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Controversial straight razor sharpening technique
- Thread starter vgeorge
- Start Date
vgeorge
Well-Known Member
meltond said:
Let me also add a warm welcome. As Ralfy said, we are quite open to new ideas and possibilities. Even when we stick to something 'traditional', we would not want to put down novel ways of doing things.
Brad has issued this friendly challenge to Murray, we know. However, have you had a chance to compare the techniques of these two gentlemen, and what have you gathered as the essential nuances (other than, of course,the obvious differences in the video)?
Thanks!
George
rtedwards
Active Member
I found the video interesting. Much has been said on other forums, but I didn't find him arrogant or antagonistic. Clearly he is confident in his skills and clearly he has many skills. I find the shaving with spoons and other random household objects kind of silly and overly theatrical, but he has a business to promote I guess. As for this particular technique I think he can definitely get a razor sharp enough to shave with, but it didn't look very comfortable to me. With my tough whiskers and tender skin I think I'd be hurting. But each to his own. Only negative comment I have on his technique is that the blade angle seemed really high for some strokes, more like scraping than cutting. That works but takes a toll on both skin and edge. I've set bevels and done preliminary sharpening on some things many people would consider inappropriate for razors and it worked, although I finished and polished quite a bit more afterwards.
Paul
Well-Known Member
I would actually be quite surprised if he accepted the challenge, and I can hardly say that I blame him. There's literally nothing for him to benefit from the exercise. That doesn't mean he's inadequate, but rather it means he's savvy. Michael Jordan was once pressured to play Magic Johnson in a game of 1 on 1. Being the ultimate individual basketball player, many assumed he'd jump at the opportunity to showcase his individual talents. Instead, he passed because there was no real upside but a huge potential downside... While I'm not saying Mr Carter is comparable to MJ, I am saying he has absolutely nothing to gain from such an exercise... I've turned down more than a couple similar challenges for similar reasons, but I've sent out many free honings and sent razors off for an objective evaluation. I find the honing contest type of challenges to be off-putting
Bart
Well-Known Member
Maybe you can try contacting Mr. Carter through the contact form on his website. I don't know the man personally, but I would think he'd accept your "edge exchange" offer, that I don't see as a competition at all, but more as "comparing notes".Undream said:I'm kind of disappointed that Carter hasn't approved my video response. It seems they've ignored it
I was really looking forward to hearing what he had to say about my edge...and then shaving with his, assuming he was willing to send it back!
Maybe there is still hope...
It's possible that stirring controversy is his strategy for the promotion of his business, but in any other case, I don't see why he should not be interested in your proposal.
Kind regards,
Bart.
Paul
Well-Known Member
Interestingly, I didn't see that video to be too much different than the challenge to swap razors on B&B with a loud detractor of coticule's abilities... I originally thought you should take him up on the challenge, but now think you did the "grown up" thing to pass on it.
Not that Brad was out of line per se, but the whole reaction created an environment that clearly isn't conducive to merely "comparing notes", IMHO.
Regards,
Paul
Not that Brad was out of line per se, but the whole reaction created an environment that clearly isn't conducive to merely "comparing notes", IMHO.
Regards,
Paul
slartibartfast
Active Member
Time to shut down the site boys, using slurry and stropping has been debunked.
danjared
Well-Known Member
Pithor said:
I agree that his sense of humor is great, and he certainly knows how to sharpen using his way.
However, I see his argument concerning stropping on a hanging strop as a straw man argument. I'm pretty sure that anyone that tries stropping that way using a razor instead of a candle would end up with both a rolled edge and two strops instead of one, if you know what I mean. I'd like to see him do his demonstration using proper stropping technique.
Also, I'm not sure about his "scientifically based" explanation of edge-leading versus edge-trailing. It's easy to get hung up on certain details and ignore others. Regardless, edge-trailing works well, as he has demonstrated. And interestingly enough, edge-leading works well too.
And by the way, I have neither a mustache nor goatee.
vgeorge
Well-Known Member
[h2]Interesting, interesting![/h2]
Stropping on stone (edge trailing) was embraced here for the BBW technique. Carter's 'explaining' about the merits of stropping on stone, in his own words, gave another helpful perspective.
Carter's theory about slurry and hanging leather strops seem reasonable. However, I think the crucial, and almost hidden, point might be that balance is important. Slurry does help in abrading, although too much of it will reduce sharpness. Carter avoids slurry throughout to protect the edge; we actively use it up to a point and then rebuild the final edge.
Similarly, for hanging leather stropping too. You might damage the edge (cannot imagine abrading) from infinite stropping on loosely hanging leather strop - that would be less likely from limited stropping on fixed leather. Again, balance is at issue - a slight give of the leather might help polish the edge quicker, while too much of it might damage.
It may be the video and the editing - I thought his movements/strokes were very economical. If indeed he uses only the number of strokes in the videos, Carter's highly edge-protective technique may be also very efficient.
I also don't think Brad's 'challenge' was as hostile as Carter made it out to be. It is good that he responded - I thought he might, despite Paul's warning, because he is in the business of 'selling' knives and razors. He might have an incentive to refuse a knife or razor challenge. A side-line sharpening challenge is a different matter. We all learned a bit more about something that interests us - I hope.
Stropping on stone (edge trailing) was embraced here for the BBW technique. Carter's 'explaining' about the merits of stropping on stone, in his own words, gave another helpful perspective.
Carter's theory about slurry and hanging leather strops seem reasonable. However, I think the crucial, and almost hidden, point might be that balance is important. Slurry does help in abrading, although too much of it will reduce sharpness. Carter avoids slurry throughout to protect the edge; we actively use it up to a point and then rebuild the final edge.
Similarly, for hanging leather stropping too. You might damage the edge (cannot imagine abrading) from infinite stropping on loosely hanging leather strop - that would be less likely from limited stropping on fixed leather. Again, balance is at issue - a slight give of the leather might help polish the edge quicker, while too much of it might damage.
It may be the video and the editing - I thought his movements/strokes were very economical. If indeed he uses only the number of strokes in the videos, Carter's highly edge-protective technique may be also very efficient.
I also don't think Brad's 'challenge' was as hostile as Carter made it out to be. It is good that he responded - I thought he might, despite Paul's warning, because he is in the business of 'selling' knives and razors. He might have an incentive to refuse a knife or razor challenge. A side-line sharpening challenge is a different matter. We all learned a bit more about something that interests us - I hope.
danjared
Well-Known Member
Yes, balance. That is an excellent word. In engineering, there's always a need to balance trade-offs, and there's rarely ever only one optimal design. I'd say that sharpening is possibly one of man's oldest forms of engineering.
By the way, I know we certainly didn't have electrical tape, but I don't know if the common man had newspaper 200 years ago, let alone some lying around to strop on.
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By the way, I know we certainly didn't have electrical tape, but I don't know if the common man had newspaper 200 years ago, let alone some lying around to strop on.
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