Thread: When to strop

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Wasn't me.

As time progresses it's not only an edge that loses realignment, my brain clearly does too! Ah well, hopefully someon will chime in with a link to the old thread.

Originally Posted by KenS

I strop before showering and then shave. I also give the razor a light stropping after shaving to make sure the edge of the blade is dry.
Anyone see a downside?
Ken.

That's pretty much what I and many others do. Strop before a shave (within 20 mins) and a little stropping after the shave. I do post-shave stropping mainly to dry the edge thoroughly (10 passes linen, 20 leather).

Originally Posted by YesSheDoes!

OK, now I'm curious...what can possibly happen to a blade that just sits for weeks unused, for weeks without use or honing? How come you couldn't just pick it up and use it?

I distinctly recall someone posting something very similar to this and that it is actually beneficial if you have enough razors to allow a "rest" period.

The reason for the benefit was that the edge will develop microsocpic rust (as mentioned previously) and is quite normal. After taking the razor out of service, the micro-rust sets up and is then remove by stropping before it is used again. The original discussion was that this "rest" for the blade allowed for (I guess) a uniform edge to be formed and gently removed by the strop.

Just my recollections from before SRPGC-08 (Great Crash of '08).

Allen