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I slowed way down today during stropping. It helps. What I noticed as I pushed the blade away was that the spine made contact with the strop but I was lifting the blade off of it. So I paid attention with each stroke. Stropped 100 times being careful to note the blade on the strop with each stroke. What a difference. Easily passed the HHT and what a wonderful shave I got from the razor. And I did all of this because of advice here at SRP. Thanks for all the good advice.
Stropping sure does make a huge difference! For the better or the worse.
Good show, Rusty. Speeding and lifting the blade from the strop invite the folded edge. As for the joys of stropping on a delicious strop, sometimes I go two or three hundred strokes on leather, not because my blades needs it, no, because I get into a zen state and fade away. Stropping is one of my preferred activities in the straight razor world.
Glad it worked. That is the reason I went to using an X stroke even when using a 3 inch strop. It just seems to ensure that some part of my motion or reach doesn't cause a portion of the blade to lift, even microscopically from the strop surface.
I stropped up two more blades yesterday, taking my time and watching the blade to make sure it didn't float up. Both blades passed the HHT. Now I understand that test. Never did before because it never worked for me. ;)
Nice work. If I'd had know just one thing or two when I started stropping, I wouldn't have destroyed so many strop. Yeah, Rusty.
Good. Keep the spine stuck to the strop at all times like shit to a blanket. It doesn't matter if the toe part of spine lifts when turning as long as some part of spine stays in contact with strop. The principle is similar to a rolling stroke when honing. It takes a bit of conscious effort if bad habits have developed.
In the long run, I figure it is a matter of creating muscle memory. So slow and watchful for a long while is going to promote good muscle memory. And I agree about keeping the spine on the strop all the time. Early on when the spine lifted is when I'd cut my strop. Not good. ;)
It still takes me a long time to strop. I told myself I was going to commit to flipping the blade between my fingers and not rolling my wrist. I've stick with that- Not as fast but I like it.
Speed kills… a strop. I think most stropping problems with novices are from trying to imitate what they have seen in the movies and TV.
Even if you go slow and do a half lap every second, one way, it will only take a minute to do 30 full laps.
Royalcake, try holding alternating corners of the tang between the thumb and forefinger, rolling the tang at the flip like turning a knob.
You can torque the tang a bit to keep the spine or edge on the strop, as opposed to downward pressure.
Thanks Marty. Yeah that's sort of what I do. I like being able to control the pressure that way to have a light touch. Seems like you get good feedback. ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Euclid440
@Euclid440: Thanks for the advice about how to hold the tangs. It does make a difference not only in rolling but insuring that the blade maintains contact with the strop.
You know Obie since stropping is your favorite activity why not make it a theme in your next novel?Quote:
Originally Posted by Obie
I can see it now. Following a vintage strop from it's creation in say 1920 through an SRP member today and their life stories and how they might have crossed paths and intermingled without ever knowing it. Maybe the way the strop may have affected their lives like the guy at the factory who while cutting the leather accidentally cut 3 fingers off. if it's a best seller I want a cut though-har har.
Spendur, my friend, what a fabulous suggestion. I can make it the saga of two Illinois strops, No. 827 and No. 127, that fall in love, get married and give birth to a Kanayama/Kanoyama 80000. Oh, yes, a bestseller!Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
I am getting much better results since I slowed down and paid attention to the edge maintaining contact with the strop. And slowing down is not a negative. As someone else said, stropping gets you into a kind of zen state and I find myself doing 100+ laps.