Thread: To strop or not to strop. (Howard Schechter) Videos

We have seen all kinds of stropping methods on this site and for the folks who use them they work just fine. I've seen people hone razors and everything they do is "wrong" but they get great results. The issue to me is they have perfected this method and have become expert at it. For most of us the tried and true way works best and has been used for a very long time by professionals and non professionals.

The comparison with science is false because you're comparing a simple process with a highly complex one little understood years ago. There isn't much to analyze with stropping. It works or it doesn't and the empirical proof is immediately in front of you.

Someone once said "it's not what you do but what effect you have".

Guys with arthritic fingers may not be able to strop according to the barber manuals but still get a good shave... however... turning your wrist & flipping over the edge rather than the spine could lead to the belief that stropping more than 10 x will "roll" or damage an edge.

Originally Posted by Marshal

.....I hate my coticule. But it does make one heck of a comfortable shaving edge, possibly more so than any other stone in my small collection....

??? I don't get that.

Originally Posted by trondsi

??? I don't get that.

It's a bear to work with. Had to be burnished in spite of the fact that coticules are technically soft slurry stone. Can't be used as a slurry stone - it will upset the burnished surface. Can't be used with water or shave lather like all my other stones - the cutting material in the stone cuts too deep. Has to be used with a thin oil (50/50 mineral oil and mineral spirit) to create a nice edge. But once you DO get a good shaving edge on it, it is easily the most forgiving and comfortable edge out of all my finishing stones. Not the sharpest, it's only about an 8K stone. But shaves rather nicely.

There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.

So I decided since Howard has close to 40 years experience with a straight razor that I would carefully consider what the man was saying. I mean what is the magic number? I was stropping probably around 70+ times after and 10-20 before a shave for a total of 80-90+ laps. Was it dull at 79 and magically sharp at 80? When was enough enough? So I lowered it to 10 after and 10 before. I have been doing this for over a week now with no noticeable degradation in the edge or shave results. If anything the edge may have gotten better! There are old barber manuals that also recommend a low number of laps on the strop. Old Howard may be on to something here.

Do what you want. Strop 100 times. Heck strop all day long, it won't bother me. Not me. Not anymore. I think I may have just found a new routine. So thanks to a couple SRP members - Howard and the OP that posted this.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I think you are misunderstanding his views. He doesn't like honing compounds on his strops and he prefers about 10 strokes on the strop (no pastes). I do the same, so I'm compelled to say that's reasonable. I personally don't find any problem with more strokes on a strop. 60-100 doesn't cause any trouble for me. He says he prefers to hone to 30K and doesn't need to strop. I'm likely to agree with this perspective too. I wouldn't hone that high and I prefer to strop, but I know I can skip stropping anywhere above 12k.

I agree with his sentiment that you should keep a razor sharp. I don't agree that a dull razor compels you to go down to 1k. And, although I disagree with that, I wouldn't put too much credibility into a comment of an expert that's just chatting. It's easy to take a comment out of context. His point was simply . . . why let a razor get dull?

I assume you are referring to this video?

http://youtu.be/WcxgvywdgRw

This says it much better than I did

We are complicating and splitting hairs. It's not about one person's experience of 40 years having any more validity than others. It's simple in that the act of stropping as we know it is way beyond the gentleman on whose opinion this conjecture is based, it, the process has longevity dating back centurues, and it's the process we can rely on, Not the attempt to legitimise it with scientific claptrap. Pretty easy, if stropping helps your shave, use it. If that is 20 strokes, or 120 strokes, the only difference is about 30 seconds. So I'm about to strop up my Hart 7/8 with my Kanayama #70000. Enough said.

Originally Posted by bobski

We are complicating and splitting hairs. It's not about one person's experience of 40 years having any more validity than others. It's simple in that the act of stropping as we know it is way beyond the gentleman on whose opinion this conjecture is based, it, the process has longevity dating back centurues, and it's the process we can rely on, Not the attempt to legitimise it with scientific claptrap. Pretty easy, if stropping helps your shave, use it. If that is 20 strokes, or 120 strokes, the only difference is about 30 seconds. So I'm about to strop up my Hart 7/8 with my Kanayama #70000. Enough said.

So how many laps are you going to do....?

4,862, I don't take any thing for granted and if that don't do it I'm doing another 5,637 by my calculations that would be the perfect amount ,,, or maybe just 20-30,, who knows,, but I,ll stand by my original statement, if your dulling your razor in a short stroke count , ie. 10 laps then your stropping SUCKS. I haven't managed to dull my blade after hundreds of laps. this is why I don't need to go to the stones very seldom. its like this if 10 is what you want to do then do it. if 200 is what you want to do then do it, but do it right and it will not degrade your edge, which is what was said, any more than 10 will degrade it,, that is B>S> after 50 or more laps on my strop mine becomes a smooth shaving tool.

so time to move on Tc

Originally Posted by bobski

We are complicating and splitting hairs. It's not about one person's experience of 40 years having any more validity than others. It's simple in that the act of stropping as we know it is way beyond the gentleman on whose opinion this conjecture is based, it, the process has longevity dating back centurues, and it's the process we can rely on, Not the attempt to legitimise it with scientific claptrap. Pretty easy, if stropping helps your shave, use it. If that is 20 strokes, or 120 strokes, the only difference is about 30 seconds. So I'm about to strop up my Hart 7/8 with my Kanayama #70000. Enough said.

I am not splitting hairs nor was it complicated. I took into careful consideration what the gentleman said, investigated and explored it, found it to be reasonable, and came up with a new routine. Simple. Enough said.