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Comment by Jack Haskins, Jr. on October 7, 2013 at 7:22

Alexander, I had a chat with Ken Schwartz on the phone the other day.  He has "Ken's Corner" on the chefknivestogo.com site.  He seems to specialize in the high end aspect of sharpening.  He is the one I get the kangaroo strops from.  He explained that different materials (balsa or leather for example) have different effect on steel than just grinding steel away.  I don't understand it clearly but I'll explain how I understand it.  I'll use another strop material instead of balsa wood.  Nano-cloth.  Nano-cloth has no abrasive quality at all.  Stroking your edge on nano-cloth will not remove any steel at all.  It won't sharpen or dull the edge when using it without a compound.  If you spray nano-cloth with some 1 micron spray it will act just like a 1 micron strop where the diamond particles cut the steel.  Leather however produces a "smoothing" effect.  Instead of grinding steel away it sort of smooths the steel.  This is why leather with no compound still has an effect on the edge.  Then when you apply a compound to leather (kangaroo) you will get the results from the compound as well as the fact that leather has.  Kangaroo is very thin and VERY smooth compared to other leathers therefore the result is a smoother edge than if you had used cow hide.  Cow hide is not as smooth as kangaroo hide.  Of course we are talking about at the microscopic level.  The kangaroo will smooth the edge more than cow hide.  I don't know what micron level it is close to.  I have used it after .25 micron diamond spray  and the edge becomes smoother which is good for straight razors.  I have a 2x6" roo strop I use with no compound.  I just ordered some .1 micron CBN spray from Ken and a 2x6" roo  and a 2x6" nano-cloth strop.  I'm going to apply the .1 micron spray to both to see how it works.  I also have a 3x8" balsa and horse butt leather strop ordered.  Don't know what I'll put on them yet.  Ok, that's about all I know or think I know about this.  I think I really need to use the products to get a good idea of what Ken was trying to explain.  Some people say they use just kangaroo with different sprays or compounds on them.  After I try the new roo strop with .1 micron spray I'll know (I hope) if I want to get more roo strops and use different sprays of the below 1 micron range.  This stuff is expensive (for me) so I may need to spread purchases out.

I got the hanging strop and have used it but I'm REAL slow.  It does improve the edge though.  Hope I develope some speed.  For now I'm concentrating on laying the razor on the strop correctly.  Practice will result in getting faster I'm sure.

Jack

Comment by Alexander Noot on October 7, 2013 at 2:52

Jack, I haven't had any access with 'Roo hide yet. I'd love to try some though.

Comment by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 30, 2013 at 9:08

Alexander, have you tried kangaroo hide with no compound for straight razors?  I've been using it after .25µ diamond spray on balsa and leather (horse) and it seems to smooth the edge even more.  It is very thin and very smooth.  It's somewhat expensive though.  Those kangaroos don't let their skin go cheaply. lol  It works well on knives but with my razor honing skill being weak I don't have an opinion about it.  I just ordered a flexible strop because using my bench (or paddle) strops I'm very slow.  I hope to develop some speed over time with the flexible one.  Doing the same number of strokes you do in your video would take me a couple days being as slow as I am.  I'll listen to your advice though and go slow hoping the speed will come later.

Comment by Alexander Noot on September 30, 2013 at 3:20

@Jack

Thanks for the video.  I learned quite a lot.  Mainly, I seem to be complicating what should be a relatively simple task.  I'm sure with experience you develop a routine and learn what is important and drop the rest.

Jack, I think a lot of people tend to overcomplicate things. In fact, once people get into a hobby, I think MOST of them overcomplicate things.

The flipping thing is just a matter of practise to be honest. You get faster and smoother with it as you do it more. Just keep at it slowly and after a while it'll be second nature. I don't even think about it anymore.

Bench Strops should work just fine as long as you finish up with leather that has nothing on it. From what I've experienced you really need smooth leather to finish up on for that ultimate edge.

I've never really seen people use Bench Strops, but they do use Paddle Strops which are similar to a bench strop. So I suspect a bench strop should work just fine.

The Coticule Stones I use are somewhere in between 8k and 12k. But they're known in the shaving world to deliver some of the most comfortable shaving edges. Supposedly this has something to do with the garnets that are found in the stones.

I find my razor is about shave ready when I can cut hair WITHOUT touching the skin. And that's a lot sharper than I can get my knives so far. But for my razors with their thin grinds and LOW LOW angles I don't have much of a problem getting them that sharp.

@Ron

Thanks. I've really been enjoying my straight razors ever since I got into using one around8 years ago. They just work very well for me. And I'll never go back to the disposable route.

@Steve

No Kids, that's true Steve LOL. This was around 2006 when I'd been married to my sweetheart for not very long. Can you tell how well rested I am in that video...(bed hair LOL) In fact this was even before I'd gotten into knives or knifemaking. You know, back when I thought there were only two kinds of steel. Stainless and Carbon....

Comment by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 28, 2013 at 21:59

Did anyone just let the video play and not stop it?  lol  If you did I don't know what subject came up for you but I saw a report on a beauty college.  If you didn't see this don't worry about it. LOL

Jack

Comment by Jack Haskins, Jr. on September 28, 2013 at 21:52

Alexander,  this was great watching this.  I was amazed you went straight from only one stone to the stropping.  You did mention some razors needing coarser stones.  As I've been learning I've been progressing through 3 or 4 stones finishing with a 16k grit stone.  Then I strop with bench strops.  I don't have a flexible one yet.  I have been debating on getting one or not.  I've tried to get the flipping the razor with my fingers to work but I've been incredibly unsuccessful.  The area between the blade and handle (tang?) is rectangular and it doesn't flip easily  I think if it were square it would work easier.  The spine and tang is about 3.5mm thick and 8.8mm tall.  The razor is a hollow ground Boker.  It was given to me by a forum friend on another forum.  It had no handle.  The friend knows I like to make knife handles so he gave me this blade.  I have a CHEAP handle on it now but plan to make a nicer one when I get to it.  My point is I can't flip the dang razor.  I guess it doesn't matter since I'm using flat strops but that is one reason I haven't been in a hurry to get a flexible one.  Your thoughts on using the bench strops would be appreciated.  I'm getting it sharp enough to shave with but I don't know if a seasoned shaver would call it "shave ready" or not.  Hairs pop off my arm when I lay the edge on my skin but my knives to that too.  I shaved today and nicked myself 4 times.  Holding the razor properly while pulling my skin up with my other hand and keeping my hands out of the way so I can see what I'm doing in the mirror is the hardest thing in the world.  I'm convinced of this.  Going to the moon is easy by comparison. :)  I have a very common blood type so transfusions at the ER shouldn't be a problem. lol

Thanks for the video.  I learned quite a lot.  Mainly, I seem to be complicating what should be a relatively simple task.  I'm sure with experience you develop a routine and learn what is important and drop the rest.

Comment by Ron Cooper on September 28, 2013 at 21:19

Thanks for the heads-up, Steve! That video of Alexander's is definitely worth watching. And, thank you, Alexander! I use to shave with a straight razor many many years ago. In fact, it was another one of my obsessive-compulsive passions back then. Good stuff, though. I wish I still owned the Henckels razor, strop and shaving mug that were accumulated during that period. *sigh* Oh well...thanks, Alex!

Comment by Alexander Noot on September 25, 2013 at 4:06

@Jack,

I've been known to sharpen a razor every now and then. I use a Yellow Coticule stone for it.

Years ago I did a video on it:

Nowadays I have a very nice large coticule. But I still sharpen my razor myself.

Comment by peter force on September 17, 2013 at 12:02

and yes jack..sharpening straights has been a goal of mine nad have truied lots of things ..i feel its one of those things that need to be taught HANDS ON....

 

Comment by peter force on September 17, 2013 at 11:57

@JACK..good to meet ya... the reason i started wet shaving was it gave me anothe reason to collect more steel!...LOL...i told the wife they pay for themselves!

also i forgot to mention WALMART HAS A FEW STONE SYSTEMS..one even comes witha little angle piece you hold to make it easier if you do have the shakes and so forth... BUT THE BEST PART..REMMEBER even used/truied items that you do not like WALMART will atke right back for cash with receipt. my WALMART carries 2 different diamod hone sticks,some Lansky products. the CAMILLUS table top ...they even have a color coded,3 sided ,3 grit STONE setup!.. its a great and awesome way to even try certain knives. i grabbd a few USA bucks from their...and my only kershaw china that i was able to take back!once i didnt like it.... cant beat it!...

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