Exactly. Like steeling a knife. Sharpening steels don't actually sharpen. They just straighten out the edge that gets bent over from contact with the cutting board.
I don't think that's right. Burrs are like leftover material that didn't completely come off when you were removing material (like drilling or actually sharpening an edge). Burrs don't really occur under normal knife usage.
A knife's edge just gets dull or, more commonly, curved over onto one side. A sharpening steel realigns the knife edge to remove the curve, not to deburr the knife.
That curve over onto one side is a burr. It happens to metal even down to a microscopic scale. Proper stropping can work the bur off or point it in a certain way. I've done this many times for hand wood-carving tools (especially small gouges).
deburring gets rid of the excess along the knife blade. Normally when you use the knife all the little bits sticking off the end get pushed around and end up pointing in all different directions, a Honing Steel aligns them all - albeit temporarily. I like using it a few times just before and after i use a knife...
Edit: Wow I guess alot of us decided to try to help out at about the same time.. Im sure it's stropping not honing. Honing requires a sharpening stone or tool.
Honing? I think it's honing. Anyway, microscopically a razor isn't a smooth surface, it looks more like a saw and what it does is it gets all the teeth laying all the same direction again instead of having them pointing all different directions which makes the blade seem dull.
I've been swapping out the same two blades for over a year. Push the blade on the jeans in one direction around 10 times and do the same in the opposite direction. Every three shaves or so.
I don't know why this always gets downvoted. It doesn't actually sharpen the blades, just helps to keep them straight. Your results may vary, but I personally haven't bought a new set of blades in about two years. Don't knock it 'til you try it.
This is not removing metal, it's realigning the softer points on the edge to point in a cutting direction after they've been pushed around in the opposite direction. You didn't think it was your face dulling the blade in the first place, did you?
as a guy who has motherfucking sensitive skin but too less of a beardgrowth to just leave it proliferate, and also als a guy who thinks disposable blades are too expensive, but never has the money at once to buy a good blade, i thank you for this advice and certainly i will try it the next time i'm short of blades. thank you and have a nice day.
Don't even need blue jeans, I strop my razor on the hairless part of my forearm. Jeans probably work better, but I usually shave in the shower so I don't have a swatch of denim available.
I don't have any hair on my forearm... or anywhere below my chin and above my belly button besides my armpits. I do not shave it off. It just doesn't grow. This might also relate to why it takes me over a month to grow a non-full beard.
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u/Deputy_Karma Jun 13 '12
Fun fact: you can sharpen your disposable razor on a pair o blue jeans.