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Hello
I have a new strop coming to me and it is a 2" wide. A question I have for those of you that use narrow strops, do you start your X pattern with the heal on the strop or the toe on the strop. I am assuming it is a personal preference thing but was just curious if anyone had a reasoning behind it.
If this should be in the strop forum would a mod please move it...thanks..
eric
Starting with the heal on the strop makes the X pattern part of a natural motion, at least if you hold the razor in your dominant hand and the strop with the other. To make the toe first natural, you would have to stand with your arms crossed.
Some things just come naturally if you don't over analyze them, this is true of most things involved with shaving.
If you start with the toe then you are likely to under- or over-shoot the heel. I see no benefit to outweigh that disadvantage.
I did once experiment using a diagonal stroke (SW to NE, then returning NE to SW), there seemed to be potential for greater speed, but I soon returned to using an X-stroke with the heel in contact at the start of each stroke. It just feels natural.
I start on the down: heel to toe; and go up- toe to heel.
do you hone that same way...so that the stropping and honing arein opposite and crossing ways...Quote:
Originally Posted by kevint
i read some of your other post about honing and stropping direction...interesting and at the same time very confussing for a newbie...haha
I believe I do both the same. Pushing away/ toe to heel. pulling back to me/ heel to toe. Not for directional reasons though. It's only because that's the way I do it.
Which is not to say that I always do things the same way all the time, especially honing.
Stropping from the top; heel down : left to right. going back up; starting on the toe: right to left. with the wrist straight, is my default (feels most regulated) mode. However, starting at the top, toe on the right side moving down to the left feels pretty good too. The other way feels more like a sawing motion as I hold the strop in my left. The wrist and forearm of the right are more parallel to the direction of movement.
So I have probably called such movements X strokes before, but both up and down are all parallel diagonals to keep it simple.
I think it's best to stick to X-pattern, heel to toe. It may not matter too much, but the barber's manual directs doing it this way, so you know it's worked well for many people.
One of my favorite strops was a vintage 2" shell with cutout handle (similar to the old apprentice strops of tony miller).
I've never given my stropping any thought and have always done heel to toe. I'll give this a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by kevint
I've found this method (see diagram) to be very effective:
Attachment 23294
It's an X pattern, but with an arc.
Just something you might want to give a try. Oh, and you'd start the stroke with the point (toe) where the red line begins (the razor perpendicular to the strop or slightly angled opposite from the final position shown) then follow through, as diagrammed, with that arcing, or sweeping stroke as shown. Kind of like a wind shield wiper.
And, the razor doesn't fall off of the strop. You'd do your flip at about the spot where the diagram shows the razor resting at the end of the stroke, and then start the second stroke at the beginning of the other red line.
Hope that's not confusing.
I've been practicing with a narrow strop and find the heal-to-toe X pattern to seem natural. Just go slow on the change up because the lifting and/or sliding should be done carefully. Sometimes I go fast and don't get it right.
Yeah, listen to honedright, he knows his stropping better than most of us.
And when all is said and done, you should strop the way that works for you. I do what was illustrated above because I think it works best. You need to determine what works best for you. :tu
that seems if you start with the toe on the strop you heal will never hit the strop on a 2" or am I not visualizing it right.Quote:
Originally Posted by honedright
Just start your stroke with the blade a little higher up on the strop and maybe a little more angled to get the heel on the strop. Just play around with it. Then just sweep the blade along and diagonally across the strop in an arc. I think the arc is just a more natural and fluid motion, rather than trying to make strict straight line movements. Just try it and see. Maybe you will come up with your own most better stropping method. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by erictski
when I wrote "to keep it simple" above I was thinking of arcs- because i figured the post confusing enough re-reading I see that it is i didnt want to mention arcs.
I just cant make Xs
I go up left right and down right left - it doesn't seem to be doing any harm to my razor. I also don't count my laps - I have no idea why though!
Different strokes for different folks.
I guess there's really no such thing as a "right" way to do all of this.
Some methods would only be "wrong" if either a) you can't, in spite of trying, do it, or b) if said method just doesn't get the results you are after. Then it might be wrong for you.
How's that for straight razor wisdom?
So I understand (conceptually) that I would use this X pattern with a 2 inch strope, but what about a 3 inch strope. Does this same technique still apply?
BTW, I want to let everyone know that is this a great string. It's extremely helpful for me (hopefully others) to hear about the different tips & tricks.
honedright - I don't know where you got that diagram but I appreciate you posting it. I have been over-thinking the X pattern and you helped put that to rest.
I drew the diagram with MS Paint a long time ago. It was posted on SRP a couple of years ago, but I think it was lost.Quote:
Originally Posted by travec
I use the technique on any sized strop. I played around with many different methods for stropping for years and finally found this arcing X pattern to be the most comfortable and effective for me. I just pass it along in case others might find it helpful.
I edited (rather poorly) my original diagram to give a better idea of how the razor is positioned at the start of the stroke. Just in case someone might still have trouble with the concept:
Attachment 23376
Cool, Scott!
I started with the X-pattern, heal to toe, and
then eventually just started stropping straight
and moving the razor as I go. I'm hoping that
my new 3" strop will be as good as my 2" :)
- Scott
So how do you guys hold the strop? Say you mount it to a wall, bracket, whatever, and pull it perpendicular to the wall. Are you facing the wall or are you facing parallel with the wall?
It seems like with an arcing technique it would be easier to face parallel with the wall and use a stropping motion kind of like dealing cards, whereas with a push pull technique it would be more natural to face the wall.
Am I making any sense?
I'm just conceptualizing here, as I have yet to receive my strop and SR
This is actually very cool. I have a really big loom strop that I use a lot and find myself almost doing figure 8's with it which is very similar to this.Quote:
Originally Posted by honedright
Thanks,
Lynn
Yes, actually when you really get your rhythm going with this method, a figure eight type pattern comes naturally.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynn
Thanks Lynn.
This is how I stand and hold the strop:Quote:
Originally Posted by papaface29
Attachment 23812
But do whatever is most comfortable for you.
