Thread: too little stropping?

I bought a Clauss off ebay not too long ago from one of the more acceptable ebay sellers (altima...) which was definitely shave ready. It has been slightly more than a month and I did not get as close a shave as I had at the beginning; I use two hands and one side was decent, the "weaker" side was off. I have used the razor only 2x/week since I bought it. In all honesty I stropped about 10-15 times this morning prior to shave. My questions are:
Is there really that much of a difference between 10 and 60 laps on the strop?
Or is it a matter of re-honing the razor?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Diego

Huge difference between 10 and 60 lapps.

At 2 shaves a week for a month, that razor should still be in good shape (even with the lack of stropping)....unless you have inadvertently rolled the edge. If that is the case, you either need a pasted strop or a trip to the hones.

Take care to keep the blade flat on a tight strop; give it 60 good passes; try shaving with a light touch and a low angle. If that does not do the trick, hone it.

Cheers,
Ed

Thanks, I will strop 60 times prior to my next shave...

Now an unrelated question. I have conditioned my Dovo strop with paste...It seems that the edges on the leather side curve upward (slightly). Is this something I should worry about? Or should I change my technique? Or maybe recondition the leather?

your strop should by flat.

If your strop is not flat you do need to make it flat. I doubt re-conditioning is what is needed, but I am at a loss to think of what would help. Hopefully one of the leathermasters will see this and be able to help more than I can.

Originally Posted by dshave

Thanks, I will strop 60 times prior to my next shave...

Now an unrelated question. I have conditioned my Dovo strop with paste...It seems that the edges on the leather side curve upward (slightly). Is this something I should worry about? Or should I change my technique? Or maybe recondition the leather?

This is why many don't recommend paste on a hanging strop. A paddle or bench strop stays flat. You definitely risk rounding off the heel and toe of your razor with a pasted hanging strop as you describe.

Is it conditioning paste or abrasive paste? If abrasive, I'd suggest scrubbing it off with Saddle Soap or Goop. As far a a cupped strop, I've been able to do a pretty good job of flattening a strop by using a regular kitchen rolling pin. Just make sure it is on a flat surface.

Cheers,
Ed

It's a conditioning paste, and the rolling pin sounds like a good idea. I've got several hard-cover books on it now. I'm hoping these will do the trick.

You may want to check that the steel ring connecting the handle to the strop is straight. Any curve in this will transfer to the strop. If you regularly palm rub the strop with a slightly cupped hand, this will rectify the problem straight away.

Pastes on hanging strops does not effect the way they sharpen a razor. A workman never blames his tools

PuFF