Thread: Stropping Question

For the daily shave all you need is a plain leather strop, a linnen/canvasside is optional.

As for keeping your razor sharp, you'll have to decide if you want to learn how to hone or if you want to send it out to a honemeister once it gets dull. A pasted strop will keep your razor shaveready for a long time, and might be the most economic way to maintain a razor. If you decide to use a pasted strop for maintenance you should consider getting a 4 sided paddle to use with the pastes as it gives you the opportunity to have different pastes easily accessible. The most popular alternatives is .5 diamond, .25 diamond and .5 ChromOx

How long you can go before you need to hone your razor is dependent of your beard type, your stroping and shaving technique. So you'll probably have to hone your razors more often starting out, but after a while you'll be able to go about 2-3 months between honing, according to posts by Lynn.

Originally Posted by j03

I have a leather stop on the way. After I get my razor honed, is that all I need? How do I keep my razor sharp? Should i be investing in a separate strop with some of that paste?

Also, how long can I go with my razor before having to get it honed?

You have a hone, strop and razor. Yes, basically that is all what you need.
Everything what you invest after that are only a options for you. How much and what kind of things you want is up to you.
After honing you strop your razor and it should be ready for shaving. After shaving and drying a razor it's good to strop it again. It helps to get rid of the moisture finally.
Before next shaving you could strop again if you like . That should keep your razor sharp.
You feel that when stropping is not enough anymore and then its time to take a hone again.
Pasted strops smooth the bevel quicker then plain strop and is one option for that reason. That is to say do a honing too but in much more finer level. Do you need that depends what kind of hone you have. Some use finer hones, some pasted strops, some just a basic hone and strop, some use newspaper and so on. You don't have hurry to get a pasted strop I suggest that start with that what you have and there's still many things to learn. But finally it's your choice to do what you like.
How long you can go with your razor? There is no straight answer for that. Just do shaving and learn by doing. Stropping is almost as important as honing.
cheers
Tony

You can go about 5 minutes before a razor needs to be honed. After you get it out of the box and look at it you'll probably want to shave with it. Once you want to shave with it, it needs to be honed.

You can use only strops to maintain the edge as well. Which is being done partially by this gentleman.

He probably uses both methods (strops w/paste and hones)