[AFDavis11]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vY46z9I90p0&feature=related

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[AFDavis11]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2h1GC34yyKE&feature=related

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[tjiscooler]

what was the barber applying to the...shavees...face? It looked like alcohol then aftershave then some powder?

[Bart]

That's a lot of slack, in that strop. But the deflection spot seems to be under the spine, and not under the edge. I guess that makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks for posting those clips. Very interesting.

Bart.

[AFDavis11]

Too much slack for me, maybe a really dull razor? I'm still trying to figure all that out, from a traditional standpoint.

I think the process we are seeing is cream applied to face, hot towel, more cream, watered alum applied to the barbers hands (for grip), then an after shave, then powder, then the towel fan.

Traditionally, the towel fanning takes place after the alcohol aftershave, then powder is the last step to remove the "sheen".

He doesn't really look all that comfortable when shaving, maybe he's a little camera shy.

Neat video though. I like that hot water/towel machine.

[Utopian]

If his stropping works for him, then bless his heart, but wow, that was a lot of deflection and in the close up part it was clear that the spine was lifted way off of the leather during the stroke. I cannot imagine how that stropping motion could keep a razor sharp.

[Bart]

It looks almost as if he produces some sort of standing wave on that strop, and rides the razor on the wave.

Standing wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't know if that means anything for the way he strops, but I thought I'd share.

Bart.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nding_wave.gif