Thread: Strokes on Strop

Hi guys,
Another newbie question??

What should my routine be for stropping?
Im not Worried about how to strop as I'm very dexterous and pick up movements quickly and have watched the Lynn abrams vids numerous times
What i am concerned with is this. There is so much info on here that I'm confused about amount of strokes, for both poly webbing and leather, and whether to strop before and after shave or both

Also is it worth my while getting a paste for one side of my webbing, such as theirs and issard white paste/stick or a CROX green paste. What is needed and what will it do.

And if so how often is the treated side of my webbing used in a strop routine.

What will help me keep my blade sharpest between hones
And how long roughly before i send it to a honemeister?

P.S i apologise if this has been covered before, but the mountain of information on here is confusing, and as a new SR user i want to cut to the chase and at least cover a bare minimum of maintenance at the start.

P.P.S I understand from reading on SRP that a lot of this is subjective what I'm looking for is a bare minimum/best fit for a beginner guideline as a starting point.


My Strop is a 3" Latigo leather with poly webbing from SRD + A Ralph Aust 5/8 black handle basic model razor.

Thanks for your replies and patience

Michael

Well everyone has a different stropping routine and is something you will have to work out on your own. I would say a good starting point is 20/60; that is 20 on plain webbing followed by 60 on plain leather. I personally only use plain leather and never plain linen generally.
As for pastes I would suggest the plain green Crox sold by SRP as a spray. How often you will use this is also person to person, but generally when your razor starts to pull/dull hit the pasted linen to plain linen to leather. I know stropping looks super simple, but it takes a bit and practice may save you a few nicks in you new leather strop. Good luck and have fun shaving.

Here is a link to answer all your questions and then some:
What hone(s), paste(s), or spray(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Library
Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Library

I do 30/70, canvas leather before, 10/10 after. It's possibly 30/70 is over the top but I've always done it and probably always will. I have never used chromium oxide as i have never felt the need to. Even though I can now strop without even looking at what I'm doing; I feel if I used an abrasive I could more easily dull the razor if I DID get it wrong. Maybe one day I'll take my old strop and paste the canvas...

As far as keeping your razor sharp, it really is very subjective. It depends on how many razors you have, have good or badly you strop, your hair growth (thickness of hair and amount of hair) prep, etc. I started keeping a honing journal a while ago. I have 6 straights I rotate (I use each one every day generally with the occasional DE shave thrown in; and I don't shave on Sat, but generally each one is used once a week). When I looked at the journal it was six months or more between touch up hones. A touch up consists of 10 - 20 laps on a Shapton 16k; 10 for most of the razors and 20 for the Swedish razors with the harder steel.

You might be able to go months before you need to have your razor honed or it may be only weeks...It depends on so many variables...

Hope this helps a little.

Carl

I've found that 100 on leather only, seems to work for me at the moment, i'm sure that will change.

I like to do 60 nice steady strokes on leather, I have only been using a straight razor for a few months, so I'm sure my routine will change with time.

I used to strop like my life depended on it, like on TV! But now I slow it down and do it in a more controlled manner.

20/40 to 50 before and after.

Hone or paste when razor does not seem to be shaving as well as it once did.

Having the ability to shave consistently is important. While you are still learning how to get the best shave (developing your technique) you may not be able to properly judge your razors edge since you are figuring out your face. Once you have shaving down pat the edge will tell you when to hone or strop with paste

Take it easy and slow on shaving and stropping. Then send your razor in for pro honing. You will then be starting with a great edge and the knowledge of how to strop and shave.

Your linen/nylon stropping aligns the edge and more importantly cleans the bevel of soap, hair, skin, blood and oxidation (rust). Your post shaving prep will determine how many laps it will take to “clean” the bevel.

All this smutch will get transfer onto and imbedded in your leather strop if not removed from the blade. This build up will eventually scratch the bevel and can cause a chip at the edge. Oxidation is the most damaging as it will eat your edge, blood will exacerbate rust on steel.

The best thing I have found is to rinse the blade well in hot running water and wipe with a microfiber 2-3 times post shave. This will remove 90 percent of the shaving swarf, prolong your edge and make stropping more effective. Look at your bevel with magnification post shave and you will see what I am talking about.

20-30 laps on linen/nylon will usually get it off, if you did not do post shave cleaning properly. Like most thing in shaving it depends on what it needs. Look at it, do 20 laps and look at it again, if it is clean your good, if not do 10 or 20 more.

I believe linen stropping is under rated as is post shaving bevel cleanup, both will prolong edge life… either way it can’t hurt.

The number of leather laps is also dependent on what the edge needs, the strop and your technique. 40-60 laps are a good starting point.

Proper stropping can keep you shaving for a long time, it is one of the most important skills needed to keep you razor shaving at its potential.

Paste can bring back a flagging edge, but can also wipe an edge if your technique is lacking, it is an abrasive strop. Always keep the spine on the strop, lifting just once can wipe an edge.

Chrome Oxide is the best paste to begin with. I like the SRD Chrome Oxide crayon. Use Chrome sparingly, I do ¼ inch thick, 2-3 in X’s on nylon or canvas, cotton or polyester for best results. While chrome does some sharpening it is mostly for polishing for comfort. Once a week to once a month is a good maintenance routine, again depending on what your razor needs and your technique.

Proper stropping technique and Chrome maintenance schedule can keep you shaving for a long, long time.

50 pre shave,20 post,Leather only.

+1 to what Euclid440 said. The only thing I would add is a minor step when rinsing your blade after shaving. Use a drop or two of dish washing soap and carefully rub the blade with it, then finish rinsing. Just as easy, rub forefinger and thumb on a bar of soap for a washing medium.

Pre shave=25 on canvas, 50 (+/-) on leather

Post Shave=about 15 or so each on both canvas and leather. This is primarily to dry the blade before putting it up. If it's a blade which has an attutude and is prone to rust easily, a drop of Ballistol rubbed on the blade follows the stropping.