In my quest to become proficient at all fazes of str8 razor shaving, my most difficult area has been stropping. I realized the importance of this in regard to getting a good shave; I can be the best shaver and have the sharpest blade, but unless I am stropping properly, I'm gonna ruin that shave! I consider myself a well coordinated person. So what's the problem? Why am I struggling so? I couldn't keep the blade flat on the leather no matter what pace I used.

I had originally hung my strop at about the middle of my chest. It looked aesthically good there. Thinking maybe the angle of the strop needed to be changed, I dropped it down to about the middle of my belly. Still struggling..... I then lowered my hook more (I actually added another hook) and placed it about 6 to 8 inches below my waist, and... Viola!!! Everything fell in to place. The down stroke was just a matter of letting the blade slide down the leather with no pressure from my hand. The up stroke was just a matter of pulling it up the leather, thus the blade remaining totally flat on the leather with absolutely no pressure on the blade!!! This was quite a thrill. I am now able to use more speed, thus gaining a good rhythm for my stroking - and, I'm doing it properly! When I'm done, I then hang the strop back on the top hook where it looks good.

In looking at photos of old time barbers stropping, I believe they had the strop pointing downward when they stropped. I think....

I'm not saying this is the definative angle to use when you strop, but for me, this works. Everybody needs to find what works best for them. This is just another approach that may help improve your method. Good luck.

* I hope this might help some of you who are struggling, as I was, with your stropping.

Regards,

Steve