Thread: Question about stropping

Hi Guy’s,

I have heard it said in some posts that "they” have stropped a razor 300 laps.

What would be the reason and benefit of doing that rather than 60?

My razor still shaves but not like it did compared to some of my others.

I don’t really want to send it for honing yet because I’ve only used it less than 20 times.

I’m a newbie and I’m not great with a strop yet but would really going at the strop for 300 or so laps help give me back my edge?

I suppose that if I don’t do anything good for my edge I could just send it off to be honed after all.

Steve

PS - I've just noticed that there is a thread about stropping that would have been more suitable for this post. My apologies but I don't know how I can move it.

While 300 laps seem like a lot at first blush, once you have mastered stropping, it just takes a couple minutes.

And that is the problem. Until you master stropping, (takes about a year or two) you will be doing more harm than good. It only takes one errant swipe to wipe out, roll an edge.

A lot depends on the condition of the razor’s edge and the strop. Strops can vary widely in their ability to polish an edge, as can technique.

A year seems like a lot but think about it. They say it takes 1,000 perfect repetitions to learn a new skill, and 3,000 repetitions to unlearn bad technique. If you strop daily, that’s only 365 events, and how many are laps are perfect repetitions?

If you go by a Golf Course Driving Range, you will see hundreds of golfers whacking golf balls, how may have a coach behind them correcting each stroke? What are they practicing, good or bad technique?

I will strop a freshly honed razor 100 laps on a progression of strops, but daily shavers get 10-15 on linen and 20-30 on leather prior to shaving.

You must learn to strop, and the only way to learn, is to strop.

Take your time, pay attention, use lite pressure and do not get distracted. Do not strop while some one is in the room and do not talk with anyone. The only times I have ever nicked a strop is while talking. When my bride comes in the room, I stop stropping.

Keep the spine on the strop at all times, use lite pressure and grasp the razor from the corners of the tang, between the thumb and forefinger, flip the razor like flipping a switch with the thumb, keep the spine on the strop at all times.

This will keep you from slamming the edge into the strop and with too much pressure.

A Qtip run along the edge of the razor will tell you if you rolled the edge or have a microchip.

You will have to send it out or learn to touch it up eventually. Once you do master stropping you can keep a razor shaving very well for a very long time, theoretically indefinitely.

The shaving edge is so thin we can not see it with 400X magnification, it does not take much to roll or break it.

You might browse this thread

There is quite a few tips and tricks in there from Beginners to Experts

https://sharprazorpalace.com/stroppi...st-2012-a.html

I use Theirs Issard strop paste from The Art of Shaving on the canvas. It helps maintain the edge and improves it some. I touch up my razors only once a year.

The thread that Glen sent you is good to look through but just want additional thought. I know you said you just got a hanging strop. Make sure you hold it taught. This picture from eBay makes me cringe.



If you let a strop hang like that you'll roll your edge on the first lap.

also simce your new sending it out to be honed this early is not bad thing, you need a great edge to learn to shave, just get a spare to shave with while one is away.. like Marty says it takes a while till you begin improving an edge with the strop, yet the strop is your most important tool in the box for maintaining an edge

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

The thread that Glen sent you is good to look through but just want additional thought. I know you said you just got a hanging strop. Make sure you hold it taught. This picture from eBay makes me cringe.



If you let a strop hang like that you'll roll your edge on the first lap.

Umm umm I didn't know that was bad Paul. Thanks for the lesson I will hold it taughter. Hope I got away with it.

It wasn't quite that baggy but I was'nt exactly trying to pull the towel rail off the wall either.

On another note though. $2.95 for a strop! Pity it has a nasty orange handle

Steve

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

also simce your new sending it out to be honed this early is not bad thing, you need a great edge to learn to shave, just get a spare to shave with while one is away.. like Marty says it takes a while till you begin improving an edge with the strop, yet the strop is your most important tool in the box for maintaining an edge

Hi,

Luckily my razor came with a complimentary free rehone by Phil at Classic Edge.

My razor still shaves well but not as comfortably as the others.

I do have some spare razors to keep me going. Outback kindly sent me three at no charge, incredibly generous.

Steve

20 shaves out of an edge is good in my book.

As mentioned using a pasted strop will bring an edge back but if your stropping isn't perfect it will exasperate the problem.

As suggested by Tc that sending it out to be rehoned is no bad thing. You can then concentrate on shaving technique and getting your stropping dialed in.
What you spend in $ will save you in time and frustration trying to juggle learning a number of different aspects at the same time.
As Outback sent you a few razors give him a shout and im sure he will help and inspect the edge to see how your doing.
Check out the library for stropping technique.
https://shavelibrary.com/w/Razor_stropping
There's a great vid on stropping, its on a paddle strop but it shows up close how to flip the razor.

Remember: Taught not tight, is the way to go.

I should probably have explained a little more than that. As Mark says not tight like banjo drum tight. If you pull it too tight it will warp/bow your strop but you don't want it slack like that one is. At $2.95 for a strop that orange handle is probably the best thing about it.. It's probably made out of roadkill