Thread: is stropping really necessary???

I take my razors out to 30000 grit on a Shapton and joint the blade after every other stone in the progression followed by four following strokes. I do this under 60x magnification and when I see the flash appear, I joint, and then it goes away. The stropping is unnecessary and the bevel goes right down to as perfect an edge as I've ever seen. Stropping after the 30k degrades the edge and I've seen that under magnification several times both with new and with vintage strops.

I'm thanking you, Howard for the nice Coticule I got from you. It has more yellow and less pink in it and may be a finer "grit" Coticule than the other one I have that has a kind of molted appearnce. I probably need to get a larger piece for honing, as that one is just a wee bit on the small side for complete honing on it. Maybe soon, a Sharpton 30,000 for the finish.

One small question. What you you mean by "jointing" in the honing process?

Some people think an Alka Seltzer only works if you drink it while it's bursting up the inside of the glass,imagine that, and some people seem to think you have to strop the razor in the morning, near the bathroom sink, and then shave with it while it's still, I don't know, vuvving or something. I have never stropped just before, no thank you sir!
I take care of that the night before, after I have put a parade shine on my shoes, usually whilst I'm otherwise moronically watching the goggle box. Who says men can't multitask!

I typically strop my razor the night before, 25 linen/50 leather. Then in the AM I give it about 10 laps for good measure.

I also find with many of my razors that the ATG pass is helped if I give the razor a few laps on the strop between the WTG and ATG passes. Not all razors, but some.

Assuming a well honed, quality razor and correct technique, stropping does contribute to the smoothness of the shave, but as has been said, lots of other variables intervene and one has to work out what fits one's own experience best.

Originally Posted by fitzpatrick

just a poser,,,to save time the other morning i bypassed my usual stropping laps and shaved straight out of the shower with an unstropped razor...surprisingly i found to be slightly more comfortable on my heavy stubble,,,2 pass, with and against grain to finish, no razor burn with no more strokes than usual, proraso aftershave and moisturiser. that got me thinking as i am always thinking/experimenting with new ways to customise my routine...next morning i didnt strop again and same result, then this morning only started needing more strokes to clear my face of hair basically 3 shaves before i needed to strop again, i always thought as a rule you stropped before every shave but i came to realise maybe i was wasting time stropping everday when it was not really required??? anybody else found this or am i alone??

It seems to be customary to strop before each shave. I do it because it is,,, the thing to do and have never tried not stropping before my shave. But, if not stropping works for you, then don't strop. I'll continue to strop before shaving because it seems to be the thing to do: it's the case of finding a good rut and continuing to drive in it.

Originally Posted by Howard

I take my razors out to 30000 grit on a Shapton and joint the blade after every other stone in the progression ...

Still kind of curious exactly what you mean by "joint the blade"?

I got rushed this morning and forgot to strop before I started, and noticed immediately that something was off. It probably depends some on the blade whether or not you could skip a day; I was using a Boker extra-hollow which is normally my best 1-pass shaver but is also the thinnest ground blade I have. A heavier blade might hold up a little better through a shave and be more usable for a second day, though.

Ended up having to pause for stropping after finishing one cheek. Normally, I save a bit of time by stopping after I lather since I'm giving the oil/soap a bit of time to soften things up as much as possible and might as well put that time to some use.

Originally Posted by fitzpatrick

just a poser,,,to save time the other morning i bypassed my usual stropping laps and shaved straight out of the shower with an unstropped razor...surprisingly i found to be slightly more comfortable on my heavy stubble,,,
....snip...:

I expect that you had previously stropped the razor.
It is not outside of expectations to get a number of
shaves without stropping each time.

A strop does a number of good things to a razor...
and it also pays to be systematic about stropping.

I was honing a couple of blades and got distracted
for a bit after honing at 12K. In the time of this
distraction there was a thin layer of rust...
After stropping on canvas it was gone. After stropping
with leather it had the finest layer of strop dressing
protecting the bare steel from rust.

Stropping before a shave removes the last bit of
lather that might be left from yesterday. The
leather also does a fine polish of the edge in
addition to straightening it.

But skip a day or two... sure as long as
you do not make a habit of it. Adjust
as your shave tests indicate.

Originally Posted by bmgreene

...since I'm giving the oil/soap a bit of time to soften things up

Oil?? I use that Wal-Mart Van Der Hagen round shaving soap. $1.56 or so. I used it with my 2-blade disposables getting my face wet, lathering up, putting it on and start shaving. No problems. If I can't whack them off by putting on just lather, and the 2-blade is a softer shave, I'm not doing it right.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Try it both ways and see.

Astoundingly Brilliant! YMMV!