Thread: No Stropping Before A Shave?

My personal feelings on the matter.

As someone who rolled their first razor up their first stropping attempt, had it fixed, then clunked it on the faucet just at the start of the second try at shaving. I say if you get a blade advertised as shave ready, Try it out as it is. To my face a sharp but unstropped blade feels a tiny bit harsh, the shave could be a touch smoother, but the razor will never be sharper, and I don't think the shave will ever be closer.

Proper stropping only smooths and perfects an already sharp blade. It does make or break an attempt to achieve a perfectly smooth comfortable shave but it can also ruin a perfectly sharpened edge. Someone who has never tried to strop a razor then use it, though they may have practiced with dull blades until they are confident in themselves, may still screw it up and find themselves having a bad first experience. If you just shave without risking the edge while the shave will be less than it could be at least it will be pretty good.