Printable View
Gents, I have a question on the proper time to strop your blade. I’ve heard you should strop before shaving. My question is this, can you strop in the evening or night before your morning shave the next day? I just was thinking it might be a good idea to strop in the late afternoon early evening before my daily morning shave to save some time in the morning. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Personally you can strop anytime. Before the shave. Between passes.
I strop after i shave and again the day before I use that razor. I also strop on a shell strop immediately before I shave.
As bouschie says, strop when it makes you happy.
That’s great to hear. I just finished stropping my SR in the following order.Quote:
Originally Posted by bouschie
15 laps on linen with cromox
30 laps on clean linen
60 laps on smooth leather
It now can easily pass the HHT multiple times on the same strand of hair.
Are you wiping the blade clean after the CrOx? You could transfer CrOx to the clean linen.
I’m wiping the blade after the chromox side before moving on to the clean linen. I make sure there’s none left on the blade.
I have been stropping the night/day before for a number of years now. I use a different razor every day. The one I just finished using gets wiped dry, stropped on linen for 10 or so laps to make sure the edge is dry and laid out open for a few hours before being put away.
Bob
I doubt that it really matters but I've always stropped right before my shave. Just to make sure that if any corrosion had begun, it was stropped off. I also strop after I finish the shave to clean any soap scum off the blade.
always have stropped after my shave (usually at night) to make sure it's dry and ready to go for the next time (two days later). No problems with edge retention or rust AFAIK.
I always strop the night before, to save time in the morning, plus the only time I've ever nicked a strop was when I was half-awake one morning. I rotate through about 40 razors and enjoy picking one out the night before, and find stropping relaxing and enjoyable. In the morning when I'm rushing to get to work, I'd find it more of a chore, something I had to do before shaving. I could get up earlier, but I have to get too early the way it is. Strop at whatever time you are comfortable with.
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?
:thinking: