I’m still thinking that stropping is a highly overrated activity.
According to Brad Maggard, old soft Sheffield steel “springs back to life” when stropped. I’m now thinking that a comparative Sheffield edition of the #NoStrop challenge is in order for science.
To be simplistic about it, a degree of correlation with elements that contribute to wear resistance - carbon content, alloying elements, heat treatment - might be in order 😁
Technique-wise, I use a very wet lather preparation, and I keep shaving angle low to optimize cutting efficiency and to favor compressive loads at the edge over shear loads.
According to Brad Maggard, old soft Sheffield steel “springs back to life” when stropped. I’m now thinking that a comparative Sheffield edition of the #NoStrop challenge is in order for science.
To be simplistic about it, a degree of correlation with elements that contribute to wear resistance - carbon content, alloying elements, heat treatment - might be in order 😁
Technique-wise, I use a very wet lather preparation, and I keep shaving angle low to optimize cutting efficiency and to favor compressive loads at the edge over shear loads.