Thread: Stropping after a shave?

+1

Stropping after a shave just because you guys do it as well, call me a conformist

I'm probably an extremist regarding stropping but I strop before shaving, again before the second and third pass, and after shaving. Hell I even strop sometimes when honing but that's an entirely different subject that's been covered in other posts. Over the years I've experimented a lot and found for me stropping between passes made a lot of difference...especially the ATG pass.

As for the stropping after shaving I do it for all the reasons listed (drying, oiling, etc.) but mostly to straighten out the blade as much as possible so if it is deformed it will have less deformity to correct during it's recovery cycle...if that makes sense. I hadn't really paid all that much attention to it until discovering this site and aquiring a microscope but from my examinations of a post shave blade with and without stropping I couldn't find any damage being done by stropping.

I strop about 15 or so passes after shave. It seemed lots of members did when I started here so I did it and I am now in the habit of doing it. I dry my blade then strop then oil then put it away for another day.

I strop on linen after each shave. I do this primarily to ensure the edge is dry. I think that resting razors to allow the metal to re-align is a waste of time. If a razor has an edge that could be broken by "premature" stropping it's surely going to be torn to shreds with the actual shave. I don't understand how it's supposed to re-align itself either. Eventually one of the guys with a high power microscope will tell us for sure though, no doubt, & i have been wrong before. Once.

I also strop after a shave, ten passes, to dry the blade and help prevent rust.

John

10-15 or so passes on linen to dry the blade here.

Thanks to AusTexShaver for doing the post shave before and after stropping photos. Glad to hear there was no visible change in the edge. I must admit that even though I don't strop afterwards (I live in Arizona and air drying open is enough to prevent rust on my razors) I DO strop before my touchup passes on the difficult neck and jawline spots. Looks like the "Strop Afterward" camp is a majority. "nuff said" as far as I am concerned, unless someone makes a major evidence discovery on the subject. I wish that our ancestors who originally owned most of our razors had taken the trouble to care for them, the way we do. We would get them in much better shape, and there would be lots more of them now available. Probably cheaper, too!

I strop gently, about 12-20 laps afterward to clean the edge. I always thought that was the best thing you could do to preserve the life of the edge, but I'm pretty sure now that adding oil right after the stropping would be best.

X

No Post shave strop for me, I clean my blade, let it air dry, then apply a light coating of oil. I don't really believe that the edge has to rest for 24-48 hours, but I also don't see any point in stropping after if it's cleaned and oiled.

I strop after every shave basically to clean the razor off and to make sure no soap is left. I also put a light coat of Camilia Oil on the blade to help with rust prevention. Hope this helps! Good Luck!