Thread: Mid Shave Stropping?

Originally Posted by mparker762

It may also be that guys with both wirey beards and cowlicks notice this more, because their beards do more damage to the blade, and also because they can't really control whether the blade is going with, across, or against the grain, so in parts of their face they wind up going against the grain on the very first pass.

Right on, Michael!

Cheers
Ivo

I think I'm with Ivo in that the quality of the shave doesn't change so much as the feeling of the blade on my skin. Without a few licks on the strop mid-shave, the edge definitely starts to feel scratchy, and I can feel my neck in particular getting raw. It's a weird sensation that I've tried to describe before and failed.

The best way I can put it is that the edge starts to feel thin. When the razor is well stropped, the whole blade feels solid to me, like I'm running a smooth ruler over my face. When the edge degrades, I become aware of the edge itself and it starts to feel like a tin can lid.

I've come to realize that pulling (and, for the most part) hair removal are more influenced by my technique--pressure, blade direction and angle--than by the mid-shave stropping. I never used to be able to go against the grain under my chin, but since I started using less pressure I'm able to do that. The razor would pull horribly under my chin and dig in, but when I dropped the spine onto my skin and used a light touch, it worked.

But a mid-shave stropper I shall always be.

Josh

Originally Posted by mparker762

It may also be that guys with both wirey beards and cowlicks notice this more, because their beards do more damage to the blade, and also because they can't really control whether the blade is going with, across, or against the grain, so in parts of their face they wind up going against the grain on the very first pass.

+1 That seems reasonable to me.

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

The best way I can put it is that the edge starts to feel thin. When the razor is well stropped, the whole blade feels solid to me, like I'm running a smooth ruler over my face. When the edge degrades, I become aware of the edge itself and it starts to feel like a tin can lid.
...a mid-shave stropper I shall always be.

Josh

Sounds exactly what I have experienced myself I have to compare it to Feather DE blades, in that it seems to be "edge of foil - like" (not dull, just not smooth and comfortable) whereas a fresh strop smoooths it out. YMMV

I was stropping mid shave until I started reconsidering the blade growing and resetting concept and the affect that the blade would have on the strop and thus the effect that the strop would eventually have on the blade.

Couldn't the blade pieces get broken off and imbedded in the leather and be well problematic?

I guess the linen side could be very useful here, or maybe you could rad up and use two or three razors per shave?

Originally Posted by Creel

I was stropping mid shave until I started reconsidering the blade growing and resetting concept and the affect that the blade would have on the strop and thus the effect that the strop would eventually have on the blade.

Couldn't the blade pieces get broken off and imbedded in the leather and be well problematic?

I guess the linen side could be very useful here, or maybe you could rad up and use two or three razors per shave?

Not familiar with this concept. Guess I should search some threads...

I have never stropped mid shave. I agree if the blade is sharp enough you shouldn't need to restrop. In addition that would add more time for the shave as well as having the lather dry out.
In my humble opinion sharp blade = no mid shave strop.

Could it not also be that:
Too sharp and delicate an edge = need mid shave strop

PuFF

Puff,
I can certainly see that a too sharp, too delicate edge could result in extra stropping needs. I don't think that has been my case as of yet in my str8 shaving experience! I have only been at it for a month +
I just noticed that on my toughest beard growth, it seems smoother to strop a lick or two (or ten) for those extra passes.

In my mind, the thing that resolves the mid-shave strop issue is the barber manuals, which all seem to advocate several stropping sessions during the shave. These guys were mostly using barber hones in the 6K-10K range, so I doubt that their edges were too delicate.

I agree that a razor that starts to pull during the shave probably isn't sharp enough, but comfort also has to do with skin sensitivity and beard toughness. A tougher beard will beat the razor's edge more, and sensitive skin will feel the extra roughness.

Perhaps these individual differences play a role in whether or not we see any benefit from mid-shave stropping.

Josh