Thread: Old wisdom, explain modern reality!!

I’ve just read an old french book. 500 pages on cuttellery making dating from 1835 “Le manuel du coutelier ou traité théorique et pratique de l’art de faire tous les ouvrage de coutellerie” by M.H.Landrin. And it was quite interesting for telling why some old timer were using a set of two razors. The book explain that while stropping the blade, the fine edge will bend a little on the opposite side of the leather. So if you strop parrallele to your torso, moving the razor from left to right. It Will raise the edge. The author explain that this rasor could only be use effectively on the right side of his face, if you hold it correctly in your right hand with the scale on thes pinky side. If you tried this razor on the left side with the left hand (scale pinky side) it wouldn’t work or it would'nt work as well, unless the razor was strop the other way around. So the book say that you should use two razor, one stropped from right to left and one from left to right to use on each side of the face.

I just touhgt that this old wisdom was silly and funny, but realised that there is always a side wich seem to be better then the other…maybe that’s why! Just the last strop stroke!

For those of you who read french that might be interesting.
Manuel du coutelier ou Traité ... - Google Livres

Sounds to me like someone was trying to double their razor sales, but then I'm a natural skeptic.

I guess people were more gullible in 1835. This seems like a fallout or precursor to the "fin" theory, and it would be just as easily put to bed by looking at a blade under a microscope after stropping.

But on the whole, I'm with Mick on this one.

Stropping instructions from the Flat Earth Society

Much of what passed for science and fact in those days were based on what you saw with your own eyes matched with common horse sense or at least what seemed like common sense.

Whaddaya mean? The earth ain't flat?