does anyone else strop during a shave?

I was shaving this morning and I had a perfect edge for my lip and chin area, and then when I got under my bottom lip I felt a little tugging so I wiped off my razor and gave it 5 or 6 swipes on the strop and went back to the area that was tugging and it was nice and smooth again. So for the rest of the shave I divided it up into sections, stropping between sections and it was far more enjoyable than just going through the whole shave with only one strop session.

I find my self walking into the bathroom randomly in the day and wanting to strop just for the hell of it. I might be addicted to the strop.

every once in a while i will strop on my palm during a shave

You have to careful with those addictions. Next thing you know you will have the strop hanging from your belt and start stropping as you walk down the street.

You should not have to strop during the shave unless you want to.

I sometimes strop before my second pass if the first pass is feeling rough.

I've tried it and it didn't seem to change the results. But hey if it works for you..why not :)

I experimented with stropping mid-shave when I started, and seemed to be getting good results. I don't have to now though, probably due to better stropping skills:shrug:.

But if it's working out for you then go for it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ibreakstuff

I was shaving this morning and I had a perfect edge for my lip and chin area, and then when I got under my bottom lip I felt a little tugging so I wiped off my razor and gave it 5 or 6 swipes on the strop and went back to the area that was tugging and it was nice and smooth again. So for the rest of the shave I divided it up into sections, stropping between sections and it was far more enjoyable than just going through the whole shave with only one strop session.

---

This is one of the sign of over honing.
edge is almost in there.
Usually this type edge will not last more then a month.gl

IBreakStuff,

Out of habit, I strop for 25 'laps' between the passes.

No reason for it, just habit ! I suppose it gives the lather a little more time to do its work, but that is probably more imagination than real :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

I strop between passes. I find doing so helps with the shave.

From what I have experienced if you have to strop to keep the edge sharp during a shave then something is wrong.


Take Care,
Richard

When I first got my TM latigo I did find myself wanting to use it quite often. Now I'll strop in between passes if I'm doing an across-the-grain.

Imho there should be no need of stropping between passes if the edge is ok. Unless you like stropping of course :)

Next thing you know you will have the strop hanging from your belt and start stropping as you walk down the street.


I never strop during the shave

I have one razor that seems to need a midshave strop. My others don't.

I like to do a HHT before and after each shave, just out of curiosity. There is a tiny difference, which clears up after the postshave strop.

If I do a three pass shave I do not strop during the shave.

If I do a single pass shave I will strop before my next shave.

I see an inconsistency here…

Semper circa,
LG Roy

Strop away...
the most difficult (for me) thing to learn was how to tell when a blade
has lost its fine edge and need a visit to the strop, canvas
or hone.

My solution has been to select two razors and swap razors
for the last pass.

Two things happen if you strop in the middle of a shave.
The most important is the lather and whiskers get more time together.
The next is stropping does improve an edge and when
needed is be important.

Back in the 50's my barber would shave the back of the
neck of us kids and later our fuzzy sideburns. It was
not uncommon for him to touch a razor to the back of
our neck only to wipe the razor clean and strop it a second
time. His mini shave test told him to continue or not continue.
Sometimes he would swap razors.

I strop whenever I feel the need to.

I have never done that. Would a stouter blade width negate the necessity for that?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rostfrei

I have never done that. Would a stouter blade width negate the necessity for that?

---

A stouter blade ... perhaps but not likely.

A lot depends on the whiskers and the way the razor is
being used and the razor itself. At the cutting edge all razors are thin
enough that the cutting edge is fragile. If the angle is high
and the whiskers tough then the edge will roll a bit but
can be unrolled (realigned) by the strop. More than a bit
and the razor might need canvas, pasted strop or a hone
to recover.

A number of folk are fans of wedges and other stout blades,
for a variety of reasons... If your face and whisker
set responds better to a wedge than it does to a full hollow then
switching blades would negate the need for stropping in
the middle of a shave.

Given the variety of razors and faces I doubt there is
an absolute answer.

Try it....

I usually do a 2 pass shave, wtg w/ lather, xtg w/ water. I strop before and after these shaves.

Occasionally I will go for the all out BBS with the ATG. With these, I've found stropping between teh xtg and atg gives a smoother shave.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ibreakstuff

I was shaving this morning and I had a perfect edge for my lip and chin area, and then when I got under my bottom lip I felt a little tugging so I wiped off my razor and gave it 5 or 6 swipes on the strop and went back to the area that was tugging and it was nice and smooth again. So for the rest of the shave I divided it up into sections, stropping between sections and it was far more enjoyable than just going through the whole shave with only one strop session.

I find my self walking into the bathroom randomly in the day and wanting to strop just for the hell of it. I might be addicted to the strop.

---

it probably depends on how coarse your beard is and the softness/ pre shave prepairdness of the hair