Thread: Stropping the night before morning shave

I usually strop in the AM before my shave maybe a few laps after. The longer between shaves with that blade the more important to do it immediately before the shave in my opinion. Same everyday razor the day before isn't going to make a difference. A month since I last used this one I am going to do it that day.

If efficiency/time saving is what you are after. I would just go to bed 5 minutes earlier and get up 2 minutes earlier and gain 3 minutes of sleep!

I lather then let is soak 1 to 2 minutes while I get the razor off the shelf and strop. If that time to strop makes me late for work I wouldn't shave.

I have a 10 blade rotation going, I strop after I shave and the blade is ready for the next time I need it.
The way I see it, that's enough, blades don't become unstropped.

Strop after you shave to dry your edge; then strop right before the next shave. It takes about 15 to 20 seconds to strop before a shave, so time really is not an issue.

I used to strop in the evening for the next am shave. However, for the past couple months, I've been stropping (75-ish laps on bare leather only) directly after applying my lather. As Hirlau said, it only takes about minimal time, which seems to be the right amount for the lather to start 'lifting' my whiskers. Afterward, I'll rinse in hot water, wipe the blade, then do 25 laps on linen, to remove any soap, etc. particles.

Does not matter but when I rise early (03:00) for work I strop the night before and lay all my gear out but i am a stropping minimalist as in I do 25/25 linen/leather and my post is 10/10, my unofficial testing told me doing the 25/75 on the pre shave and 25/25 on the post was way over kill and my edges have not suffered

I have a theory. Bear with me.

It is well known that the edge of a sharpened razor is not a solid edge, but a row of microscopic 'feathers' which stropping is intended to align. When a razor is used, these feathers become misaligned.

If left untouched over a period of time after shaving, say 24 hours, these feather will exercise some memory and attempt to realign sans stropping. They "grow", if you will.

Without stropping, they grow in a misaligned pattern. If they are stropped and aligned and then left to "grow" they will grow aligned and produce a somewhat sharper edge because they have been previously aligned.

In my theory, if a razor that has not been used for say, 24-hours, stropped the day or the night before it is used (allowing aligned finger growth after stropping), it will present a sharper edge than a razor that was used the previous morning and then stropped again for use the next day, or which has been stropped immediately prior to shaving.

Am I mistaken, deluded, making stuff up, just plain f'n wrong, or all of the above?