Thread: Stropping issues

Hey folks! It's me again...

So, stropping. I'm not sure if I'm very good at it.

During my last shave, I noticed the edge which was formerly in tip-top shape starting to lose its luster a bit. Not cutting quite close enough when it should, a little more razor burn...

It's still shaving well enough, but not as well as it was.

This is more obvious on my hollow razor. The 1/4 hollow isn't showing my poor stropping as much. I suppose the edge on a thinner ground razor is more sensitive.

This *might* be related to a problem I've noticed while stropping. I have a really hard time keeping the strop from wanting to swivel around the attachment point. So it's flat and even where my fingers are holding the end, but slightly twisted (usually away from me) at the top.

I hold the strop across my body, and stroke from left to right.

I would suspect this is causing uneven stropping across the blade, so some bits are getting stropped too little, others too hard, and others just right.

It could just be crummy technique in general, but until I sort that out I can't really know for sure.

How do I get that bloody strop to stay put?

What sort of fitting is on the end of the strop? Is it a D ring type fitting, or is it something else?

What are you attaching the strop to? You'll need to make sure that whatever you're attaching the strop to is secure and will not move when you put pressure on it.

If possible, could you post a picture of the way your strop is currently secured? The fitting on the strop and what its secured to. That would give us an opportunity to see if there are any obvious things to help stop the strop moving when you use it.

I'm guessing that you are not using the belt you mentioned a while back? Which strop do you have at the moment?

I dont know if doing the left/right pass could cause a problem, mainly because I've never done it! But I will say that if it doesnt feel right to you, and you dont feel like the razor is flat on the strop with the right amount of pressure, then you're probably right and I wouldnt keep doing it. First instincts tend to be correct IME.

One thing you could try is laying the strop flat on the table and then stropping there. This will remove any issues with the strop moving or sagging too much, and let you concentrate on the technique.

You want to keep the pressure fairly light (maybe 150% - 200% of the weight of the razor) and flip the razor over on the spine, never the edge as you could dull the razor.

Give that a try and see if it works!

Good luck!

Hey Stubear!

Below is a pic of my strop set-up. It's got a loop on it, a bit like a Filly. I just have it around a doorknob on my wardrobe which when closed is plenty secure, since the loop isn't that big.

It's a little one, about an inch and a half wide, which I received from a member here who thought it may suit my traveling ways. It's horse hide with "LONG-LIFE" at the top.

The reason I do left-to-right is because it seems the easiest way for my to keep my movements consistent. I have a bit of trouble with that due to injury. Going back to front is harder for me to control.

But at the same time, I can see how going right-to-left, with even the slightest bit of inconsistency, could cause the strop to want to shimmy around. It probably isn't the most stable way to strop.

I may also be pulling a bit too tight, in an attempt to get it to stay put. May be counter-productive.

I may try your table top idea, since it's small and it will quite easily fit on my desk. I'll try going back to front and once I get used to it I'll move back to hanging it, and try it that way.

Thanks for the pic!

Assuming the wardrobe door doesnt move or open when you are stropping, then that should be fine for anchoring.

If you find the back and forth movement harder than left/right, try securing the strop at a different height.

I actually have mine on a clothes hook on the the back of the bathroom door, so when I'm stropping its actually at a 45 degree angle. This reduces the amount of back and forth I do and replaces it with some up and down movements, but this is working very well for me. Give a few heights a try and see what you think..!

That sounds like a great strop! If its a 1.5" strop, you'll need to make the ubiquitous X pattern that all straight razor shavers know and love..! It can take a little time to get this down, but perseverance is key with this as its just one of those "need to know" things.

If you're stropping on a table, make sure you dont accidentally knock the razor on the desk as this will dull it. I'm sure thats a bit Monty Python stating the bleedin' obvious, but just something to be aware of..!

If you want to practice your stropping, take a butter knife and try using that to get the movement down. Its also a good way to try out different strop locations to see if you prefer the motion with the strop at a different height.

You dont need to put loads of tension on the strop, just enough to keep it fairly flat when you are using it. There was a thread yesterday I saw where some guys were talking about using LESS tension in the strop to get a better edge, so you really dont need loads.

Heres the thread:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ops-slack.html

Stropping should be a relaxed, fluid motion so if you feel yourself tensing up try to make a conscious effort to relax the muscles..!

Good luck!

EDIT: Just another thought, the door knob may be part of the problem as well as the loop on the strop will try and scoot off the rounded shape of the door knob when you put tension on the strop. You may well find a hook a better mount if you can find one or put one up somewhere?

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

I hold the strop across my body, and stroke from left to right.

I'm confused , when you say you stroke from left to right . Stropping is done in both directions . You make a stroke in one direction , and flip the razor over and come back in the opposite direction , so you strop both sides of the blade .

Yes, I do strop both sides. Left to right, then flip it over the spine and right to left.

I was just describing the orientation of the strop when I use it.

If you were able to come by the traditional hardware (clamp & swivel) that strops normally have that might alleviate the twisting issue that you have. JimR in Japan sells strops and might be able to get a clamp from Kanayama for you.

Another possibility.. it looks like you are just using a leather strop with no fabric one. When I was doing that I found that stropping on leather alone wasn't able to keep the blade from slowly losing its edge, and I would have to touch up the blade with a few passes on a strp made of scrap leather with honing compound rubbed into it (Cromium Dioxide) or head back to the hones. Once I started using a linen strop first I found the edge lasted much longer. If you just want to use the leather I would think you will routinely need lots (maybe 100?) passes on leather with light pressure in order to keep up the edge.

Jimmy - My towel rack is more or less at waist level. It's one of those super-cool electric heated ones.

Hmmm, I may make myself a linen strop. I have lots of raw fabric (I make most of my clothes) that I could use.

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

JHmmm, I may make myself a linen strop. I have lots of raw fabric (I make most of my clothes) that I could use.

If you do decide to sew your own... I just made a linen one with real belfast linen that I picked up in the cross stich supply aisle of a craft store and I am very pleased with the results. Belfast linen was used in at least some of the vintage linen strops, and my resulting strop material looks and feels very similar to the fabric component of an old strop that I have. My first effort was a hollow tube with a sewn seam, which was good but I found the layers could shift about, causing wrinkling. For my next effort I tried a folded affair with the folded layers bonded to each other with silicone. First I ironed the material where I wanted the folds, then applied small diameter (1/8" maybe) jigzag bead of silicone on one side, spread/smoothed the silicone out into a filmy layer a plastic credit card, then pushed the layers together. The linen was thick enough that the silicone doesn't bleed thru. I then let it sit overnight, then puched a hole at one end and installed a grommet to give it a hanging point. Too easy.