Thread: To strop or not to strop?

Hi all,

So, I received my new TI Evide Sonnant this week from Lynn, who gave it a proper honing. I'm a complete newbie and will be attempting my first shave with it this weekend. The question I have is, should I attempt to strop it before using it?

My concern is that, not having good (any) stropping technique yet, I might dull the blade before I even place it against my skin.

And if I do strop, should I do both canvas and leather or just leather?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Alexander

What's up atpinak -- being a newbie myself, and posting MANY questions on the forums (lol), I wouldn't strop it prior to your first use, since it came shave-ready from Lynn. I received my first traditional straight this past week, same conditions, and I had a feeling most of the experts wouldn't do it, so I didn't lol. In terms of practicing technique, just hold the strop out and go through the motions without the razor in hand. Make sure you strop in the X-pattern, spine in-tact with the strop the entire time, and aim for a nice, low-pitched sound.

Also, most only use the leather side of the strop, from what I understand. The canvas acts as a sort of polisher.

Post back with your results brotha...knock 'em dead.

Actually the canvas has a mild abrasive quality. Use it to tune up your edge if it starts to loose some of its ooomph. You could use it before each shave if you want. Just finish lightly on the leather after using the canvas.


Scott