Advice from experienced shavers required!!!

Hey,
I'm completely new to straight razor shaving and would appreciate your advice on 2 topics....one thing i do know is that i should strop before shaving....however i have a book that says you should strop after shaving to completely dry and realign the blade....then some websites say never under any circumstances strop after shaving...PLEASE HELP ?!? which is it? Ive stropped my dovo bismarck twice after shaving....based on this book!!!! I guess twice shouldnt have done any harm though??:confused:

Also, i find i give myself a really good SAFE shave if i leave the hair grow 2 days or so, so theres a bit of length in the hair...however, does anyone else find that if the hair is not long enough they get a bad BITING shave with a few nicks? I think maybe its because the skin at the hair folicles is still projecting outwards???

Any help would be great!! :rock:

First off welcome to SRP !!!!!!

Stropping:
Many here strop after the shave about 10 laps to clean and prep the edge... It will not hurt the blade as long as you strop correctly....
The before shave stropping is way more important, most recommend between 40-60 laps ....

Yes I agree with the second day being a great shave but I enjoy my shave time way to much to skip a day on purpose :D
As you gain more experience the shaves will become even smoother....so it won't matter as much....

Hello and welcome!

I always strop before I shave. I typically strop a few times after shaving simply to properly dry off the shaving edge. A lot of older sources say to refrain from stropping after shaving since the metal is prone to micro-chipping because it's brittle afterwards, but I think that's mostly seen as a myth.... I haven't seen any adverse results from stropping afterwards at least. I typically do 30 strokes linen then 60 leather before each shave.

If you're getting bad results shaving only 1 days growth then chances are that you're using too much pressure/the angle is off, or that your razor isn't quite sharp enough. I got irritation from my first shaves, t's just a matter of practice :D. You're only going to improve from here,

Dave

As to the first question, I always strop a few times after the shave to dry off the edge and no problems so far. Strop correctly and there's no harm to be done in my experience. The second is I think, probably more down to the fact that your face just isn't used to it yet. I could never shave two days in a row before using a straight (well I could, but it hurt) and for the first month it was the same. Now, a year or so in, it's rare that I don't shave every day, may give it a miss tomorrow due to a horrible cut on the chin today though that was due to not stretching and too much pressure, a second's inattention is all it took.

Welcome!

I'd like to see information that instructs a person NOT to strop post shave. I can't understand why anyone would advise against such a prudent practice.

Depending on the razor's environment, micro-corrosion (rust) can occur rapidly; even minutes after a blade is at rest. Micro-corrosion contributes to a bad shave (who wants to shave with a rusty edge???)

I always give my razors 25-35 post shave strops. For me I generally use the flesh side of my strops that I've hand finished to a velvety surface. Velvety, but the flesh side of my strops have more nap than the grain side. I visualize thousands of soft absorbent fibers sucking up any moisture and cleaning the edge of any gunk.

Chris L

Chris:
After reading that description I just got the mental image of you stropping on a ShamWow !!!!!!:rofl2::rofl2::rofl2:

I strop post shave on linen to clean the bevel from the dead cells and soap remnants that are saturated with moisture( for my oppinion, this is the purpose of linen or cotton canvas side of the strop)
I strop pre shave on leather to realighn the edge ( the only reason is to allow time on lather to soften my whiskers)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Chris:
After reading that description I just got the mental image of you stropping on a ShamWow !!!!!!:rofl2::rofl2::rofl2:

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I laughed out loud when I read your post, Glen. I guess you're right; what I wrote does make it sound like I should have a microphone headset on and a crowd gathered around me; wait, I do have a mic headset on. Yikes, I hope there's no crowd coming!:(

Chris L

Welcome to SRP ! I always do 10 round trips on my horeshide strop after shaving. The other folks explained why as well as I can. Here is some reading to get you started and here are some videos that my be helpful.

When shaving if you are trying to get it all in one pass that may be part of the problem. Here is a little writeup on multiple pass shaving. Read my sig at the bottom of this post and that my help you avoid nicks.

:gl:

Welcome to SRP!
Just in case you need any reinforcement, I always strop my blade about 20 times or so on horsehide after shaving.
Before shaving, it gets about 60 laps on latigo and 20 on horsehide.

Thanks for all your help lads!! Also a relief to know i havent destroyed my new bismarck razor by stropping after shaving!
Straight Razor Strop Use and Care, How to Strop Single Edge Razors, About Stropsg
for those of you wondering who told me not to strop after shaving...there's the link! seems like strange advice after talking to you guys!

Thanks again!

I was reading the posts here and I have a question. The questions is why do you guys make so many passes on your strop before shaving?I only make about 10-15 passes before the shavr and 10-15 after.If I understand correctly stropping after the shave is needed to clean and realign the edge. Then letting the blade rest will straighten it further.If this is true then the blade should not be that far out of whack as to need thaat much stropping.Please explain this stopping tech so that I understand why or whynot I may or maynot be doing it correctly.Yuor advice is welcome and appreciated.

Slightly off topic but still relevant. I would not store your razor in your bathroom but in a different room that is not subject to constant induced moisture - i.e. closet. Having the razor live in the dampest room in the house with daily moisture created in our bathroom from showers or baths will not help your razor and might cause rust or micro damage to the edge, especially if your bathroom is small or gets very steamy/damp and is not extremely well ventilated.

Not everyone agrees with this but I do not take the chance. moisture and the fine edge of a razor don't mix well.

I also strop post shave on the linen about 15 times to clean and dry it to ensure that it is very dry - I do not like moisture. I also apply a very thin coat of camellia oil (spelling?) after each shave which is way overkill but I live in NC which is pretty humid.

Have fun!

First to the OP strop whenever you like, but for my money stropping right before the shave gives me the most comfortable shave.

I shave most every day. Though after two days growth I seem to have the easiest time getting a really comfortable close shave. I don't find myself any more likely to cut myself with a daily shave or any other time, though most of my cuts come when shaving every day for the simple reason that there are far more daily shaves than others for me.

I have always stored my razors in my bathroom drawer, no problems. YMMV

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spanx

I was reading the posts here and I have a question. The questions is why do you guys make so many passes on your strop before shaving?I only make about 10-15 passes before the shavr and 10-15 after.If I understand correctly stropping after the shave is needed to clean and realign the edge. Then letting the blade rest will straighten it further.If this is true then the blade should not be that far out of whack as to need thaat much stropping.Please explain this stopping tech so that I understand why or whynot I may or maynot be doing it correctly.Yuor advice is welcome and appreciated.

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I strop anywhere from 30 to about 60 passes on the leather before my shave. I don't strop after. I am looking for a certain feel in the draw during the stropping that tells me when I've done enough. when I first begin to strop the razor moves along slickly, but as I strop the draw begins to build, and I strop until the draw is strong and smooth all along the stroke. Sorry I can't describe it better than that.

Someone, a member here, some time back also studied this. They found through systematic testing that their best shaves were with roughly 60 laps and that less than thirty seemed to have little effect upon the shave. Since with some experience sixty laps takes less than thirty seconds, I figure most guys just shoot high and call it good.

I strop after every shave. It doesn't hurt your razor. There is no amount of proper stropping which can be considered too much, so strop whenever you like. Strop in the middle of the night if you wish. Strop on your lunch break. Strop before the hockey game ... you get the idea.

I also shave every other day and find I get closer more comfortable shaves that way.

X

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yahoochiewatchie

Thanks for all your help lads!! Also a relief to know i havent destroyed my new bismarck razor by stropping after shaving!
Straight Razor Strop Use and Care, How to Strop Single Edge Razors, About Stropsg
for those of you wondering who told me not to strop after shaving...there's the link! seems like strange advice after talking to you guys!

Thanks again!

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What a wealth of dis-information that article is!!!:nono:

The only other site I've seen with more incorrect "facts" is the DOVO homepage:gaah: