Thread: Strop

Hi,

I am new to straight razor shaving. My strop has two sides, one for sharpening and one for honing. Do I do both of these before shaving? Also, is a strop the only tool that I will need for sharpening my razor?

Nope not even close. The strop is to keep the razor in shaving condition for a few months before it needs to be honed on a stone like a Naniwa or Norton. These are synthetic stones for removing steel and setting a bevel or edge.
The cloth side is used to help the blade get the microscopic edge back in line then you go over to the leather side to finish. use about 30 strokes on each. The edge of the blade should trail in the stroke. Don't roll the edge at the end of the stroke it will dull the blade. Lay the razor blade flat and run it down to the bottom of the strop then roll it over on the spine and move up again with the edge trailing.
This is just a beginning idea. Check the Wiki pages for a ton of info for most any question you may have.

The strop actually won't hone the razor, even on the cloth side. Assuming you never nick your blade and you take care of it perfectly, you'll either need the strop pasted with a diamond or chrome oxide paste or a barber's hone such as a Swaty. This all depends on preference. I find I get better upkeep honing from the Swaty than the pasted strop.

Some people are able to entirely keep their razors up with the pasted strop or the barber's hone, others aren't. In this case, you'll need at least a coticule (the yellow belgian stone) or the 8000 grit Norton, possibly something in a higher grit range- it really depends on preference.

Then of course, there's always the possibility of having to do more than just upkeep. That goes into some deeper areas of honing, all of which you can read about in the honing section with some research.

Welcome to SRP and the addiction

Welcome to SRP. The strop is all you need for now. Strop before every shave. There is a lot of variation among shavers, but I strop 40 laps (up and back) on the cloth side, then 50 laps on the leather. Some folks strop after the shave to dry / preserve the blade. I strop 10 laps cloth and 10 laps leather after my shave.

In the beginning, there is a good chance of nicking your strop and dulling your razor, so strop slowly and aim for good technique (little or no pressure). The speed will come.

I bought some crome oxide powder from ChrisL and pasted a piece of balsa wood for a very inexpensive (under $10), excellent pasted paddle. Crome ox brings back the edge but does eventually need a visit to a barber hone or finishing stone.

Originally Posted by Tonsor

In the beginning, there is a good chance of nicking your strop and dulling your razor, so strop slowly and aim for good technique (little or no pressure). The speed will come.

Most of these issues have been addressed already in the stropping section of the Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Wiki. I would like to draw your attention to the stropping speed reference therein, though, as a "slow speed has been shown to be ineffective when stropping.*". I find the idea of using something roughly resembling a razor, but without a sharp edge (e.g. a butter knife), to learn the basic stropping skills useful.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

... "slow speed has been shown to be ineffective when stropping.*". ...........

I've often wondered about this statement. There are two ways to strop slowly:

1) Slow stroke, slow roll. Doing the stroke itself slowly, and then carefully rolling the razor at the end of each stroke, followed by another slow stroke.
----I'd think this would be largely ineffectual.

2) Fast stroke, slow roll. Moving quickly through the stroke, but taking care while rolling. This may be easier for newbies to do, especially in X-pattern.
----I'm not sure about this, but I can't see how this would be any less ineffectual than quick stropping.

Of course, from a time and expertise standpoint, quick stropping is best.

Originally Posted by yohannrjm

I've often wondered about this statement.

Bit of a waste of time, is it not? The FAQ entry has a reference to http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...xperiment.html, which has all the details, and more.

Fast stroke and slow flip/roll does work BUT, You will be needing to take care not to stall the stroke before the roll stage or you will nick the strop.

PuFF