Thread: Help Stropping

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I will take some pictures of my strop so I can get some opinions on the best way to repair it (if at all possible). In regards to my current issue I am 100% sure it is my technique that needs to improve. I will definitely take some of the tips I've learned here and apply them. Regards to honing... well that I'm sure will be an entirely new set of obstacles I'll soon face. Is anyone on this forum in the Los Angeles area? It'd be great to learn hands on from someone. No matter how many youtube videos I look at or articles I read I still dont know when I am doing something wrong or what exactly is wrong with my technique. Thanks to you all.

Lots of good comments here. For me, learning to slow down whilst stropping was a big help. Butter knife practice is a great way to build muscle memory and learn to get in the groove without ruining your strop & dulling your blade (been there, done that). I, too like to strop my razors at night. It's become a before-bedtime ritual for me.

Cheers,

Larry

Originally Posted by dcarlos1356

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I will take some pictures of my strop so I can get some opinions on the best way to repair it (if at all possible). In regards to my current issue I am 100% sure it is my technique that needs to improve. I will definitely take some of the tips I've learned here and apply them. Regards to honing... well that I'm sure will be an entirely new set of obstacles I'll soon face. Is anyone on this forum in the Los Angeles area? It'd be great to learn hands on from someone. No matter how many youtube videos I look at or articles I read I still dont know when I am doing something wrong or what exactly is wrong with my technique. Thanks to you all.

You can check out the members map here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/vbgooglemapme.php. It's not exhaustive, I believe you have to manually opt-in to be listed on the map.... but it looks like there's a handful of members in the LA area.

Dr. Maximillian lives a short 4 hours from you in Las Vegas. You might send him an email or PM. He's moving soon, so the next few weeks might be hectic for him. Get in a Vegas weekend and learn some tips from one of the best!

Warm regards,

Larry

Hello I'm SOlingen-not my real name-and as of late Fall am a newbie to straight razor shaving. I've purchased an array of razors strops from reputable dealers, B&B members, and Ebay-hit and miss. I've been told and read that one should strop prior to shaving, not after in order to give the burrs time to re-align 24-48 hrs. Then I've been advised to strop after shaving. Which procedure is correct?
I have stropped prior to and sometimes after the first stroke and have gotten decent results. I usually lather my face and strop. Today I used a st German mase badger brush, Tabula Rasa Shave Cream-like shaving with air-, a nib Hen & Rooster straight that I purchased for $21 on Ebay. It felt 'shave ready', but I stropped it on a Ill Russian Leather strop, and a Latigo. After first sweep, I stropped it again and got a good shave-minus neck & chin-haven't matered technique, plus I sport a beard. Than was about 9hrs ago & still BBS face. Just want to know what is the correct procedure of pre and post-shave stropping so I don't ruin any razors & my face in the process.

Hi Solingen,
First -watch out for the dates of the threads you post on -this one dates from 12th May 2010.Not that it does any harm-it's just that some members watchout for this and post necro wierd stuff etc

Originally Posted by Solingen

Hello I'm SOlingen-not my real name-and as of late Fall am a newbie to straight razor shaving. I've purchased an array of razors strops from reputable dealers, B&B members, and Ebay-hit and miss. I've been told and read that one should strop prior to shaving, not after in order to give the burrs time to re-align 24-48 hrs. Then I've been advised to strop after shaving. Which procedure is correct?
I have stropped prior to and sometimes after the first stroke and have gotten decent results. I usually lather my face and strop. Today I used a st German mase badger brush, Tabula Rasa Shave Cream-like shaving with air-, a nib Hen & Rooster straight that I purchased for $21 on Ebay. It felt 'shave ready', but I stropped it on a Ill Russian Leather strop, and a Latigo. After first sweep, I stropped it again and got a good shave-minus neck & chin-haven't matered technique, plus I sport a beard. Than was about 9hrs ago & still BBS face. Just want to know what is the correct procedure of pre and post-shave stropping so I don't ruin any razors & my face in the process.

Answering your question -it appears that the notion of allowing your blade to rest after shaving was only a sales ploy by manufacturers to increase sales.(I too rested my blades until i joined SRP.)
Consensus now states that stropping after shaving does your blade no harm whatsoever and indeed cleans the gunk off the "fin" (the fine saw teeth of the blade).So strop your razor both before shaving and after about 60 strokes before and 20 after.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Noggs

I'll second the idea that resting the blade really isn't necessary, but it is cool to have 7 blades, one for each day of the week. That said most of us have one or two blades, some have hundreds. I tend to use my favorite Dovo all the time.

I think stropping before shaving is a must, unless you just got it back from honing. Stropping after is a good idea, but not necessary. Stropping during your shave is a matter of personal preference.