First I don't really think of stropping as sharpening, but I suppose thats debatable/subjective. I think of it as aligning the edge which produces a better shave as the edge behaves as if its sharper/smoother.

If you use light pressure all the time and don't ever think about how your shaping your edge and working it on the strop and simply rehone anytime things don't go right more draw is just more draw and means little. Although, with draw I can strop in 4-5 passes for a morning shave which I personally find nice. So I think the answer to your question is: yes.

On the other hand if you get an imperfect edge, or its not really all that sharp yet, or its dulling and you use pressure to reset, realign, or stretch out the edge to get a better shave or a resharp one more draw gives you more to work with.

Too much draw with too much pressure stropping can cause problems like rolling, bending, or tearing of the edge.

Knowing the amount of draw you have is beneficial because you can hone a razor up and strop it. When the draw equals a certain amount of pull its sharp and you can eliminate all that complex edge testing stuff.

Most guys just pull taught and strop lightly. I learned to use a strop a little differently because initially my honing wasn't really all that good and I found I could compensate with stropping.


Quote Originally Posted by scarface View Post
OK - but does a strop with more draw sharpen better/faster/sharper, or does it just have more draw?

I've only got a Tony Miller Latigo and one of his practice strops, which appears to be the same leather and has similar draw.

-whatever

-Lou