Razors
Sharpening
Use 800-8000 grit sharpening stones for sharpening, with the 800 grit stone for the actual sharpening process. In the following steps, you only remove the scratches that were created during sharpening. To make sure you do not damage the back of the razor, we recommend that you tape it up.
- Lay the blade down at a 90° angle to the long side of the stone and guide it carefully with two fingers
- Pull the razor over the stone, leading with the back of the razor, and when you get to the end of the stone turn the razor over its back; your fingers only guide the razor without applying any pressure
- We recommend 15-20 strokes per side
- Repeat this process until you obtain an even edge without any nicks
- Repeat the sharpening process on all other stones, each time removing the traces of the previous stone
Stropping the razor
- Hang the strop on a fixed point (hook, door knob) and tighten it with one hand
- Open the razor wide and place the blade absolutely flat onto the strop; always guide the blade at a 90° angle to the strop, with the fingers clasping the tang (the thin section between the blade and the handle)
- With each movement, keep the razor flat on the strop; lifting the back even slightly would damage the leather; work with a flowing, precise movement but not fast; above all, do not apply any pressure; draw the razor in the direction of the back of the blade
Caution: If you guide the razor with the blade at the front, you will cut the strop!
- Just before you reach the end of the strop, turn the razor over; do not lift the razor off the strop but roll it over its back; this keeps the razor in contact with the strop
- Repeat the same movement, drawing the razor in the opposite direction with the back of the blade facing towards you; when you reach the end of the strop, turn the razor over its back as described before
Using the Thiers Issard sharpening paste
This paste (No. 709019) is normally used for razors which are already in regular use to delay the basic sharpening or to make the blade even sharper for the daily shave. Before shaving, we recommend polishing the razor on the cotton side of the hanging strop with the aluminium oxide-based polishing paste, followed by un-pasted stropping on the leather side. Rub a small amount of paste evenly onto the cotton side of your hanging strop. Then work the paste thoroughly into the cotton surface of the strop, using the heel of the hand. The cotton should absorb the paste so that there is minimal coating on the surface. Wipe any excess paste off the surface with a rag or paper towel. As with all sharpening pastes, a strop surface coated with a particular grit size or abrasive should be dedicated to that grit size or abrasive alone. You can reuse this strop surface later for a larger-sized grit, but never for a smaller-sized grit. The motion used on the pasted surface is identical to that used on the unpasted leather side.
