I'm not referring to the post-shave stropping to remove any moisture or residue, I'm talking about the full-on stropping for the next shave. Same day? Next day?
Printable View
I'm not referring to the post-shave stropping to remove any moisture or residue, I'm talking about the full-on stropping for the next shave. Same day? Next day?
Following the shave I do 20 round trips on leather after rinsing and drying the razor. The next time I shave with that razor I do 40/40 or so, linen/leather. No rules really. Some guys do less, some do more.
After the shave 10 passes on linen with paste then 10 passes on leather. I may or may not strop before next shave.
I do 50 on linen and 75 on leather right after I shave, and 25 more before I shave the next day. It doesn't really matter when you strop.
What I'm asking is, am I supposed to wait another 24 hours after my shave (and post strop shave) to do the full-on stropping to get it ready for the next day or am I supposed to wait a period of time to let the edge rest?
Moonshae kinda answered that one, he's doing a full stropping after his shave, it doesn't matter when , I iniw a few guys who do theirs right after the shave so it's ready to go and some who do a few passes then again before the shave. I've done it both ways, it does not hurt the blade, it's just realigning it. Strop on. Tc
P.s. It's more about how well you strop than about resting the blade(urban myth)
IF you subscribe to the claim that you need to let the edge rest, then those who espouse that belief claim that the blade must rest for 48 hours.
I strop 5 strokes on newspaper to dry my edge after the shave. I don't usually end up using that same razor again for another week or two and I will strop it on linen and leather right before the shave.
The newspaper is a good idea Utopian, would help keep any left over residue off your strop. Gonna have to try that.
I have two newspaper strops. One is for after shaving and the other is for after honing. Both serve the purpose of keeping my strops clean. As a bonus, the post honing one is impregnated with mineral oil.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grazor
It might partly be affected by how many razors you own, if you use the same one daily then i dont think it matters too much, but if it is going tobe a while until it is next used i dont think it would be a bad idea to give it at least a few laps prior.
I generally use the same razor most of the time, when I used to shave daily i would just strop after the shave and the results were fine, i started doing 10 or so extra laps pre shave but I cant say it made much difference.
I now shave every 2-3 days and usually do 50 laps both pre and post shave but if i miss one out it would be the pre.
I found no benefit in the month long test I did resting vs not resting the edgeQuote:
Originally Posted by ShaveWares
I strop at night, shave in the morning and don't strop after the shave most days. I normally run between 50 and 70 laps linen and same on leather.
I strop on linen right after shaving to dry the edge, and then set the razor on my shelf. The next evening when I am choosing my razor I strop yesterday's razor 50-75 times on leather (number depends on the blade) and put it on its rack. Before I shave I give the chosen razor 25 laps on the leather. I do this because, as mentioned above, I have many razors and it could have been a few weeks since it was used.
I strop immediately before every shave, and it seems to work well. It's all I've ever done.
I tend to do about 10/10 on the poly webbing and leather of my SRD strop post shave after drying the blade to remove any residue, etc. I shave every other day and if my next shave will be on a workday, then it is stropped 30/60 the night before. If I shave on the weekend where I can sleep in a bit and am guaranteed to be more well rested, I will strop 30/60 immediately before the shave.
Back in the day I grew up going to a Barber Shop, not a Hair Salon. I sat on the bench patiently waiting my turn for my haircut (not a hair styling) and during all those years I watched as the men got a hair cut, their ear and nose hair trimmed along with their eyebrows. On many occasions I witnessed the wonder of watching them get a straight razor shave.
Later once I was grown on occasion I would also get a straight razor shave after my haircut.
In all those years, Never Once did I see a Barber strop the razor After the shave! Never! The razor was always stropped Before the Shave.
Now! Whether or not the barber stropped after the shop was either closed or there weren't any customers I can't say.
Personally, I wash the blade with liquid Dawn dish soap after the shave, then rinse it well and wipe the blade dry and then use a blow dryer to make sure that the blade is as dry as possible. After cooling I apply Ballistol and wipe the excess off and store the razor. And that applies whether I'm going to use that razor the next day or next month.
Seems like there are as many stropping routines as people, kind of confusing to a newbie like me.
But if there is one thing I don't understand, it's you gusy saying you will strop on leather before you shave, if it has been a while since you used that razor, even if it was stropped ater it's last use.
If you are not using it, then I am guessing that the edge should be exactly the same as you left it, so why strop it again? That just confused me a bit
It's just some guys habit, and a freshly stropped blade really ready to shave, time can cause oxidation, so strop it and the edge will be ready, if you shave everyday it's not so important to touch up if did the after the last shave. I personally strop after to clean the edge and just before shaving the next day. Tc
I read a lot about subjects like this before taking up this endeavor and from all the information I gather I created my own routine.
Before a shave, I strop it about ten times on the cotton webbing and approximately forty laps on the leather, that's good enough for me.
Upon completion, after a good rinse and drying regime, I lap it about ten times on the cotton webbing, but only approximately twenty times in the leather. Oil and storage until next time.
I have a rotation, so I don't use the same razor every day. But this routine works fine for me and it doesn't consume too much time.
Post shave, after I have dried the blade with a dry cloth I strop on newspaper (5 or 6 laps) and then do maybe 5 or 6 laps on leather. Preshave I strop on newspaper 30 laps and 50 on leather.
I do stropping right after my shave. 30 web and 40 leather, also during the initial drying I will run it a few times on one side of an old T-shirt
As ya'll can tell by my member date, I'm new to the forum...and 'kinda' new to straight razoring.
I can tell you this from going to my Father's barber shop, when I was just a wee-lad. Every morning when he arrived at the shop, he would strop each of his razors a LOT. No, I didn't count, but it was a LOT. Then directly before each shave, he would strop it a bit. A bit being, maybe 15-20 passes. Even before the 1st customer, he would hit the strop 15-20 passes, even through he JUST did it before he unlocked the door and turn the 'pole' on. I'm sure it was more of habit than anything else. While the warm towel was on, he'd strop. Then lather, then shave. Never stropping during or after. But, ALWAYS before.
This was in the early '70's and his shop was near downtown and most of his customers were businessmen. Monday morning's, early morning's(5am-7am) were his busiest, from what I can remember, for shaves. Then they dwindled throughout the week, with Friday's the slowest for shaves, but busiest for non-businessmen (aka the Working Man) cuts. ((Dad said it was because the business men wanted to impress their bosses on Monday. Then started giving less a dang throughout the week. Whereas, the workin' man wanted to look right and tight for the weekend.)
So, I would 'assume' it would make no difference at all when the stropping happens. So long as it DOES happen. And as to if any 'damage' or anything else as to when to strop. I would say, there is none. Because, I can guarantee Dad's shaved more customers on Monday mornings than most of us will shave in 2 weeks worth. And, yes, he did have more than 1 razor, of course. Although, the 'main' blade for shaving was used on every customer that day. The bulk, if you will, with the smaller/thinner blades for trim work. But, the bulk of ones stubble was removed with the same blade (one of the 2 W&B's that are now in my bathroom.
After a shave, I rinse the razor in 91% rubbing alcohol, air dry, strop, then apply Ballistol.