Thread: No Stropping Before A Shave?

Originally Posted by dward

+1 Big!! Except I would add "...on a cloudy day." to the mud statement.

Lynn advises to not strop prior to the first shave when he does the honing. I think it is safe to assume he has already done that. I have experienced 3 hone jobs of his so far (and should get my 4th from him within the next week or so) and agree with him. That's not say their aren't other honers who provide it stropped. YMMV

I was told that you didn't have to strop a blade first time after honing (I strop approx 10 strokes on linen and 30 strokes on leather after honing, test shave it and then repeat the stropping before it goes out) and that became the word for some reason. I still strop before every shave unless I have just honed the razor (same process 10-30 on the strop). If it sits for a couple of days, I strop it. Again, personal preference??? Not sure, but it works for me. Unfortunately, tis easy for a new person to mess up a new edge stropping incorrectly. But when they do, I will always hone it up again for them because getting successful shaves will always be the most important thing. A nice even stroke is the key, keeping the razor flat against the strop during the stroke. The main reason new people have trouble shaving is usually not the stropping, but really in finding the right angle to shave with and getting comfortable with their technique in holding the razor and learning how to apply the right angle to all the different parts of their faces.

Have fun,

Lynn