Thread: Brand new an have a strop/hone question.

So I'm brand new to the forum I figured that joining would help with some of My abilities that need honing/perfecting when it come to shaving with a straight razor an all the things that go along with it.so

That being said I have always wondered why you Strop one direction an Hone the other?
I have looked this up all over an have never found an answer so I figured what better place than a forum where people have a love for this art as much as I do!

Thanks in advance for your help!

As an analogy, think getting a haircut. The barber sweeps hair against the grain and cuts it. When finished he sweeps it with the grain, smoothing it.

Presenting the edge TO the abrasive surface produces a cutting motion and removes metal to form the desired bevel. Presenting the spine TO the leather surface produces a smoothing motion that levels the roughened edge.


Changed abrasive to leather for clarification.

Welcome to SRP. If you were to strop in the same direction, edge leading, that you hone, you would damage the strop ...... If I understand the question correctly .....

Thank you for the reply you did understand correctly. But your strop should be flat so I just never thought this would happen unless you were doing something incorrectly.

Thank you for the reply. That helps a lot I never thought of it like that. Thanks for a better understanding.

Welcome to the forum. When honing you are removing steel to reconfigure a defined sharp edge by moving the edge forward. Stropping you are removing minute debris and aligning the edge to smooth the edge. Stropping edge forward would destroy your edge not to mention slicing your strop quite badly.

Thank you for the reply you explained it a little simpler than Razorfeld.

Since you are new here, and your screen name says you love Damascus, I would suggest you check out the SRP library beginner's guide. Among many tutorials there is a razors to avoid list. The "Damascus" razor shaped objects seen on ebay, and among some vendors, are not suitable for shaving, but are razor shaped box cutters at best. Just in case you were not aware of that.
Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library

Brands of Straight Razors to Avoid - Straight Razor Place Library

Not to muddy the waters but, a hard surface like a sharpening stone we can flatten to almost perfectly flat by which the razor will glide along without obstruction. A soft surface like leather, linen, nylon, and etc it is impossible to lay flat. The only stroke that will not catch the material and damage the razor's edge is a trailing stroke. Your question is one of physics and was correctly answered by the gentlemen above.

Hi & welcome to SRP. I know Jimmy already mentioned some of this so here's a little more. You will love it here & there is plenty to learn as there is a wealth of information on here! Here is the first bit of information for you to know:
Straight Razor Place - Beginners Tips: December 2014
You will want to buy you a nice straight razor to begin with whether used or new. Beware of used ones not that they are bad but know what to look for like a lot of hone wear on the spine & edge or chips in the blade. Stay away from razors with rust on the cutting edge as that will only result in it chipping more metal off as it is honed.
Here is a list of good brands of razors you will want to own plus there are more than just these out there which you will find out from other members here:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...t_Razor_Brands
If buying a new razor, I suggest you buy one from Straight Razor Designs - Gifts for Men | Straight Razors or SRD. The owner & founder of this forum is Lynn & he is also part owner of SRD. When you buy a straight razor from him, he will personally hone that razor before you get it plus you will get a certificate for another free honing for when that razor needs it which should be a few months. There will be vendors who will sell you a straight razor that is supposed to be shave ready but really won't be. You will most importantly need to know how to strop & you can learn in the Library or here:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...azor_stropping
You will need to strop your razor before & after you shave. If you buy one from Lynn, chances are you won’t have to strop it before you use it the first time.
You will also need a shaving brush, a shaving mug & some shaving soap. Later it will also do you good to get a second straight razor so that when you send the first one out to be honed, you will have a backup to shave with.
Here is a link to the Library where you will find stropping in there & everything else you will need to know including how to hone:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe..._Place_Library
Also here is Lynns bevel setting video & some of gssixguns honing video's:
https://www.youtube.com/user/gssixgun/videos
Bevel setting on a Chosera 1K taught by Lynn Abrams
Here is another good link to know:
Welcome to the Workshop: How do I / Where do I / What do I / answers are here
Should you have any questions, there are a lot of knowledgable members on here that will be more than happy to help you out. If you want to find someone in your area, you can look here:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...php/Local_Help
And if you can't find anyone near you, just ask and someone that lives in your are & hopefully they will let you know how to meet up & you can get some one on one mentoring. There is a lot to do on here, just search everywhere on the forum & in the Library. You will spend hours on here & have fun doing it, so there you go, have at it!
Good luck & have fun!
Steve