Thread: is stropping really necessary???

You guys are really, really, generalizing here...

So much of this is a personal thing, you are not even saying what type of razor you are talking about here, you are generalizing the stropping itself.. What strops, even what type of strop..
This is not even taking into account the differences in beards...

Stropping recommendations are set up to get people started, they have never been set in stone, that 25/50 linen/leather on a standard length hanging strop is just a starting point... There are tons of variables to adjust from there, besides the fact that as you get better at it, your stropping becomes more effective...

The burnishing effect on the razor's edge from the strop is more important for removing micro corrosion, and helping the "smooth" not the sharp.. This leads to the skip a day thing... If you use the same razor each day you might be able to skip a day better then the guy that has a larger rotation, because the corrosion is less of a factor.. The burnishing effect on the bevel of the razor however, would be effected by changes in your routine..

I am just bringing up a few variables here, there are tons I am missing..

You really have to adjust your stropping to your unique situation, then realize that as you progress and learn it might adjust too...

And just because you can skip a day doesn't mean there is a valid reason to.

My fear has always been that if you don't feel much difference from stropping how can you be certain your doing it right?

Daily stropping maintains the edge of your razor and prolongs the life of your edge. Generally, even daily stropping does not eradicate the need for future honing. Very few are able to maintain an edge indefinitely on a strop. So yea, the wear on your edge is quite small during a shave, and you certainly can shave several times without stropping - but it will require honing (much) sooner.

I sometimes forget to strop, it could happen if I'm in a hurry on the morning before shuffling off to work. It leaves me with a feeling that I degraded the edge, and I'll strop it more thoroughly next time I use it.

As Glen mentioned, there are so many variables, that there is no way to make an overall 'correct' procedure for everyone. I finish my razors with .050 micron diamond oil and there is no need to strop for the first shave. But after the first shave it is necessary.
People shave off razors finished on 8000 stones, which I'm sure requires stropping.
The razors I have from say 1850 and before don't even finish better than off an Escher. The steel seems not as fine grained, and these very much require stropping.
Even American razors from the early 1900's, which hold an edge for an incredibly long time, are made so much more enjoyable with stropping.
I'm thinking that the accepted stropping to finish an edge, as well as prior to shaving, is simply easier and more 'face friendly', than to find the limits of what your face will tolerate if you don't.

Just my thoughts.
Ed
quicknicker

This has been a most interesting thread! Willy Hauser, who posted on here (amazing video of shaving) said he hones once a year and it's his Grandfather's razor. Since he's from Switzerland, it would be a safe guess to figures it's one of the Solingen razor lines since years ago there were LOTS of razor makers in Solingen German. Exact mfg. he never mentioned, but in his video he does not spend a great amount of time on the strop.

Some in this thread hone fairly firmly, while others, in this thread, do it feather soft. It would seem logical that for the strop to do any kind of dressing to the blade it has to have enough contact to "do something" but at the same time, not competely bend over the edge. My Uncle Herm would strop once in a while when he felt it needed it, and used newspaper (back in the early 1960's) to also bring it around along with his stropping. Honing was not a weekly or monthly thing wit him or his brother, Seth. My step Dad, Warren stropped some but not the 50-60 lashes that seem to be the norm. He would strap, as he called it, about a dozen times and shave.

As Glen said above, there are a lot of variables here at work. Some have thick whiskers and others not so tough. I have shaved with disposables about a month before finally retiring them. I judged on how they were shaving at the time. I suspect I'll do the same with my straights. Since I have several, like my collection of disposables in the bag, I would do like I do with them. I would lather up and shave. If it seemd to be a bit pully and not as face friendly, I would stop, and set it aside to be stropped later and merely grab up another blade and give it a go. Please tell me I'm not the only individual that has gone overboard and has more than one razor! Wouldn't this make sense? Let the razor tell you it needs honed as you shave with it?

However on any razor, save the Stainless Steel blades, there is always possibility of microscopic erosion at the blade edge due to humidity in the air. I don't store my razors in the bathroom for that reason. It would be prudent to give them a few licks before shaving just to freshen up that edge and help to eliminate that problem. If there is oil from your hand, ot other oil in the leather, and after shave strop gives a light protection to the razor's edge.

My 2 cents...

Please everyone don't go and strop your razors using pressure. Alan can get away with it and it works for him cause he has technique and experience. If you all try doing it you know what you will probably do to your razors.

I definately notice the difference when I dont strop. I strop before and after every shave and I find it helps keeps the edge in really good shape and extends the time between honings.

I can't speak for everyone, but my face can feel the difference between a stropped razor and an unstropped razor. I can even feel the difference between a well stropped razor and a poorly stropped razor. I guess if there's an upside to having sensitive skin it's instant feedback

IMO stropping is a daily necessity. If you don't believe me take a razor that hasn't been recently honed or touched up and try shaving without stropping once or twice. You'll be able to tell....

i'm not convinced that stropping really does anything at all, but i do it anyway. i know that stropping is supposed to realign the teeth on the edge, but is there any evidence of any difference between a pre-stropped edge and a post stropped edge. i mean can you see the difference under a microscope and observe aligned teeth or not aligned teeth? i really don't know the answer.

Try it both ways and see.