Thread: Such a newbie!

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

I think you might be well served to hop on over to youtube and watch a bunch of videos! It really helps!!

I watch these till my eyes bleed and it is working for me.

How To Videos - Gem Star Customs

You had a question buried in your paragraph. Typically you would do about 30-60 passes on a strop before shaving. With linen perhaps 30 before hand on that. I suggest 20 after shaving. 20 on linen after the shave to clean.

Bad razors don't get sharper, that is why they are called " bad ".

Although with experience you can make a razor sharper with stropping, I suggest you simply maintain sharpness with the clean strop. You can apply about 10 passes on a substrate, only when the razor dulls (a condition many beginners don't even understand) and then begin shaving again. Experiment with your 10 razors, but leave some of them alone for when you get a stone, which I believe is a better method of updating the razor.

Substrate/stropping methods of honing don't work on dull razors either.

Also, as a final note, 10 razors will very likely confuse you as you might think that they are all identical, they are all different and have different needs.

Thank you all for the quick replies! I have watched MANY You Tube videos and belive that I am ready to practice stropping. Maybe I just need to lay off the bad razor except for practice stropping. I plan on sticking to just 2-3 quality razors to shave a strop, as I don't want to mess up too many shave ready razors. Thanx again-Gearhead

If you already have a barber hone and crox you have everything you need now, unless you ding the edge, or plan on restoring, learn to use what you have now. Then, if you want you could just buy a nice finishing stone, and you would be set for a very very long time.

Thanx for the quick reply, Tiddle! I have a like new Regal two sided Barber Hone, plus a Chromium Oxide Balsa Strop and a 3" wide Big Daddy Strop with felt strop. Those Gem videos are really good-didn't realize that the Norton 4K/8K is that flexible. Thought at a bare minimum that I needed the Norton 3 stone set to set the bevel , when I reach that point in time-Gearhead

Originally Posted by gearhead222

Thanx for the quick reply, Tiddle! I have a like new Regal two sided Barber Hone, plus a Chromium Oxide Balsa Strop and a 3" wide Big Daddy Strop with felt strop. Those Gem videos are really good-didn't realize that the Norton 4K/8K is that flexible. Thought at a bare minimum that I needed the Norton 3 stone set to set the bevel , when I reach that point in time-Gearhead

Any opinions on the Norton 3 stone set compared to buying a DMT 325, a Norton 4K/8K and Nagura stone, as used in the first Gem video? The Norton set is less expensive, but am wondering how useful the 220/1000 stone is-Gearhead

Originally Posted by gearhead222

Any opinions on the Norton 3 stone set compared to buying a DMT 325, a Norton 4K/8K and Nagura stone, as used in the first Gem video? The Norton set is less expensive, but am wondering how useful the 220/1000 stone is-Gearhead

220 is out right dangerous for a razor, you can crack the blade.
1K is good for setting a bevel.

So a 220/1k stone is better used to fix up abused kitchen knives.

Thanx Lemur! Duly noted-Gearhead