Thread: is stropping really necessary???

If any of you have any thoughts that stropping doesn't do anything try this,next time you need a knife for something ,make your first cut,then strop it on something,newspaper an old strop or any other piece of leather,if the knife was sharp to begin with you'll feel the difference immediately.That should convince you

It has been said many times on this site by men more knowledgable than me, "stropping is an acquired skill and takes time to learn." I really didn't buy in to their wisdom, not until I blunted my first razor and took a hunk out of a perfectly good strop. So late smart!!! What makes sense to me is the simple fact that the very fine edge of a well honed razor will oxidize unless it is well protected. One of the easy ways to rid the edge of the oxidized material is to smooth it with a strop, a good strop. Recently I bought such a strop from Jimmy R. I am truly amazed, now, just how much the edges of my razors have improved. And how easier it is for me to use them. Stropping, to me, is an acquired art. IMHO it is essential to achieving the results that I want.

wow, mixed opinions i see, the guy who said there are too many variables to judge is right on the money and i have to make clear the fact that i am very experimental and dont just follow previous peoples practices like a sheep, i am not scared to sacrifice a razor to try something out and was not suggesting not stropping at all! the trial lasted 3 days so i just got my edge back afterwards no problem (dovo en vogue micarta), i guess i must have adapted quickly to compensate for an unpolished edge i have been a butcher/boner for years previously and know a thing or two about an edge.. pbx system finishing on polished steel really works for my cut but others hate that system (but i was the one waiting for them to finish before the next quarter got broken down) thanks for posting all!

Factors to consider:

lifespan of average razor till unsatisfactory and needing a refresh on the hone

quality of shave after 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. without stropping

stropping efficacy of shaver

facial hair type/skin type

depth of typical shave (1 pass, 2 pass, 3 pass, blue pass (sorry, Dr. Seuss)

Me.. 3 weeks tops for every razor I've tried. About a year's open razor shaving. Can tell between unstropped and stropped (sensitive skin like Ryan82). DE and disposable edges last between 3-5 shaves, Mach3 can go a week and a half but the last shaves are ridiculously long and stupid. Not a thick beard but some really tough hairs to contend with, which give very strong feedback to the quality of the edge.

I could hone well from the beginning, with the exception of a bad hone in the progression which needed replacing (but got the first eBay done great!). Stropping is the harder skill to learn and master, for me. It makes sense because it is a finer level of detail!

I don't believe in stropping. I know it's importance!

I cannot find the thread, but hoglahoo actually did an experiment where he shaved with the same razor every day without stropping. I cannot remember how far he got before he broke down and stropped it.

Technique will also affect how much time can elapse between stropping.

For me though, I like that every time i shave the razor is as sharp as the previous shave. No diminishing returns like you get with disposables(cartridge and DE).

I feel like I would be doing myself a disservice by not stropping every day.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

To get the most comfortable shave I strop deeply, with pressure. That is the way I was taught to do it, so that is the way I've always gravitated to.

I don't notice much difference if I strop really lightly as is usually suggested.

I agree wholeheartedly! My dad taught me to strop the same way. As long as the spine is kept close to the surface of the strop the edge won't get dulled. As he did, I even allow a fair amount of sag in the middle of the strop.

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 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.

Howard,

You mean that the Shapton 30k grit may substitute stropping ? or leads stropping unecessary, or in that case detrimental ?
In that case, a pasted sub micron diamond strop would not make the same effect ?
What is "to joint" the blade ?

Sorry for the shooting, just wish to undestand more as I am intyending to jump on the Shapton boat...

Cheers,

Wal

I know when I increased the number of laps I do when stropping I noticed a difference in the smoothness of the shaves particularly on days when my stubble is long enough to be hard and wiry but not long enough to be soft as in beard growth.

Like others said some can get away with it but for me I like consistency of the feel of the razor so I strop before each shave.

Necessary or not, I think I'll sit right here on the fence on this one, until a kind member with access to a scanning tunneling electron microscope (STM) sorts it out once and for all.

This is the second time Ive seen the term jointing the blade and the second time someone asked what it is and still no body has answered-anyone? what is it?
And stropping is such a quick and effortless action that even if you don't think its doing anything (which it most certainly is IMHO) why would you skip such an easy action ?
If it didn't work I think someone would have discovered it in the last hundred years or so.
just my two cents..........
Griz