Old Sarge Introduction

[Old Sarge]

In my research I've stumbled across palm stropping for SE blades. I guess the theory is that for initial use of a blade it could take out some of the harshness. While for a blade with a number of shaves, it could extend the life of the blade. 

Has anyone tried this with any success? And if so, what type of blade were you using, is there anything to note about the technique used and how many times would you strop each side? My concern would be that palm stropping could detract from the overall life of a blade, to include limiting the effectiveness of any coating.

I know some people palm strop. I used to run the edge of the blade just barely into a cork or a Styrofoam packing peanut to take down the harshness a little. Now if I want to reduce the harshness of a new blade I just use it in a particularly mild razor for the first shave or two. A Gem featherweight is an excellent option for this. I prefer the first Gen Featherweight to the second Gen. The differences are small though. I believe all Featherweight Deluxes were 1st Gen. In case you aren't familiar the Deluxe is the one with the Gold endcap on the handle. This makes them super easy to ID. I Can't remember if the discussion was on here about the difference between first Gen. And second Gen. It may have been on Tost2 if you or anyone else is interested I can dig up pictures and post it here somewhere.

I'd appreciate it if you dig up the info on the differences between the 1st/2nd Gen. I've seen comments on the inter webs that these are good shavers. I did know that there was one version with a gold cap on the handle, but didn't know any further details. I remember handling a couple when I first started hitting the antique stores, but at that time I knew nothing about SE razors and just kept on moving.

I had also saw a post, I think by Mantic59, about corking blades. I like your idea of using a mild razor to mitigate the harshness!