Thread: Why so many laps on the Strop?

I was on the killing floor in a large meat processing plant years ago(not for the faint of heart!). The cutters(I think that's what they were called). would pass the edge over the blade twice, once on each side of the blade, make a few cuts, and repeat the process. Why then is is necessary to repeat this process so many more times when alighning the fin on a str8 razor? In theory(only mine, of course) it would seem that if the edge and spine are flat and a few passes are made lightly, why are more needed?

Steve Boyd

Fanaticism.

Why so many laps on the Strop?

Seems like the multiple strop guys might be just splitting hairs

It feels manly to strop.. LOL

We do many more passes before we start but the meat cutters do less passes far more often. I would uspect that if they used a single blade all day without stropping by the next day they would need 20-30 passes to get the edge back in line. By stropping every few cuts their edge never really "moves" much in between the more frequent stroppings. If were were to take 2 or 3 passes at our whiskers, strop a few passes, take a few more shaving passes, strop again, etc.... we would get the same effect as stropping 20 times once a day.

Beside, we simply like to play with our toys <g>

Tony

For what it's worth, i worked as a meatcutter last summer and i'd just chime in that a cutter NEEDS to strop every few cuts (is it still called stropping when they use a sharpening steel rod?) there edge is far from perfect...it's just sharp enough to do a few cuts...and they could care less. theres no point in doing many laps up the steel...2 laps, 30 laps, that damn blade will be just as dull after a few cuts anyways. takes way too much time and then you go and hit a bone when you're de-boning a pork leg...waste of effort. we always carried 2 knifes for quick changes, a steel rod for quick touches and a sharpener for when the rod starts to lose it's effect. we also have guy that walks around and sharpens the spare knife for you so you don't have to waste your time doing it.

as a straight razor shaver, you don't want to just be able to JUST cut the hair, you want to do it cleanly. thats not a concern for meatcutters. what they need sharp to be is worlds away from what we need sharp to be

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

I would uspect that if they used a single blade all day without stropping by the next day they would need 20-30 passes to get the edge back in line.

yikes! if they used a single blade all day they would have carpal tunnel for sure! after even 20 minutes without stropping you're not even cutting meat anymore, you're forcing your way through it. as a meat cutter i wouldn't even bother stropping the knife, i'd just go right to my sharpener.

Originally Posted by zepplin

why are more needed?

Steve Boyd

They are not needed

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Beside, we simply like to play with our toys <g>

Tony

Here here! I'm all for playing with yourself....what? What did I say?

i don't know about the extra stropping not being necessary...i'll agree that i don't notice a difference between stropping 20 times and stropping 60 times, but i seem to recall an experiment someone did in which they compared stropping 30 times before a shave, stropping 30 before and 30 after, and stropping 60 before and it seemed the razors stropped with the higher amount retained a sharper edge longer.

better safe than sorry, that's the way i see it

10 gets the job done just fine . . .10 before and 10 after might be even better.

which one is more, 30 before and 30 after, or 60 before?

Think about it.

Perhaps your conclusions are missing the point.

"Most razors are spoiled by too much stropping" (Maher and Grosh, 1922)