Thread: Turns out the strop is pretty important

I've been trying to get my self-sharpened blade as sharp and as comfortable as one done by a well known honemeister around here. After much work, head scratching, shaved arm hair, swearing, etc., I've come to the conclusion that I just wasn't stropping it enough. The blade passed every sharpness test out there, it just wasn't comfortable. It was very irritating and scratchy, where Glen's blade was smooooooth.

I stropped it on a paddle strop for thirty minutes straight. I'm not exactly fast on the stropping (I'm more concerned about accurate strokes than total number of strokes), but that's still *alot* of stropping. The shave I had afterwards was just as smooth as Glen's blade.

Now I know what he meant by "strop the crap out of it" after the .25 diamond paste. Turns out Glen's alot smarter than I gave him credit for....

Paddle strop guys: if you're not getting a smooth shave, try more stropping. It sure seems like it takes more laps on a paddle strop than a hanging strop to get the same amount of blade smoothing.

And Glen... thanks again for all your help and patience. I think I'm finally getting somewhere!

If I'm out traveling and using my paddle strop I usually slow way down and do about 100 laps. Takes a few minutes, but it makes all the difference in the shave.

X

FloorPizza, Glen helped me there too. When I first started straight shaving, my stropping was not very efficient anyway and I required many more passes than I do now to get the razor as sharp / smooth as it needed to be. And it was Glen who persuaded me to strop a newly paste-stropped razor 100 times on linen then 100 on leather. It was exactly what I needed at the time, and it worked.

Stropping is King!

Stropping is absolutely fundamental! It's the very first skill one has to master when learning to shave with a straight razor. I remember that when I bought my first razor it didn't do much to my arm hairs... I was disappointed, really! I bought it from a member here (gone missing, I guess...) that claimed that - and I believe him - it was honed by Lynn. I stropped the razor and it worked wonders. Sure.... I understropped! But it showed me that stropping is important! Of course, the shave was not good... but it showed me it's important enough to make a strop a mandatory part of the kit.

Totally here with Ya on this one, stropping is really the difference in how a blade feels... I have said it many times, that the edge can only get so sharp, there is an actual physical limit to just what that is, but how smooth the shave becomes is all in the stropping (after you have the blade sharp)....
Now try 20 laps between passes and see what happens
Get the impression I actually enjoy stropping a razor (strapping for Lee)

Glen, I'm sending all my razors to you for honing and whatever pixie dust your sprinkling on them. You've got newbies believing a honed razor actually is sharp!

I was just reading on some stupid knife honing website that "when it comes to honing razors its all about smoothness . . . not so with a knife"

I immediately went up and did 100 passes on 8K and stropped that baby to perfection! Yup, it really is all about smoothness.

Alan:
Shhhhh it ain't pixie dust brother it's these special Idaho mushrooms that I cut with the razors edge right before stropping that does the trick

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Alan:
Shhhhh it ain't pixie dust brother it's these special Idaho mushrooms that I cut with the razors edge right before stropping that does the trick

I knew it!!!! Glen, I'm coming with the chainsaw, bro - can't wait for the shave after I hit them shrooms.,,

Stropping is FUN! I love the act as much as any part of shaving. Glad to hear (read) you are coming up to speed on your self sharpened blade!


-Rob

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

FloorPizza, Glen helped me there too. When I first started straight shaving, my stropping was not very efficient anyway and I required many more passes than I do now to get the razor as sharp / smooth as it needed to be. And it was Glen who persuaded me to strop a newly paste-stropped razor 100 times on linen then 100 on leather. It was exactly what I needed at the time, and it worked.

Stropping is King!

Linen... I gotta get me a linen strop.. *sigh* back to Tony's place, I guess...