paddle strop? confused to which side gets paste

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Originally Posted by bmxhooligan

ive had it maybe a month, shaved about 5 times and i'm wondering when i'm supposed to strop it, and how exactly.

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Based on what I've read here in the beginner's guide and the stropping threads, it seems that most (including me) strop before every shave, and quite a few (also including me) strop post-shave as well. How may laps? Well, there's a lot of variation out there. I usually do 50 canvas/100 leather pre-shave, and 25 canvas/50 leather after the razor's had time to dry thoroughly post-shave. However, I've got 5 razors in rotation. If you've only got one razor, you may only need to strop once between shaves. How many laps? Up to you. Or if you're getting comfortable shaves without stropping, maybe you don't need to strop even that often. I can't do that--my face won't take it.

I have a pasted balsa strop (FeO on one side, CrO on the other) that I use only when stropping on canvas and leather doesn't give me a comfortable shave. I've got one razor that has seemed to require that more often than others; others in my rotation I haven't had to use that at all yet (I've had them all about the same length of time, several months at this point). So far I've only had to use the FeO side. Be aware that every time you use a pasted strop, you're removing metal.

Anyway, that 's what works for me. As always, YMMV. Good luck!

bmxhooligan,

Sorry forgot about the first part of your question but Durhampiper was kind enough to take care of it. I will add that you should start by watching as many stroping vids on you tube as you can till you feel you got the basic idea down.

Here a couple good starting points

First one is in german with subtitles in english but shows how to use a paddle strop.
YouTube - Abledern des Rasiermessers - Stropping your razor

The second is Kenrups vids which can also be found in the wiki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC6K4CeLwxY

This third one is a pretty good overview
YouTube - mokujingris1's Channel

Hey,

I bought the same kit as you, and I started maybe a month ago now. I found that I absolutely have to use the pasted strop before every shave. I'm still not getting a really good shave but it's getting better.

The funny thing was for the first week or two, I noticed, I kept having a similar quality of shave, and I was wondering why I wasn't improving. Then I tried using the pasted strop, and realized, that my skill was getting better as the razor was getting duller and they were canceling each other out. After honing with the pasted strop it was a dramatic improvement, but still not as sharp as it was when I first got the razor. The paste that comes with the kit is 10000 grit, and is between 2 and 3 micron.
I'm going to get some 1 micron paste and another strop and see if I can get it really sharp.

**EDIT** I think I forgot, I had thoroughly stropped on the leather before, during, and after shaving. The stropping on leather just wasn't cutting it. Maybe I wasn't pressing hard enough.

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Originally Posted by Dcollier

The stropping on leather just wasn't cutting it. Maybe I wasn't pressing hard enough.

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Actually, you just want the edge of the razor to be in light contact with the strop. Pressing the razor down against the strop will only dull the edge. You really only need the weight of the razor on the strop to get the job done. If you're new to this and started with a truly shave-ready razor, I'd look at technique before assuming the razor's not up to snuff.

thank you all very much for this information!

straight razors are deffinatly intimidating and i'm glad you guys all help us new people out with our questions :)

i appreciate all your answers