Thread: Stropping questions

Even after reading the stropping threads (particularly the "folding the edge" thread), I feel unsure about:

How much pressure on the blade?

• Very light - just the weight of the blade with a bit loose strop?
• Light, but with enough pressure to ensure the edge makes solid/even contact with the strop? ( determined by the feel the draw/drag)
• 15 times the weight of the blade? (think I read this in the handwritten notes of the 1961 Barber's Manual)

Is it easier to apply too much pressure and roll the edge, or use too little pressure and not make enough edge contact to sharpen it? Both lead to a poor shave. Which is more likely?

The preferred angle - heel to point?

• Straight perpendicular to the strop? (typically shown in YouTube demos)
• Heel a bit advanced of the point? (shown in the 1961 Barber's Manual)
• Point a bit advanced of the heel? (the opposite style used in honing)

(I have a full hollow ground blade.)


Bill

There are so many opinions on almost everything. Mine is very light and perpendicular. In an attempt to keep the pressure light the tightness of the strop should also be fairly light. If you use a strop with very heavy draw and you use anything but very light pressure the resistance on the strop is very high and the amount of pressure is quite obvious. The turn is where a lot of people mess up in the beginning and is also where I have nicked my strop.

Pshtt ... Can opened

Stropping is like a golf grip. There are correct ways and incorrect ways and everyone you talk to says their way is the only way.

I have slight slack in my hanging strop. I do an x pattern (even though it is a three inch strop). I use very light to no pressure on the edge but do make sure my spine stays in contact with the strop. I do not use the full length of the strop for each stroke more like 1/2 to 2/3 and vary the flip spot. Most of the time I am perpendicular to the strop but sometimes a slight angle.

Too much pressure will roll or dull your edge. Go light but you need to make contact. Go slow. Speed will come. I really wanted to go fast when a started. Once I slowed down I learned to see and hear stropping that worked.

There is lots of info on stropping in here. Try searching stroptober

I think stropping is one of those things that is done in textbook fashion when you start out and as you gain confidence you can experiment and alter the routine to get what works best for you. Personally I keep a taut strop and use an x pattern no matter how wide the strop is and use the minimal pressure. I use so little that when I switch strops to one with draw, at first, the razor is almost pulled from my hand.

Talk to Razorfeld... he helped me over a few months.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Looked through the stroptober posts and videos. Came home and tried a looser strop hold and switched grips a bit. Feels and sounds better. My blade was removing arm hair easily with only a dozen passes. Looks like for me it's light pressure and a tad looser hold that seems promising.

Gentlemen,
I hold my strop with a wee bit of slack. The blade sweeps forward at a slight angle with the toe leading, and returns with the same angle and the heel leading. I cover only about six or seven inches of length on the strop. This way I have better control of the razor as it flips between the thumb and index finger, while the wrist remains almost locked. The action is smooth and seamless. I keep my speed slow with an even tempo. Regardless of strop width, I prefer to strop this way. Then again, stropping technique is personal. Of course, what's most important is to strop correctly, as proper stropping is one of the most important element of straight razor shaving.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I think stropping is one of those things that is done in textbook fashion when you start out and as you gain confidence you can experiment and alter the routine to get what works best for you. Personally I keep a taut strop and use an x pattern no matter how wide the strop is and use the minimal pressure. I use so little that when I switch strops to one with draw, at first, the razor is almost pulled from my hand.

I agree with just about everything you said but REALLY agree with that part that's emboldened.

Actually, I think the emboldened part is true for every aspect of wet shaving - the trick is keeping an open enough mind to get there, and not buying so much stuff that eliminating things that don't work becomes too hard to recall lol.

Initially, while learning, I think it is best to keep the strop fairly taut and the razor stroke fairly light. Light as in just the weight of the razor on the strop, and whatever downward force is necessary to keep it in contact as you move it. No more than that. Go slowly. (Safe) Speed comes with practice and time and in no other way. Try to make the stroke smooth and even, and pay attention to the flip at each end as that is one of the real secrets of good stropping.

Then, as others have said, once you have the fundamentals down you can experiment and find what suits you best. I'm still figuring it out, and that's the fun of this 'sport'!

James.

I find that it is easier to control the amount of pressure, the flip, contact and I don't lift the spine off the strop if I strop away from me and then back to me. That is to say, I don't like to strop with my stropping arm traveling in a waving motion like an arc. I hover over my strop and have great control. Slow and steady will teach you the muscle memory you need. That will build experience. I like doing an "X" pattern and sometimes I'll do a straight toe, middle and heel routine if I'm working up a difficult edge then back to the "X" pattern. I leave a little slack in my strop and warm it up with the palm of my hand before use. I like to strop pre and post shave. But then, I really like stropping.

Hope this helps.

Chasmo