Thread: After honing stropping routine?

What is your personal "go to" baseline stropping routine after honing a fresh off the baking sheet razor? If you do it differently depending on the finishing stone please list that too? Thanks

This is an interesting question and I am keen to see what responses you get.

I personally am only at the refreshing a razor stage in my honing prowess. Once I have done that I have a CrOx loaded paddle strop which I do maybe 30 - 40 laps on. Then straight to my usual stropping routing. Roughly 20 laps on linen followed by about 60 on leather. Then shave. Incidentally my finishing stone is a Naniwa 12K.

I don't count strokes, and I don't really think about which strop I'll use. After finishing I use one of the two strops I have and stop until I feel like that's enough.
Strops are, SRD Latigo and a vintage Suntorbach with linen. No pastes just linen and leather.

Coming off the hone, my first step is to carefully wipe the blade. This is followed by 50 strokes on a lightly oiled newspaper strop. This helps to remove any remaining grit, steel, or edge foil in order to prevent their transfer to my leather strop.

I have one strop dedicated to being the post honing strop. It is cleaned far more frequently than any of my other strops.

I finish on a Naniwa 12K, then do 20 laps on a Crox sprayed strop felt hanging strop, wipe blade, doe 40 laps on English linen and 80-100 laps on a Shell strop. Don't use any other hones than Naniwas so this my only post honing routine. Not broke don't fix.

Bob

They get a quick wipe, typically with TP to get water off the blade. Then the same as routine daily stropping. 25 linen, 50 leather. Maybe a few extra if I lose count.

I had this discussion with Neil (God rest my friend!) more than a few times, and I am a fan of what he called progressive stropping. On a freshly honed blade I will strop 50 or so on linen and then 300-400 laps on a series of strops from heavy draw, to elegant, and then to very slick and fast draw finishing on a Horween Cordovan.

May seem excessive to many, but it works for me....

I've been doing 3 finishing stones regularly and strop a little differently for each.

Naniwa 12k to diamond spray on my SRD webbing. Then 60 laps linen then at least 100 laps on leather.

Thuringian, no paste, 80 laps linen then at least 120 leather.

Coticulr, no paste, at least 100 laps on line and at least 150 leather.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Coming off the hone, my first step is to carefully wipe the blade. This is followed by 50 strokes on a lightly oiled newspaper strop. This helps to remove any remaining grit, steel, or edge foil in order to prevent their transfer to my leather strop.

I have one strop dedicated to being the post honing strop. It is cleaned far more frequently than any of my other strops.

What kind of process do you use with the oil and newspaper? Is there a video? Do you wrap the newspaper around some kind of hard surface like wood etc? What kind of oil do you use? Are you using X stropping strokes? Thanks, I am intrigued by this...

If it is from hone to strop I wipe the blade off good and strop linen/shell. If I use pastes I use a fine .10 micron FeOx and so skip the linen and just wipe the blade and go to the shell strop.

It's been interesting to see the responses so far. Gives me ideas.