Thread: strop routine before or after or both

I don't have a linen strop, so I only do the leather one. Not really counting, but I'd guess about 20 to 30 passes before AND after shaving. I guess I could do with only the after-shave strop, but then I wouldn't know what to do while waiting with the preshave cream on my face.

I do before and after but seriously questining it it is required.

I'll do a normal stropping before I shave and then do 5 laps on linen afterwards to remove any that might be on the blade edge.

I've settled in on this routine; after shaving and drying completely, 20 on fabric and then 20 on leather. Pre-shave is 10 on fabric and then 50 on leather.

I started doing it before and after, but really didn't see the need for both. I could see the necessity of doing it after, so now, I do it only after, to thoroughly dry/clean the blade and align it. I do 25-30 on my webbing, and 75 on the leather.

It seems to be working, about 8 shaves that way with no noticeable difference in shaving experience. Will see how long the edge lasts...

I'm not promoting the resting thing, just posting this as a current example of where a mfg (Dovo) is recommending this. Would love to see this question under rigorous scientific experiment...

------------http://www.dovo.com/_english/interessantes.html#1

5. The straight razor I bought a short time ago no longer shaves properly. Do I have to whet it, and how often is this necessary?
DOVO straight razors are whetted in the factory for use (whetting on leather by hand). If you own a suitable strop, you should nevertheless take into account that the razor must first "rest" after use. After the razor has been carefully rinsed and dried, it should not be used again for at least 24 - 48 hours because the fine "fin" on the cutting edge straightens up again extremely slowly. If the razor is stropped too soon (or stropped incorrectly by moving it backwards and forwards without turning it over), the "fin" which is necessary for a close shave breaks off. Between six and fifteen shaves are possible without stropping in between.