Thread: Stropping between passes

Glad to see I'm not the only one who occasionally has to strop between passes. It's usually on one of my razors that probably needs to be rehoned. I'll do it right before the ATG pass.

I strop between passes out of habbit. I feel it gives the later time to soften the beard more and time for me to collect my thoughts. But I am going to try only stropping between the 2nd and 3rd pass. We'll see how it goes.

Originally Posted by ndw76

I strop between passes out of habbit. I feel it gives the later time to soften the beard more and time for me to collect my thoughts. But I am going to try only stropping between the 2nd and 3rd pass. We'll see how it goes.

I am with Nathen here on his thought I strop between the first WTG pass and the second XTG/ATG pass.... Does the razor need it ???? Nope.... do I need it ???? Yep,,, it lets the lather have some time, and me have some time to think about solving the worlds problems I do 10 laps leather only...

Plus the barber that introduced me to straights back in 1981 did it that way.... so I have done it that way for to long to change now...

Last night I tried only stropping between the 2nd and 3rd passes. I only did about 20 laps on the leather. The shave didn't suffer any, infact it felt better not having to walk the six paces to where my strop has to hang.
But I did find a benefit of stropping between passes. Because my wife and I live with my in-laws in a house with nine other people (this includes my father in-law who thinks he can sing and his three wives). The only place I have available to shave is in the kitchen. I have to share this space with who ever happens to be walking through at the time. I have found that if I strop between passes sometimes the screaming peaks when I'm stropping and not when I have a razor to my throat.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am with Nathen here on his thought I strop between the first WTG pass and the second XTG/ATG pass.... Does the razor need it ???? Nope.... do I need it ???? Yep,,, it lets the lather have some time, and me have some time to think about solving the worlds problems I do 10 laps leather only...

Plus the barber that introduced me to straights back in 1981 did it that way.... so I have done it that way for to long to change now...

I did this during my shave last night. Not sure if i really noticed a difference or not. But it did add to the "Experience"....

I never found a need to strop between passes. In fact since I shave ever morning before work I wouldn't have the time. If you were carving a roast would you stop between slices to resharpen your knife? I think not.... In my humble opinion if your razor is sharp enough stropping before your shave is enough.

Not to sound snobby, but if your technique is good and you are working with a good blade, i don't think it is something I would want or need to do.The better my technique get, the less quickly the edge deteriorates. When learning, I use to ruin edges very quickly on my XXcoarse Sicilian Stuble. My beard has the consistancy of black electrical wire. It is all about touch and skewing the blade. This week learning that point leads are good has made me as happy as a pig in S*&^t as I don't have to depend on the heal lead.More strokes in my arsenal. If you have any heavy areas that you 90 degree plow your edge will go down very fast.
Such a multifaceted art, the art of honing, the art of stroping, the art of lathering and prep and sometimes the least understood art of the shave itself.
Mike