Monday, July 12, 2021

"Stropping" A Single Edge Razor Blade?


I go through a LOT of single edge razor blades cutting launch lugs to size for kits.
Years back I did some leather work and remembered "stropping" the cutting tools.
Stropping a blade polishes the blade and can knock off some of the worn rough blade edge.
Ideally, stropping is done on the rougher, suede side of leather. A polishing compound is usually rubbed into the leather before polishing.

It seems a razor blade only cut clean through four launch lug cuts! 

I was cutting on a scrap piece of cardboard.
I tried stropping the blade on the cardboard. It helped re-establish the blade edge and let me make more cuts!

On the left, the blade is set down at a shallow angle and drawn to the left side.
Turn over the blade and draw it to the right. 
While the results might not be as good as a leather stropped blade, it did work and extended the usable life of the blade.

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