Thread: Pressure on edge while stroping?

I have seen about a ton of stropping videos. I have the finger flick action down and I'm feeling pretty good about things. How much pressure are you guys applying on your razors on the strop? How tight are you pulling the strop? Probably my most important question follows... When your blade is in motion, spine first on the strop, do you try to hold it flat? Or, do you apply some pressure on the edge (but holding the blade mostly flat) by allowing a bit of tilt on yours fingers hold toward the edge?
Thanks!

These questions seem to come up about 3 times a week. Type "stropping a razor" in the search box in the upper right hand corner of your screen. About 3 weeks of reading on this subject will appear.

Well, that's kind of the trouble. Too much potentially conflicting information. For example: http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ressure-2.html

And that is what is about to happen here. Update your profile with your location. Maybe there is a mentor around. Stropping seems to be something that many get right with wide variations in strop tension, pressure and torque on the blade. About the only thing that seems to be agreed on is the "flip."

Go with the flow.

Remember some folks seem to do everything wrong or against the general advice and yet they get the result they want. However that doesn't mean it's the right way for you. Learn to do it without pressure and when you become proficient then you can go off on your own and experiment.

...and as a hint for sorting through all the info, you'll see posts by people who have 1000's of posts and some by those with very few. As a general rule, I focus on the posts of those that have the most experience.

However, the learning curve really can't be shortened, so reading (and watching videos from SRP or buying and watching Lynn's DVD for $20) is one of the shortcuts, such as it is. There are years of discussions linked to the "Google custom search" box at the top right of this page.

Keep at it!

I think at first you have to guard against dulling the edge. You'll keep the strop really taut and use no pressure. At some point you'll just have to take a razor and shave a bit, strop a bit, shave a bit, strop a bit, etc., until you find a sweet spot. Most guys starting out don't really strop very well and you can feel the edge being a little rough on the skin. They usually are too taut and too light. Hopefully, that's the case. That is where you need to start. When you start to relax a little and add just a touch of pressure, you'll be doing just a little better. If you feel a slight improvement in the edge, you're doing really well. The problem is that stropping is often designed to just keep the edge feeling fresh, and you won't notice very much difference.

Once you learn to hone, all bets are off and you can do anything with a strop, and just fix the blade. If you add too much pressure or add to much sag, you will get irritation first, before you feel pulling. If you feel pulling you've really gone too far.

Remember that the "stropping effect" is not created by pressure or deflection, it's created by friction. Friction is what causes the steel to slightly smooth.

The edge of the razor is the only part that needs to be stropped. That edge is the weakest part of the razor. So, if you strop with zero deflection, and zero pressure, if that were possible, you'd really be stropping the base of the bevel, not so much the edge of the blade.

You want to induce the slightest amount of deflection possible, and use the slightest amount of pressure possible, with the most number of reps possible (later replaced by some speed) in order to strop. The edge will last longer this way. Friction will smooth the edge of the blade. If you apply a lot of pressure it should mostly fall into the base of the bevel, which is the widest part of that end of the blade. This might confuse you. Now your applying pressure which creates deflection so the edge feels smoother, but you aren't stropping better, you're rather just finally getting to the edge. This works if the razor is dull. A dull razor can be stropped with more pressure, and sadly most beginners are using dull razors. It leads to confusion, with pressure, deflection, and whatever else you might be up to.

Just remember that despite what will work (I can slap a razor full bore onto a strop and not damage the edge) that doesn't mean that I should.

Rather, I should hone the razor to its most delicate edge, and then strop, utilizing the most gentle control possible, to use friction alone to smooth the edge.

So the real experimentation is in developing a safe stroke that prevents pressure being applied to the sharp, mailable edge, and ensures the razor runs along the strop supporting the weight and pressure. If you put weight down on a moving blade the weight should just naturally fall onto the spine and the base of the bevel, this leads to the feeling that it's easy, and carefree. It is.

The reason you want the strop to be relaxed just a little, and not SUPER taut is because you want a little forgiveness. Flat as it is, stropping on a piece of steel would be difficult.

So, remember that friction does the work. Start taut and light. Strop, shave. Then relax a little with your strop hand, just a touch and strop lightly. If you feel some improvement, you've got it. Don't ever add too much deflection. You'll really screw up the edge.

As the razor smoothes, you might begin to find that the razor is more forgiving of pressure. That's okay. That's not really a reason to go crazy with pressure. Adding too much pressure causes problems, especially if you think you're adding more friction. You probably are adding more friction, but the edge also will have a harder time maintaining it's shape. Once you start adding pressure the likelihood of adding asymmetric pressure, and the edge losing it's shape increases. Which leads to bad shaves and the description of a "rolled" edge.

It's not a respectful way to treat the edge and will lead to more honing iterations, like monthly. Not a big deal, really.

But, the natural ability of a razor to balance out pressure, compounding it where the razor is widest, and not on the edge directly, is a blessing. It does lead to some guys finding that you can strop anyway you want to and it'll kind of work. But, you should strive to use friction, on the edge, and extend the edge out for the natural life cycle of the honing iteration. That is best done with a softly extended strop, and light pressure, with lots of passes.

But, it can be accomplished with pressure and a taut strop, and deflection and no pressure at all, but you'll really screw things up using deflection and pressure together. At this point, that's one of the few ways I can still screw up an edge.

You should spend some time stropping a razor and note how/if you can feel the friction created. Each strop is a little different. You'll note though that the "draw" is persistent with a variety of tautness levels, from hard pulling to soft pulling. With light razor contact there is no need for hard pulling. The two forces work in concert with each other somewhat (although the room for error is really enormous). This is why the adage "guard against sagging" is used. Sagging strops aren't really a catastrophic problem, but they also don't contribute well to maintaining an edge. Likewise a strop that is white knuckle taut will be applying most of the stropping action into the bevel's base. An effect of equally limited usefulness, although you'll likely feel as if you're achieving the ultimate in friction and draw.

The key is to just relax, and strop with the same mindset that you hone and shave. Controlled, gentle, purposeful. Using only the pressure needed. Excess pressure is either wasted, or deforms the edge.

Thank you AFDavis11, I can add that a good hanging strop is the better choice for me because it teachs you how the edge "feels" the leather, then I can pull the strop slightly more or less applying more pressure on the spine.

Its like a golf swing. You cant force it. Pull it taunt, but not like your pulling a kid out of fridged waters. Lead with the spine, Let the cutting edge go along for the ride.Its not complicated if you dont make it so.Find the audio of how it sounds to strop. Hear it with your eyes closed. Fact your going to be slower in the beginning.SPEED KILLS. Feel the strop close your eyes and get the sound & tactile feedback. Make shorter strokes.You cant push the blade into the leather to make it sharper. Do you hone? Same pressure as on final hone. Humble opionion .I did it all the wrong way. These thoughts or mental images and neatsfeet oil on a New Strop broke it in.You dont redline a brand new car and not expect engine damage.right??? Same principle. To quote Caddyshack "Billy feel the ball."You will be fine.

I do put a bit of torque on the edge by holding the thumb at the corner of the jimps and tang. This also aids in the flip and re positions the thumb on the other corner. Use just enough torque to keep the edge on the strop.

Do not flip the razor until forward motion is stopped. As you get more experience your stops will get shorter. Keep the spine on the strop, the spine never leaves the strop. If you lift the spine, just once… you will wipe the edge.

Actually the learning curve can be shortened. Find a local mentor and get some hands on coaching.
Reading the suggested post will also help, but nothing like hands on. The amount of information can seem daunting, but these threads are packed with good information, none of which is a waste of time. I learn something every time I go down an old thread rabbit hole.

Stropping is the most important thing to master, the cause of most novice shaver’s problems and will keep you shaving for a long time.

Save a strop… Find a local mentor.