Thread: stropping between passes

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

If any razor I owned needed stropping in between passes, well I think you may find it in the scrap tray waiting for the recycle cart.

Jamie

I have heard from good authority that most, if not all, Japanese razors actually do require stropping between passes. Rather than see them on the roadside, best you send them to me, i don't mind the extra inconvenience.

But seriously, i have never felt the need to do that, each to their own though.

I beieve an edge should never have to be stropped mid shave, and my gut feeling is the blade could use some rock love(honing) but anyway everybody has their own way. I may be totally wrong but if thats what floats your boat, then do it. I strop like 24 hours before the shave! It dries and coats the blade with oil.

This is usually not a honing issue, it's related to shaving technique and stropping. That's assuming that the first pass goes well and the subsequent passes seem to go downhill from there. I'll elaborate.

When this happens it is typically to newbies who may be a) using straight up & down cuts, b) using a steep angle and c) using too much pressure. What this does is breaks the edge down prematurely, which not only makes for uncomfortable 2nd and 3rd passes but means that the edge will require touchups more frequently as well. This is why stropping midshave seems to alleviate the problem in the short term.

It is also a sign of inadequate stropping to begin with. This you will only discover after your stropping becomes completely proficient.

The good news is that this is very normal. When I started I stropped midshave too, which seemed to help. After my shaving and stropping skills improved I found that this was no longer necessary, the problem eventually disappeared. Not only that but overall edge longevity increases by several times as well.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

This is usually not a honing issue, it's related to shaving technique and stropping. That's assuming that the first pass goes well and the subsequent passes seem to go downhill from there. I'll elaborate.

When this happens it is typically to newbies who may be a) using straight up & down cuts, b) using a steep angle and c) using too much pressure. What this does is breaks the edge down prematurely, which not only makes for uncomfortable 2nd and 3rd passes but means that the edge will require touchups more frequently as well. This is why stropping midshave seems to alleviate the problem in the short term.

It is also a sign of inadequate stropping to begin with. This you will only discover after your stropping becomes completely proficient.

The good news is that this is very normal. When I started I stropped midshave too, which seemed to help. After my shaving and stropping skills improved I found that this was no longer necessary, the problem eventually disappeared. Not only that but overall edge longevity increases by several times as well.

This makes me feel good. I sometimes use a razor twice between strops. I do at least 2 passes and in some spots 3 almost every shave now. I tried it once because the razor still felt good when I finished so I thought it may keep going. I was curious. I go through my rotation and then sit down and strop them all at once. May not use a strop for 2 weeks. I guess I am the other end of the spectrum.

If I thought a razor needed to be stropped between passes(I do 3) I would put it down get a sharp razor and hone the other later. It aint going to get sharp with a strop for long. If it doesn't pass hht before shave Id change it out as well.

I have 4 razors and if the shave is not going well, I'll change razors. The only time my shaves don't go well, it's a lather issue.