Thread: Stropping Speed

This has most likely been discussed before, but my searches haven't brought up anything obvious, so...

Putting aside the need for going slow when learning to strop, which is very important, I know, do people have any thoughts on the role stropping speed plays in producing shaving edges?

There's a couple of reasons I ask. First, any time you see experienced straight users strop their razors (old barber videos, Lynn and Scott's videos etc) they are going at it at arm-blurring speeds. Why? Time minimisation? Because they can? Because it looks cool? Or because it produces superior edges?

Second, I've been wondering about friction heat and whether it aids edge alignment for quite a while now. We're talking very fine edges, and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on that. Heat and metal go together, in a sense. Faster stropping would produce more friction, producing more heat at the edge. Do you think that's right, or am I way off?

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.

James.

Jimbo,

Standard disclaimers apply: opinions and advice from the poorly informed are sold at greatly inflated prices.

Strop speed is something you acquire with increased familiarity with the process and better muscle memory. The heat that is generated by stropping may be of benefit in helping dry a just used razor, but I can't imagine that it is enough to make the steel more malleable or ductile. Were that the case one should see color changes on the blade and that would be bad. Slow stropping should do the same job as fast stropping - it just takes longer.

By the by, I enjoyed reading your and Greg's comments on the mini convention. It sounded like great sport. Speaking of mini conventions, I had a very nice visit with my local honemeister, Randy Tuttle, at his home where he took me through the process of honing a razor - a Boker which I bought from Rich Dominquez. It shaves now. Thank you, Randy!!

Now if we could only find a way to get these minis maxified.

cheers, Bruce

Originally Posted by Bruce

Jimbo,

Standard disclaimers apply: opinions and advice from the poorly informed are sold at greatly inflated prices.

Strop speed is something you acquire with increased familiarity with the process and better muscle memory. The heat that is generated by stropping may be of benefit in helping dry a just used razor, but I can't imagine that it is enough to make the steel more malleable or ductile. Were that the case one should see color changes on the blade and that would be bad. Slow stropping should do the same job as fast stropping - it just takes longer.

By the by, I enjoyed reading your and Greg's comments on the mini convention. It sounded like great sport. Speaking of mini conventions, I had a very nice visit with my local honemeister, Randy Tuttle, at his home where he took me through the process of honing a razor - a Boker which I bought from Rich Dominquez. It shaves now. Thank you, Randy!!

Now if we could only find a way to get these minis maxified.

cheers, Bruce

Thanks Bruce - we had a great time. It really is amazing what you can learn face to face.

Yeah, I see what you are saying there - you wouldn't want to see colour changes, that's for sure. Thanks, more to ponder...

James.

I think strop speed is probably important only because its mentioned in barbering textbooks but I have yet to get any real sense of an improved edge using more speed. I use a fast stroke when I strop though as a matter of habit.

I'm not a big proponent of the heat thing but I could be swayed pretty easily. I do note the variation in the edge (using a microscope) after stropping and recommend you try that. It really gets you thinking once you actually see what happens. If you don't have a scope I'll say that to me it looks like a physical non-heat related blending of the steel.

Speed has nothing to do with the final result. Its the technique thats important. I remember in the old days when I was a kid and went to the barber and they still gave straight shaves the barber would slap that strop with the razor and go a mile a minute. Kind of like the show you get from the chef at a Japanese restaurant.

Your example sort of sounds like it backs the speed theory. I've had good results with slapping and high speed stropping.

Are you saying that a "mile a minute" is slow or that your own experience indicates that slow is just fine too?

I just want to clarify because all barbers I've seen stropped very fast.

I thought Bigspendur meant that they went fast, but maybe I'm wrong.

I've been thinking about it a bit more and I'm not sure we're talking about temper-ruining heat, even with the fastest stropping. I've heard you can do some damage with a Dremel if you're not careful, but I'm pretty sure no-one is stropping at 3000rpm (or whatever). I'm thinking more along the lines of "running the blade under the hot tap" type heat

Surely realigning the edge must be helped by friction heat.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I'm thinking more along the lines of "running the blade under the hot tap" type heat

Surely realigning the edge must be helped by friction heat.

James.

Interesting, this reminds me of the old trick of heating a stubborn metal jar lid in hot water to expand the metal lid and thus making opening the jar easier.

I can see how inducing heat via contact friction on the strop could slightly expand the edge of a razor during tooth alignment and then when it cools/contracts the edge/teeth would be more compressed/tighter as opposed to cold/slow stropping.

Just my 2 cents.

We talked a little about this yesterday in Brisbane and i still dont have a good answer... i really dont know.

One thing that has occured to me is that when you are stopping the draw or feel of the leather changes and i am guessing that could have something to do with the feather flattening out and the leather warming up a little.

As leather, and other stuff, gets warmer on its surface the oils within it are drawn to the heat and the surface becomes more supple and grippy

(grippy is a wonderful sherwen-ism for fans of tour de france racing)

I would think that the faster you strop the less chance the leather has to cool down between passes and the more draw is developed...

This is all a bit of a guess though... Im still no closer to an educated answer than I was yesterday... any of that stike a chord though?

Greg Frazer

Originally Posted by Bruce

I had a very nice visit with my local honemeister, Randy Tuttle, at his home where he took me through the process of honing a razor...

That'd be pretty cool... his forum posts suggest to me that he'd be an interesting person to spend a couple of hours talking to.

Greg Frazer