Strops making straight razor dull.

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Mark,
I hope you can help me.
Recently I purchased from you a set of strops: balsam wood, denim, 1 bovine , 2 roo, the strop holder and the 4 Diamond sprays (1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 micron).
I hone my straight razors and I wanted to use the strops to finish the edge on them.
I used them today and here are the results.
I honed today two great Solingen razors from bevel setting to complete honing using my Naniwa stones, 1K for bevel setting and then 5K, 8K and 12K progressively using the usual front-back strokes as well as circles and X’s. After each stone, both razors sliced nicely, all along the edge, a raw tomato (Dr. Matt’s test).
Here is when I introduced your strops, hoping to achieve a great finish on the edges.
I used 1micron on balsam, 0.5micron on bovine, 0.25micron on Roo and 0.125 also on Roo. 4-5 sprays on each, plus a quick spray of water. Then, progressively on each of the four strops, I stropped 25 times each way, another quick water spray and another 25 strokes each way.
The result: the Diamond process not only did not improve the edges, but the razors no longer sliced through the tomato.
Obviously I’m doing something wrong.
I’d appreciate any advice.

Thank you so much for your help,
A

[Lloyd Harner]

test on free standing arm hair (tree topping) not mators. you might be using too much force on the leathers and having the leather compress the deflection could be rounding the edge a bit changing the angle. after i get to 12K (cheap china stone) i burnish with a loaded dry norton 8K then chrome ox loaded leather bench hone a bit then before use i do a few swipes on my hanging strop.
all this said this is for razors i have made and the steels i use are 52100 for carbon and XHP for SS both hardened to about 63 Rc

[TheLegalRazor]

Hello. I'm a long-time straight razor user. I'm familiar with the tomato test and have used it many times. However, we're honing to shave our face and not cut tomato skin. If I read your post correctly, you did not shave with the razors when they came off the strops. The razors may have shaved well despite their poor performance on the tomato test. Actually, I suggest you try shaving off your 12k Naniwa. You should be able to get a good shave off a 12k. If you don't, your problem originates earlier in your progression and no amount of polishing with diamond sprays on a strop is going to improve your edge. What you do at the 1k stage is the most crucial step,

[trancher]

I would use TTT and HHT to determine where exactly you are on your edge instead of the tomato test. The tomato test is good for initial bevel setting around 1K, and will communicate quickly to you if you have formed an apex at the edge of the razor. In progressions beyond that the Hanging Hair Test and Tree Topping Test are much more relevant.

If you are coming off of say an 8,10,12k stone with a great edge and then lose that edge on the strop, its possible you are rolling the edge by using too much pressure, or the razor isn't sitting flat on the leather (spine to bevel). Take your time, one bad strop can degrade the edge quickly...

[Kerneldrop]

I would use TTT and HHT to determine where exactly you are on your edge instead of the tomato test....

Que the..."this is what I do for my beater kitchen knives" lol

[ex1580]

I also use straight razors regularly and have done some pretty extensive testing of how to get the "best" edge with a variety of stones and strops. In my opinion, you don't need to strop that much, although you can use a strop as a replacement for an expensive finishing stone. You do need to use the linen between steps to keep the burr down, maybe 5-10 laps held tight.

This process lets me get a HHT of 4-5 very quickly. For the HHT of 5 I would go all the way down to 0.5 micron on stones then 5 laps on 0.25 diamonds on roo. There is very little pressure used after the 8k stone, just enough to maintain pressure.

Once it's sharp it's the daily linen and leather that makes the real difference and keeps it that way for a good while. Modern stones and diamonds cut fast, unlike some older stones and Arkansas stones. Once I get the bevel set on your average razor I am only doing maybe 10-15 laps at 8k and above. I listen and feel for the razor to tell me when it's done.

[Lloyd Harner]

yep after proper hone a few swollps on a hanging strop sould be all you need for a good while

[Kerneldrop]

I'm going to pull out my Boker and English bridle hanging strop...all this razor talk has me wanting to try it again.
I have the stone progression and pastes, so why not.
I make my own shave cream...it's nothing fancy.

[taz575]

Yeah, probably over stropping or using too much pressure! Water will make the strops base softer and more likely to round the edge out if you use too much pressure since the strop will give more.

[ChefKnivesToGo]

I agree with you guys. I would shave to test instead of using a tomato. The edge is supposed to be slick, not toothy.

I would use light pressure to avoid rounding the edge.

[Kerneldrop]

What’s the water spray on the strop about?
I guess the hard minerals in water have some grit to them. lol

[ared715]

Have to shave test. As stated above.

Tomato skins and facial hair are 2 totally different textures/density.

It is possible to over strop in my opinion. I use jnats to finish as opposed to your synthetic approach.

I would reccomend stopping less or lighter pressure first and try. Also, make sure your bevel set is solid or anything else after won't be worth while.

Also, maybe try a natural stone and see if you get improvement.

Hope this helps! If you ever have any other sharpening questions, hit me up on PM!