Dear Fellow Members-JUST to get my stropping technique down, I stropped a dull POS chinese straight razor on my Chromium Oxide Balsa strop and then on the leather strop, after cleaning it of Chromium Oxide. Also tried stropping it a few times on my Regal Barber hone just for giggles. My technique may be improving, but the straight razor is no sharper;) Since I have 10 quality blades and have shaved with only two of them, I have only stropped one about twenty times on the leather strop.What is a typical strop cycle for a shave ready blade? I realize that there are many factors, such as beard, razor quality, techinique, equipment and frequency of use, but I figured if I AM stropping correctly, that with 10 rotating blades I should be able to get by with just leather stropping for awhile-true? Although I don't straight razor shave every day, I do want to learn stropping well enough to make it worthwhile for me to buy a beginners stone set (such as the Norton 3 stone set for $135.00). Shaving is not the problem! After practicing with a lucky brand disposable blade razor for over a year, shaving with a quality blade is not that difficult, even with several passes. It's the honing that is blowing me out of the water! Any directions here are greatly appreciated!FWIW, I perform hospital Maint. for a living and work on just about everything. Do my own gunsmithing and learned how to restore tube radios while in a wheelchair for 2 years while unemployed. I CAN learn this. Just don't want to make the honemeisters rich with my mistakes!;)-Gearhead
