Thread: Newb in Need of Strop advice

Hey All,

So I just recently purchased a razor and strop, I'm loving it! Feels so great to have that SR shave. My situation is that I have a 2 inch strop and I feel that when I am stropping I dont know what kind of motion to make to get a consistent strop all over the edge. My blade is a 5/8, I bought it shave ready so it was pretty sharp to begin with. Any advice?

-Huizar

Hello, and welcome to the SRP. It's good to hear that you bought a shave ready razor. As for the strop, hold it tight and make a slight criss cross pattern in the form of an slight X pattern. Read the wiki for beginers, and getting strarted, and on stroping. This should help a lot. It sounds like you are almost there, it takes a little while for us to develop the muscle memory pattern for stroping. Just be pattient, it gets better the more you do this, this is that learning curve they talk about. Take care and good luck.

Originally Posted by STRAIGHTRAZOR13

Hello, and welcome to the SRP. ... etc ...

What he said.

I would add that, at least for me, using an X-pattern, even on a wider strop, helps me do a smoother job -- just feels right. Especially if you have a "smiley" blade, this helps get good even contact on all parts of the blade. Seems to do that even for perfectly straight blades, but that may be just a subjective feeling. This may be why I actually prefer narrower (two inch) strops.

Agree that the x pattern is the only way to fly. Particularly on a 2" strop. Generally strops seem to come in 2", 2 1/2", and 3" widths. I find the 2 1/2 the easiest to do the x pattern on but that is what I learned on and I've never stropped on a 2". I read that those who do get along fine with them. I guess it is what you are used to. For some reason I have a hard time doing the x on a 3" strop but I'm working on it. Here is a 1961 barber's manual excerpt on honing and stropping that might be helpful.

Originally Posted by STRAIGHTRAZOR13

Hello, and welcome to the SRP. It's good to hear that you bought a shave ready razor. As for the strop, hold it tight and make a slight criss cross pattern in the form of an slight X pattern. Read the wiki for beginers, and getting strarted, and on stroping. This should help a lot. It sounds like you are almost there, it takes a little while for us to develop the muscle memory pattern for stroping. Just be pattient, it gets better the more you do this, this is that learning curve they talk about. Take care and good luck.

As others have pointed out, X pattern. But, consider this, are right handed and hold the strop in your left hand and the razor in your right hand, you will naturally tend to do an X pattern on the strop. Given this, your only real concern is to make sure that you start the stroke with the razor in the proper position (heel portion of the blade on the strop) and end it with the point portion on the strop.

This "do what is natural" approach actually applies to almost every aspect of straight shaving. I do not concern myself with the whole WTG, XTG, ATG stuff, I just use the strokes that come naturally. The same goes for scything, slant, slicing, strokes as well since I have found that the natural stroke actually produces an excellent scything motion with no special effort on my part. IMHO, most of the problems, discomfort and injury people experience in straight shaving results from trying to force some unnatural action. I have never experienced razor burn, razor rash, ingrown hairs or any of these ills. I cannot say I have not cut myself, but never more than a little nick, and usually because I was not paying attention.