Thread: Very nervous about doing my first Stropping today

Ok I took a look at that PDF. Very good info. I'm going to print it out.

I practiced on paper and finally got the repetition down. That paper technique was a good idea thanks..

So I took it to the strop. I did a slow 20 strokes on the leather to try out. I know it was to slow so after that I did decided to do another 30 linen and 30 leather.

I prepped for shaving and I have to tell you this shave it seemed much smoother then the first shave with the razor. I'm not sure why. So I continued to shave. I decided to do another stropping for the ATG strokes. Is this ok that I did that?

I didn't do my mustache today but if I did I would have done that first since thats usually where the sharpest edge is a must.

It is okay to strop in between passes if you feel you need it. Leaving the mustache for last is what I do. The mustache and the chin. My razor is plenty sharp enough for many shaves and it leaves more time for the lather to soften the whiskers. I got that from an old set of instructions that came with a Gillette DE. Whatever works best for you though. We all have to try different ways of doing it and find which suits our needs.

Also it seems from the reading I have done that Stropping should be done before you shave.

Whats the amount of time between the strop and the shave? For example say you strop your razor then decide to sit down for an hour before shaving?

What exactly happens to the metal of the blade? Does it comes out of alignment quickly? Just asking because you never hear of someone stropping before and after every shave so the next time you shave you don't have to strop.

Well you can buy a razor from a honemeister that has been honed, stropped and mailed and it is recommended that you just shave without stropping so an hour before shouldn't be a problem. I always do my stropping before and then after the shave I rinse and dry the blade and do 20 more strokes on leather to make sure there isn't any micro gunk in the bevel.

Originally Posted by esp

What exactly happens to the metal of the blade? Does it comes out of alignment quickly?

Nothing happens with the alignment, it starts oxidizing though. I like to strop after I lather my face, that way the lather gets a chance to soften the beard.
How long to strop before you shave really depends on how oily is the leather (some of my strops leave a film on the edge which slows down oxidation of the metal), and how good you are stropping and shaving. Basically the changes start occurring immediately (on milliseconds scale), but you have to be able to detect them, and that is a matter of how big the changes are and how sensitive your detection is.

I usually strop before I take a shower. I haven't noticed any sort of performance degrading due to stropping time rest. Don't worry about it if you get right to it. As mentioned the biggest reason is for oxidation and as long as you don't live in a salt mine you'll be fine. Have fun shaving .

Lots of good advice so far. My routine consists of soaking the brush while showering. Once done, I make my lather and apply, I then strop the razor, reapply the lather and have at it for the first pass. I then re-wet my face, relather for the next XTG pass and so forth for the ATG. I end with a cold water rinse, dry the razor and the inside of the scales if wet and quick strop 10 linen and 10 leather to make sure the blade is dry. Hope this helps as well as the other advice.