Thread: No Stropping Before A Shave?

Hello Ryan,
I will try and make this response to the point. I have been using a straight razor exclusively for 31 years. I have only been a member of this forum for a couple of months. With that being said, I can understand your frustration with the many answers and variations of answers to particular questions. I was taught by my Grand-Dad starting at a young age and by age 12 was utilizing only a straight to shave with. My experience is going to be much different than someone who has gotten their start by reading this forum and putting into practice that which they have gleaned without the invaluable one-on-one technique from an experienced, older and wiser mentor such as I was afforded. Just as I have found over the many years what works best for me, you in time will find what works best for you. I have always sharpened all of my razors and indeed was also taught this by my Grand-Dad as well as stropping my razors on leather. I don't use "High Tech Hones" that cost hundreds of dollars or microscopes, oscilliscopes or any other magnification products to achieve very sharp razors. If I were to hone a razor for you and inform you that it is "Shave Ready" and no stropping is necessary, then this is exactly what I mean because I always strop at least 100 passes on a freshly honed razor. However, after you shave with one of my freshly honed razors, you will still need to use the strop before your next shave with it. This is just the nature of steel after the cutting process. Could you shave 3 or 4 times without using a strop? Probably, but you really would notice a difference if you refrained from doing so.
Stropping in my opinion is as important as honing. You will never master the straight razor shave without it being stropped properly, on the contrary as you stated in your post, poor stropping technique could indeed render a freshly honed razor nothing more than a glorified butter knife! Stropping though is not a secret process reserved for the "Master Ninja". It is just putting steel to leather through multiple passes refining and aligning the cutting edge. Take for instance my technique. I too have read many posts on stropping in this forum. There are as many variations and opinions as there are members. I disagree with many of them. For one thing, I have never used linen, or canvas or cotton or newspaper or any other material that works as well as plain old leather. Do these work for others on this site? Yes, I'm sure they do or at least those that utilize other materials think so. That is really all that counts. Secondly, There is only ONE way to pull the blade on leather or any other stropping material and that is with the spine leading PERIOD!!! However, as with everything there are variations. some prefer a really taut strop, in fact, I have seen folks practically pull the hook out of the wall by pulling so tight. For myself, I just keep it from sagging to the point of resembling a bananna! My strop is not very tight, I let it have some play in it, maybe as much as 1 or 2 inches when stropping. Now keep in mind that I have read on this site that stropping my way will damage the blade, or cause it to warp or some other crazy thing. I know this is not the case in real life scenarios. I'm sure in time...maybe 2000 years give or take of stropping my way on the same exact razor with the same exact strop that this might cause some funky blade wear but who cares? It hasn't thus far in 30 plus years. So in closing, just find what works for you. Experiment with your razors. I know this can seem poor counsel when blades are expensive, but once you figure out that this is not rocket science, rather just sharpening and honing steel to cut whiskers, it puts it all into perspective. If you dull a blade just sharpen it. If you roll a blade on a strop, just touch it up on a high grit stone. It need not be complicated. Everything can be sharpened and repaired within minutes provided you do not CHIP a blade. Remember too, stropping need not be fast, it just needs to be deliberate. Just try and keep the blade and spine touching at the same time and as flat as you can. Pull the blade with the spine leading, turn the blade over either by rolling it backwards on it's spine and into position or actually picking the blade up off the strop and turning it over with the spine making contact first followed by the blade and make your next pass. I have taught others to shave with a razor including my oldest son in college. The single biggest mistake guys make when first learning to strop is...going too fast!!!!! They want to look like the "Barber Of Seville or some such non-sense". Second biggest mistake...too much pressure on the blade. Don't try and push it clean through the strop an onto the floor! Just touch it to the leather, not like a sissy rubbing a feather on it, but rather a conscious attempt to apply constant pressure of the weight of the blade. Third...[B]Lifting the spine just before they reach the end of their pass before turning to strop the other direction. This is a sure fire method to roll you razor's edge. I hope this helps and gives some confidence to those just starting out.

Respectfully,