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.