Thread: Just a little pressure, please?

IMHO i think that weight of the blade is a little bit of and exaggeration. one can put pressure on the spine(enough to keep the blade on the strop) yet let the edge drag behind with as much pressure as you want. if you watch stropping videos there is always some give in the strop ( more than the weight of the blade it looks to me ).

I will have to agree with the others before me. It does take a little pressure, but not a lot. Speed is not necessarily critical, but good technique is.

Originally Posted by SteveA

I have a 3" strop and I find that when I pull it taught and lay the spine of the razor on it with no pressure that it doesn't touch everywhere. That's when I started using a bit of pressure. Maybe I'm pulling too much on the strop.

Pull taught not tight and you shouldn't press the razor to flatten the strop that is likley too much pressure and you will roll the edge. Do x strokes they are the most effective at getting the entire edge. Should be done whether a 2 inch or 3 inch strop.

When I started out I was mindful of all the recommendations to keep the strop taut so I had the solution. I would tie one end of the strop to the back of my Honda Civic and the other end to my sons and then we'd take off. The only problem was mine had a bigger engine and I'd have to run down the street with the car stropping at the same time with my neighbor's Pit Bull chasing me. That didn't work out too well.

Then I realized you just had to hold it comfortably taut and that made all the difference.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

When I started out I was mindful of all the recommendations to keep the strop taut so I had the solution. I would tie one end of the strop to the back of my Honda Civic and the other end to my sons and then we'd take off. The only problem was mine had a bigger engine and I'd have to run down the street with the car stropping at the same time with my neighbor's Pit Bull chasing me. That didn't work out too well.

Then I realized you just had to hold it comfortably taut and that made all the difference.

I think your neighbor should have properly socialized and trained his dog.

Do hybrid cars require less or more laps ?

Concentrate more on the motion of dragging the razor flat down the strop than worrying about the downward pressure on the razor. You should be pushing or pulling the razor, not pressing it down into the strop. Go a little slower until you get it & it'll become muscle memory before you know it.

Originally Posted by SteveA

I have a 3" strop and I find that when I pull it taught and lay the spine of the razor on it with no pressure that it doesn't touch everywhere. That's when I started using a bit of pressure. Maybe I'm pulling too much on the strop.

OK - so there's something else not to obsess over. Some strops can cup. Relax a bit on the strop tension, relax on the thumb and index pressure holding the blade, go slowly/methodically. Be a sort of automaton slow-motion stropping robotic instrument. Slow, steady and gentle wins the game (sooner or later).

Even if you use pressure when stropping you have to remember that the strop deflects at the spine not the edge meaning the pressure should be at the spine. As long as the edges glides over the strop flat that is the main point. When I first started out I found that the more I thought about it the more problems I encountered till I just started doing it without worrying about it. Try not to over think things.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I think your neighbor should have properly socialized and trained his dog.

I think his neighbor HAS properly trained and socialized their dog.. sheesh! Lol

To the OP, I believe there is an article in the Wiki about stropping and how the bevel changes shape with time and use, developing a curve and becoming convex. This means that stropmeisters among us will loosen the grip/pull on the strop, each time ever-so-slightly, to follow this developing curve and allow for max performance of the razor, before it needs to hit the hones again.

Speaking of things that cannot be measured, how's that for everyone?

When people talk about the art of stropping, this thing comes to mind... I'll admit, I never bother.