Thread: What is wrong with my stropping? VIDEO

Well, I use the soft side (with "PRIMA RINDLEDER GERMANY" imprint). The other side is more like sandpaper, I don't think I can get much use of it. The soft side is nice when I touch it.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

. . . which would be fine, unless he is not finishing on the leather before a shave.

These are always difficult questions because you don't want to offend anyone.

But, stropping exclusively on the linen side would account for the results he is acquiring.

Good point. It is often easy to miss/ignore the obvious when helping someone with little experience. I should know that I'm in IT... I ask on an almost daily basis "is it plugged in?", lol.

Okay, cool. That does make sense and it's a good sign. I'm not sure the strop should sound like that. I'm just a little suspicious.

Check to make sure the spine and the base of the bevel do not have any metal protrusions.

Rub the strop with the palm of your hand for a while before stropping on it again.

Hone up the razor and try stropping, lightly, on something else. A wallet, a flat belt, blue jeans, etc. And just see if you can get some better shaves with it that way.

Others will have some cleaning ideas soon. Saddle soap works well too. I use traditional techniques like palm (skin) oil and olive oil, but others disagree with these techniques strongly.

These strops might just sound like that.

I'll come back to technique after that, but again, your stropping doesn't look all that bad to me.

The razor is probably dulled out by now but try to hone it back up without using a pyramid. Try and do a "touch-up" instead. You'll need to get the razor back up to shaving though first, and that might take a pyramid. But, for an ordinary update don't do that. It's possible you have simply torn off a burr that gave you one good shave. Your stropping might not be that bad at all.

Ok, I will try to touch it up with 8k and strop with something else.

Probably mine strop is this one http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...944/196040.htm ONE SIDE

I did 10 X strokes on Norton 8k side then stropped on the strop shown on the video.

The shave was slightly better, at least I could shave, but it wasn't as good as after pyramid I did previously (without stropping). After pyramid (starting from 15 strokes) the razor had more feather like sensation on my face - no resistance and it was the first time I achieved such a keen edge. Today it was more like sliding on my hair without cutting it, I had to do three passes and many strokes to have acceptable shave and the shave is still worse than 2-pass shave after pyramid without stropping. Maybe I should try to do a pyramid, then shave left side of my face, then strop and shave right side of it..? Now I don't know what to search for.