Thread: stropping between passes

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.