Thread: Stropping questions

Hey there fellows......
new to the forum and straight razors.
I have a new Strop and it has two, a leather and a canvas.

What do I do with the canvas side?
thanks all

FIFTY

Use the canvas side before the leather. It's slightly more abrasive. Normally I do 40-50 laps on canvas, and then 70-80 laps on the leather side.

Good luck.

what he said

Thanks guys.... one more thing, how many shaves can you go between stropping? how many shaves between Honing?

Welcome to the world of str8 razor shaving and to SRP!

I have felt instead of linen, doesn't matter if felt/canvas/linen, but do 20-25 on felt then 50-60 leather before each shave. Some guys strop before and after they shave, usually about 10-20 on linen/canvas/felt. Stropping after shaving helps to clean and dry the edge. Personally, I strop (2-3 passes) with damp wash cloth on counter top, run hot water over the blade then strop (3-4 passes) on dry towel.

How often between honing varies depending on beard toughness and blade care, could be 1-6 or more months. A paddle strop with balsawood pasted with Chromium Oxide can be used for touch ups when blade starts to pull and will lengthen time between honing.

Welcome! A barber's hone, which you can use every now and then when the blade feels a little dull, will also dramatically increase time between honing. Many (myself included) use it along with a CrOx strop. There's more info in the wiki/library about both as well as in the honing thread. I strop before each shave, 30-40 on fabric and 60-80 or so on leather. After shaving, I also go 20 on the fabric of 30 on leather--mostly to make sure all is dry as well as to keep the blade in something of a state of readiness. BTW: After the post shave stropping, if I'm going to put the blade away. I make sure it's dry and use a little mineral oil on a q-tip to coat and protect it