Thread: Stropping technique and regiment +Pulling?

I have a Fromm Illinois Strop with a clean cloth side and a flat leather side. How much should I strop between uses? I really don't seem to notice much of a difference when I strop, and my razors seem to be pulling. This is contrary to a lot of what people have been saying about stropping. Maybe I am doing it wrong? I feel like I got it down, but maybe there is something I am missing. How much pressure? Do you need to do X strokes if it is less than 3 inches, or can you just kind of pull it towards you when you come down and away from you when you go up? How many laps should be sufficient? Finally, how much pulling should there actually be? Or rather, how smooth should a shave be? Because even after getting my razor professionally honed (Hollow Ground Cattaraugus Green Lizard), it was still pulling slightly and rather loud. Is that just a part of shaving or is mine not sharp enough? What is a good test to see if it is sharp enough? Thank you all very much

Did you strop it after pro hone? X strokes on narrow strop. Takes a fair bit of patience, a good ides I got from here is practice with a butter knife. 20 - 40 laps should do, but not hard to roll the edge while learning.

I'm sorry I don't quite understand. Pro hone? And can you link me to a good stropping video? I don't seem to be able to understand. And what does it mean to roll the edge and how do you prevent it?

Did you strop your professionally honed razor before using it?

If so you may have damaged that with your stropping. If you didn't and it was from a reputable honer then that is probably what you will experience.

I think it is hard to understand what is meant by sharp, no pull, or perfect shave from reading about it. I really question what many call BBS. Unless I could rub their face after a shave.....

Seriously after experiencing a professionally honed edge I think I was chasing the possibly impossible with my own honing/stropping.

Not sure if I did. It has been a few months. I have a barbers hone and a full set of nortons. Should I touch it up on the barber hone?

When you are first starting out less is more. Developing a proper stropping technique can take months of practice before you actually start improving your edges. Least this was my experience. I would look at your technique, on my face if I open up the angle a little to much, the razor kinda wants to dig in making it feel like it's tugging. When you are new, there are so many variables that can affect the quality of your shave. Even if your lather is lacking that can have an effect on the quality of your shave. My advice would be to read through the library and get the basics down. Meeting with a mentor in person is also another great option. Hope I helped in some way.

What is proper stopping technique? Maybe you could link me to an article/video about proper shaving and stropping technique because I can't really seem to find them

Razor stropping - Shave Library
This is a pretty good reference. There is two videos at the very bottom.

Thank you RezDog!

One from the boss...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=