Thread: Where to buy lapping film?

The wife is grumbling about my lockdown beard, but the only way it is coming off is with my straight razor - which is too blunt to use at the moment.

I normally hone it with the packs of 3M lapping film from AliExpress, but I'm all out and methinks it could take a while for more to get here.

Do any of you cutlers out there know where in NZ to get it without breaking the bank? Or even better, have an old coticule or similar you'd part with?

Cheers guys!

back of a leather belt and jewelers rouge

Yup, do some youtube searches

You can lap/strop with just about anything.

Something that has a bit of "give" in it like leather is the best option. In terms of compound - hell, even toothpaste will work - it is mildly abrasive.

Originally Posted by ebf

Yup, do some youtube searches

You can lap/strop with just about anything.

Something that has a bit of "give" in it like leather is the best option. In terms of compound - hell, even toothpaste will work - it is mildly abrasive.

toothpaste and water is bloody good for plastic car headlights that have gone cloudy. being waterbased theres no chance of solvent damage.

When I got my straight razor I always thought it was a bit blunt but found a method that helps a lot. Use a pre shave lather up with a decent shave soap, followed by a hot shower (later on in the day) to soften the bristles up. Then lather up straight out of the shower, and shave as normal.
I had a kangaroo leather strop somewhere but haven't seen it for yonks.
Oh and trim off the majority of the beard first. Makes a massive difference
If you know all this, disregard

i just use a hammer, knock my whiskers to the inside and chew the buggers off

Originally Posted by mimms2

Back?? I use smooth side...

this belt is smooth inside just lacks any colour or polish etc

Thanks guys - I already have a strop that I use (without compound) before each shave, but find I need to hone with the lapping film on a glass plate once every dozen or so shaves. The razor wasn't a flash one, so probably doesn't hold an edge very well. Plus I have a pretty coarse beard. The edge is a bit far gone for stropping to bring it back now. Will try the toothpaste idea on an old weights belt I have lying around - I don't really want to stuff up my good strop.

Originally Posted by mopheadrob

Thanks guys - I already have a strop that I use (without compound) before each shave, but find I need to hone with the lapping film on a glass plate once every dozen or so shaves. The razor wasn't a flash one, so probably doesn't hold an edge very well. Plus I have a pretty coarse beard. The edge is a bit far gone for stropping to bring it back now. Will try the toothpaste idea on an old weights belt I have lying around - I don't really want to stuff up my good strop.

i have some compound you can have at no charge.

Autosol will do it.

I just get the filmy stuff thats in my lap when the dancers gone home.

What ...... oh wrong forum

Originally Posted by mopheadrob

The wife is grumbling about my lockdown beard, but the only way it is coming off is with my straight razor - which is too blunt to use at the moment.

I normally hone it with the packs of 3M lapping film from AliExpress, but I'm all out and methinks it could take a while for more to get here.

Do any of you cutlers out there know where in NZ to get it without breaking the bank? Or even better, have an old coticule or similar you'd part with?

Cheers guys!

bladesnz, they sell it specifically for the wicked edge but it will work on anything as the back is sticky, have various microns going down to .5, which is roughly 50000 grit...if they can’t help then I could sharpen it for you, never tried a double edge razor before so I would do it for postage only, no guarantees on it though.

Originally Posted by Shelley

bladesnz, they sell it specifically for the wicked edge but it will work on anything as the back is sticky, have various microns going down to .5, which is roughly 50000 grit...if they can’t help then I could sharpen it for you, never tried a double edge razor before so I would do it for postage only, no guarantees on it though.

The stuff on BladesNZ look to be the go. Any idea of the dimensions? I normally buy it in A4-sized sheets and cut in thirds, approx. 3" wide. Thanks for the offer, but for me part of the enjoyment of straight razor shaving is doing everything yourself. Also note that double edge (DE) razors are a different beast altogether.

Originally Posted by gonetropo

i have some compound you can have at no charge.

Might have to take you up on that if I'm over your way before I've been able to sort something - cheers!

Originally Posted by mimms2

..........
Yes, hot towel (opens pores and raises/softens hair) and good shave soap, work the brush against the grain of the hair to stand em up more.

I put a self adhesive mirror in the shower box and shave after washing and before I turn the shower off. Learnt that trick when I was married cos it stopped the nagging about hair in the basin........a wee bit of foam smeared over the mirror stops it from fogging up.......