Hello Everyone,
I have been straight shaving for about 10 months now. I have everything down (for the most part) except... stropping.
My results are really inconsistent coming off the strop. I'm able to hone my blades to pass an HHT with no problems. I'll shave right after that, and it will be great. Then after a shave or 2, the blade feels really dull. I think my stropping technique needs work...
A few questions I was hoping to get some assistance on, and perhaps it will help other new people also...
1.) I was originally told that the only amount of pressure for a blade to the strop should be the weight of the razor. The Dovo 5/8 I have is very light, and I swear when I use a little bit of pressure, my results are better. In the stropping videos in the Wiki, based on the way the strop bows slightly, it looks there is some pressure being used.
My question is: Is the philosophy (for a 5.8 hollow ground anyway) of using only the weight of the blade for pressure just bollocks?
2.) When I do my strokes, I sort of go from start to finish on a stroke. Then stop, and come back start to finish. The videos I have seen, the razor is almost constantly in motion. I think my error here is that I'm going to slow.
My question is: Do quicker strokes help the stropping?
Thanks.