Rounded tip or not

So, ever since I fell into the art of straight razor shaving a few weeks ago, I have been religiously trolling the forums for advice to better my technique in all areas from lather, pressure, angle and stropping. There is so much information, it becomes overwhelming and confusing. One example is the subject of stropping. There are so many opinions on this and they all seem slightly different.

One particular part of the subject is the part of rolling the blade. I read this all the time from members replying to new members posts. When someone starting out comments about their shaves not working out, at least one person states that the edge could be rolled due to improper stropping.

My problem is, how do us new guys know? We could continuosly send our razors in for re-honing but that seems a bit crazy. I read somewhere that a new guy sent his razor in for honing fearing a rolled edge. The person doing the re-honing stated that he only had to strop properly to return the edge to shave ready.

Some say that a modular strop is best for learning, others say that modular strop are very pressure sensitive and can cause more problems. How is someone supposed to practice and get better while fearing their equipment is faulty? How can we learn to strop fearing we will ruin the edge on our newly honed razors?

I am going to persist on concentrating on my technique before I start questioning my equipment. I will concentrate on stropping, pressure, angle, and lather. I can only hope at this point, that I am teaching myself proper technique.

You're a good man. You'll do well with wet shaving.

You want to learn and seem willing to take the time to do things right.

Modular or hanging strop you'll get used to either.. I don't know what rolling the edge is because I've never done it.

I really wouldn't send your razor out until it can't be stropped back to acceptable shape. Waste of time and money sending it otherwise.

Have you got a chromium oxide Strop? Touch up hone?

Practice without fear. Fear for me led to mistakes and cut strops.

Also don't buy a super expensive Strop for your first one or if you did buy a cheap one and cheap blade and get your strop on.

Your title question is round tip or not?
Which looks better to your eyes?

Rounded tips are more forgiving.
Especially for beginners.

Don't worry if a 60+ year old, me, can tech himself to shave with a straight razor you can too. Lots of mistakes will be made along the way also but that is normal and you learn from them.

As for rolling an edge there are ways you can check for it. If you search the site there will be some posts on how to do that.

Nobody likes to send a razor out for honing but as a beginner you will dull a blade more often than someone who has been at this game for a while. That is normal too.

Bob

A tip I give new guys learning to strop is practice using a butter knife; you acquire proper technique, gain muscle memory and won't cut your strop. For stropping before you shave until you do learn proper technique lay your strop flat on a counter top or use a paddle strop.

when stropping DO NOT lift the spine, DO NOT use more pressure that the weight of the blade. If you do those 2 things, you won't roll the edge.

Laying your hanging strop on a table or counter while you learn removes a whole variable from the equation. Its a good way to start out. Keep it slow and light with the spine on the strop at all times, you won't have any issues.

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Originally Posted by DoughBoy68

A tip I give new guys learning to strop is practice using a butter knife; you acquire proper technique, gain muscle memory and won't cut your strop. For stropping before you shave until you do learn proper technique lay your strop flat on a counter top or use a paddle strop.

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Originally Posted by ecormier

when stropping DO NOT lift the spine, DO NOT use more pressure that the weight of the blade. If you do those 2 things, you won't roll the edge.

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This is how I learned to strop correctly - Once you've got the feel of it with the butter knife you can relax into it a bit more with the razor!

Its also a good idea not to buy an expensive strop until you've got your stropping down pat as you'll likely slash your first strop a few times, I certainly did.

IME you'd have to be going pretty heavy-handed with the stropping to knacker your edge to such an extent that it needs re-honing. As long as you're not using loads of pressure even if you do inadvertently scuff the edge it shouldnt require anything more than some corrective stropping to restore it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

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Originally Posted by Stubear

IME you'd have to be going pretty heavy-handed with the stropping to knacker your edge to such an extent that it needs re-honing. As long as you're not using loads of pressure even if you do inadvertently scuff the edge it shouldnt require anything more than some corrective stropping to restore it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

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But then that is the trick isn't it? A beginner doesn't know how to properly strop to correct it.

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Originally Posted by Splashone

But then that is the trick isn't it? A beginner doesn't know how to properly strop to correct it.

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Well I'm assuming that a beginner knows how to strop to some extent and understands the concept, its just the odd miscue they're worried about? Rather than "I have a razor and a strop and I have no idea whatsoever on how to apply one to the other" :)

So if you do 10 correct strokes (light pressure, flipping on the spine) and then fluff one this shouldnt knacker the edge and require a re-hone, and by doing another few correct strokes that should mitigate for the one bad one.

When I first started with the straight, I read everything I could possibly read about all aspects of the straight. Read all about improper stropping and rolling an edge. I was so afraid of rolling and edge that I was more concerned about putting my blade on leather than I was putting it on my skin. What it all boils down to is that you can not learn without practicing. You have to do it to develop the proper feel, flip and pressure. I will say that I'm sure you can roll an edge but I think that I read it can happen far more than reading that it did happen.

Practice with a light touch-weight of the blade pressure. Stop all movement at the end of the stroke and get the flip down correctly before starting the razor moving again.

All it takes is time, experience and practice, you will get it.

Also keep the strop pulled tight don't let it sag. You don't want it to bow keep it tight . Move your razor up the strop like it was wet concert and you want to put a glass finish on it . Go slow up & down the strop. A bow caused by laziness or to much pressure is not good . Don't try to do it fast. Slow & soft put a glass finish on your strop. I hope this helps :beer1:

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Originally Posted by jrudd

One particular part of the subject is the part of rolling the blade. I read this all the time from members replying to new members posts. When someone starting out comments about their shaves not working out, at least one person states that the edge could be rolled due to improper stropping.

My problem is, how do us new guys know? We could continuosly send our razors in for re-honing but that seems a bit crazy. I read somewhere that a new guy sent his razor in for honing fearing a rolled edge. The person doing the re-honing stated that he only had to strop properly to return the edge

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I think the suggestion of a rolled edge is far more common than a rolled edge. There is a good YouTube video that shows all the basics of checking out a edge for faults that Euclid has posted many times.

The problem is new guy says I have a problem and none of us can see the blade so we fire off the most common ailments and hope it helps. You can learn to check out the edge yourself or better find a bit local help.

It's not as complicated as it seems so go slow, light and do plenty of laps. Strop even when you don't need to. Spend 10 minutes a couple times a day and in a week it seems easy. Don't over think it just keep a taught strop and light touch and you will be fine.

No round toe is my recommendation only because I find I have problems with a square toe on my neck in the hollows when I need to use the toe to scoop inside the hollows.

As a beginner, first shave may be tomorrow, I would get a Cheap 440 stainless razor and practice stropping. This is what I've done. The trick is how you roll your wrist and thumb with the blade to keep from lifting the edge on the strop dulling it.

Okay, so I shaved this morning after stropping 20 times on the cloth side then roughly 60 on the leather. The shave went great. One pass with the grain, one pass across the grain and one pass against the grain. It felt pretty good until a few minutes after finishing. I had red rough skin on my neck, chin, and at the edges of my mouth. I am glad a I have a full arsenal of post hair removal lotions and oils thanks to the wife but I should have to use it. I am starting to feel like I am a teenager just learning to shave.

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Originally Posted by jrudd

Okay, so I shaved this morning after stropping 20 times on the cloth side then roughly 60 on the leather. The shave went great. One pass with the grain, one pass across the grain and one pass against the grain. It felt pretty good until a few minutes after finishing. I had red rough skin on my neck, chin, and at the edges of my mouth. I am glad a I have a full arsenal of post hair removal lotions and oils thanks to the wife but I should have to use it. I am starting to feel like I am a teenager just learning to shave.

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Classic "too much - too soon" results, and we have all been there.

The irritation is most likely a combination of too much pressure - one of the harder things to get a handle after using carts - and too many passes (with too much pressure)

But if you have not bled out by now, this is going to be easy to fix.
Give yourself a break for a day or two if you can to let the face heal/recover.
And when you do shave, think; "comfort is King" and "only enough pressure to remove the lather"

Conventional wisdom (whatever that is) is to start with the WTG pass and follow up with a DE when you are starting out - adding passes (XTG, ATG) in stages.

Comfort first, closeness and speed will come along shortly...

+1 to the above. Take it slow or your going to be getting these results for a while. We have all done it and all that happens is you spend more time healing than shaving. Slow and steady and it won't be long before you will be able to do it all

So, I took everyone's advice and took it slow this morning. I concentrated on angle and pressure. It was difficult for me as it seems to go against my instinct to use such light pressure. I was surprised that I was actually shaving. The end result was a comfortable shave which was fairly close on a single pass and zero razor burn.

I really think it's all coming together. Thanks everyone for putting up with my seemingly basic questions.

That's good news. Just remember the idea is not to remove all stubble in one pass but to reduce it over a series of passes.

Bob

Don’t roll your wrist, hold the razor at opposing corners of the tang so one corner, (with the edge facing you on your away stroke, the top corner on the edge side) is in the middle of the thumb pad, the opposing corner, (bottom spine side) is on you index finger.

Then like flipping a switch with the thumb, flip the razor, by pushing on the corner, like a switch in the direction of the flip. The corner below will now be on top, in the middle of the thumb pad and the razor will gently have landed on the strop. Flip the thumb back the opposite direction at the end of the stroke to return the tang to the corner you started with. If you flip properly the wrist will not move at all and you have complete control of the amount of pressure at the flip.

If you flip your wrist, you will use too much pressure and slam the razor and possibly the edge onto the strop and can roll or bend the edge. Remember the edge is so fine we cannot see it without about 1,000 X magnification, it does not take much to bend and break it.

Rolling an edge is just bending it, bend it too much or too many times, it breaks and causes a chip. It can “Roll”/bend at the flip, (biting the strop), flipping while still in forward motion (biting the strop), using too much downward pressure or lifting the spine off the strop while in movement.

When you flip with your whole wrist, even if stopped you can still have forward movement with the rolling action of the wrist. When done properly with the thumb, only the thumb and the razor move, the wrist does not.

The strop does not have to be super taught, as long as you don’t apply downward pressure on the razor.