strop my Gem blades when I'm not wearing long sleeves.

 

[ouchyfoot]

But maybe I should wait for a report from @misterelie on the performance of the mink oiled strop

Both of mine are treated mink oil. (I applied it with a hair dryer). They feel perfectly supple and natural like new leather. (No oiliness).
Be careful of strop treatments that may have oxides and such in them for abrasiveness. These are okay for knives and straight razors, but they may damage the rollers on your Valet. You just want to be stropping leather with these blades. You’re just tuning them up, not sharpening them.

 

[misterelie]

I tell people my Rolls is the best straight razor they'd ever use! Assuming they learn to use it properly (no slapping of the blade, don't store the razor handle between the strop/hone handle, put some protectant on the blade when not in use to prohibit rust, and make sure the strop and hone are not nicked or broken). They're cheap and everywhere and throughout the years it is all pretty much the same model. Best part, you don't need to learn to re-angle your shaves like you would with a normal straight. Hold it as if you were using a safety.

After a year of collecting the parts, I now have a complete Darwin set. I need to get it honed and the strops refreshed and have a message off to Razor Emporium to see if they'll do it. It seems like the next generation of the Rolls. I am really looking forward to trying it. Between the Rolls and the Darwin and a forthcoming, shave ready Wilkinson Pall Mall, I might swear off disposable blades completely!

 

[misterelie]

@ouchyfoot That hair dryer hack seems to do the trick. I'd never known about it until I started this thread but it is working like a charm.

 

[Tanuki]

Forgot to say - yes it appears to be an original Valet blade, of the sort that pre-date the punched VALET. Every other one I have seen has been well corroded, which makes me suspect this one was not used. It is also a bit oily, even where it hasn't touched the strop.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Forgot to say - yes it appears to be an original Valet blade, of the sort that pre-date the punched VALET. Every other one I have seen has been well corroded, which makes me suspect this one was not used. It is also a bit oily, even where it hasn't touched the strop.
View attachment 1198937
View attachment 1198936

Are you going to give it a shave? I’ve got some NOS Valet blades in the mail. Ancient or not, I’m going to try them out.

 

[Tanuki]

Ahhh, another picture. The razor I'm using, plus the Model C labeled one that had the strop included:

Should I open the blades? Hmmmm. How much do they go for at auction?

 

[Tanuki]

Are you going to give it a shave? I’ve got some NOS Valet blades in the mail. Ancient or not, I’m going to try them out.

Shave report above. Post 25. So far, so good. There will be more.

It was WAY better than the shave I did with a freshly unwrapped vintage Blue Blade.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Should I open the blades? Hmmmm. How much do they go for at auction?

I just bout a couple NOS packs for $6.20us each.

 

[misterelie]

I just bout a couple NOS packs for $6.20us each.

Have you been able to get those back into sharp, shave-ready condition and keep them there? After I see how the FAS blades work, that was going to be my next test. But I need to get a pack first.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Have you been able to get those back into sharp, shave-ready condition and keep them there? After I see how the FAS blades work, that was going to be my next test. But I need to get a pack first.

I haven’t got them yet. They’re new and unopened, so I’m not expecting any problems.
Kai also makes a carbon steel blade to fit the Valet razors. You can get them in two different thicknesses, 0.15mm & 0.25mm.
Kai Best

 

[misterelie]

I haven’t got them yet. They’re new and unopened, so I’m not expecting any problems.
Kai also makes a carbon steel blade to fit the Valet razors. You can get them in two different thicknesses, 0.15mm & 0.25mm.
Kai Best
View attachment 1198984

Hmm, not heard of these. Looking for a pack now.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Hmm, not heard of these. Looking for a pack now.

Hard to source. The only source I have is from Japan through eBay

 

[misterelie]

Hard to source. The only source I have is from Japan through eBay

Well that's right. Looked everywhere. Not finding. Can you please share the seller's name?