Thread: I'm assuming stropped is stropped...

"It's only shaving for goodness sake."

Ain't that the truth?

Thanks, Lynn.

Originally Posted by Obie

Nothing in life bores me except arrogance and bad manners. Thus far I have not run into that at the gym.

Hah Obie where's your gym? Man I get nothing but the opposite in any of the gyms in my town I've been to. Shower grossness unmentionable in these forums, weird dressing behaviours that would blow your mind, and the worst getting sprayed in the face by mobile Axe body spray overdosers.

There is no real right answer here like has been said, it what works for you. I always strop on leather right before shaving no mater what, Then after I have shave I rinse the blade in hot water wipe dry, give it about 15 passes on SRD web fabric oil and put away. My reasoning is that the webbed fabric insures the edge is cleaned. Is that right who knows but it works for me.

Everybody has their own method of stropping, or at least when to strop -- before, after, during, whenever.

First, every razor I've received from sharpening was coated with oil. This will protect the blade, and after wiping off the oil you should be able to shave right away and feel what a freshly sharpened blade feels like. That way if you screw it up stropping, and you won't be the first, you'll feel the difference, assuming you are not a complete newbie. Newbies, including myself, have problems that have nothing to do with the blade.

Personally, like others here, I shave at night because it's more ralaxing and is part of my sleep routine. I strop before shaving and rarely strop after, but I might strop a razor I haven't used in awhile just to keep it in shape for the next time I use it.

Yes, the edge is suseptible to rust and corrosion when sitting, but when used and stropped regularly should not be a problem. If you really want to get anal you can stop before and after shaving, and coat the blade with oil between uses.

Finally, don't overthink the whole thing. Your razor will need touchups from time to time, and will definitely need to be professionally sharpened when necessary whether you do it yourself or send it out.

Just have fun with it. It's a nice way to shave.

Originally Posted by RobertH

Hah Obie where's your gym? Man I get nothing but the opposite in any of the gyms in my town I've been to. Shower grossness unmentionable in these forums, weird dressing behaviours that would blow your mind, and the worst getting sprayed in the face by mobile Axe body spray overdosers.

Robert,

Yes, I have been to a few of those armpits in my lifetime, too. I think even there, though, I always held my head high and remained a gentleman.

But back to the topic: I agree with Don to do what works best for you. I have learned a great deal from Lynn and some of the other gentlemen here. From each I have taken something and incorporated it in my style and technique. So it should be.

Regards,

Obie

I'm with Obie here. I've taken a mix of things from various different people to end up with my routine.

I now strop more than when I started and I also strop after each shave as well.

Currently I'm doing 25 webbed fabric and 50-60 leather before each shave, then 25 linen with fine chalk paste, 10 webbed fabric and 15 leather afterwards.

The linen and chalk is on my old strop, but it worked so well that I didnt want to stop using it..! It seems to really help keep edges sharp.

The webbed fabric is great as well, and the black latigo is just a dream. Good draw and lots of feedback, plus superlative edges.

I agree with most of the comments here, as long as the strop is flat, and you are keeping both spine and edge on the strop, spine leading, and not applying any pressure, there isn't a right or wrong way to do it.

If you want to strop in the evening and shave in the morning, that should be fine. If you want to strop after your shave and then not strop before your next one, that's up to you, if it works, great! , if not, you may want to consider planning a little more time and strop before shaving. Myself, personally, I strop 20 on denim, 40 on red latigo before and 20 and 20 after each shave. I also rinse with hot water, try throughly before stropping, then leave it open over night to dry.

Good luck. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, these are a great bunch of guys that are more than willing to impart their knowledge.

Have ya ever seen one of those cases used for a pool Q.
Some are exactly the right length for a strop with room
for other goodies.

If you are flying you have one set of problems. If you are
living out of a suitcase and your car lots of choices fall in
you lap including a mailing tube.

Originally Posted by rcardon

I agree with most of the comments here, as long as the strop is flat, and you are keeping both spine and edge on the strop, spine leading, and not applying any pressure, there isn't a right or wrong way to do it.

If you want to strop in the evening and shave in the morning, that should be fine. If you want to strop after your shave and then not strop before your next one, that's up to you, if it works, great! , if not, you may want to consider planning a little more time and strop before shaving. Myself, personally, I strop 20 on denim, 40 on red latigo before and 20 and 20 after each shave. I also rinse with hot water, try throughly before stropping, then leave it open over night to dry.

Good luck. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, these are a great bunch of guys that are more than willing to impart their knowledge.

And you'll notice that everyone will have a different different opinion.