Thread: Strop Question

How many passes should I do on the linen and leather after an average shave?

When I was just using CrOx every two or three days to touch the edge up, I was doing forty laps in the morning and forty in the evening. Now I'm using diamond paste on a paddle and getting away with 30 laps total every day. I've never used linen, but if I understand correctly, it's not an everyday thing, it's more for touching up edges like with the chromium or diamond. How many are you doing now? If it's not quite what you want, do more. I learned by increasing in multiples of ten.

Originally Posted by maplemaker

When I was just using CrOx every two or three days to touch the edge up, I was doing forty laps in the morning and forty in the evening. Now I'm using diamond paste on a paddle and getting away with 30 laps total every day. I've never used linen, but if I understand correctly, it's not an everyday thing, it's more for touching up edges like with the chromium or diamond. How many are you doing now? If it's not quite what you want, do more. I learned by increasing in multiples of ten.

I am going about 30 on the linen and 35 on the leather. Some people said the linen is used to soften the edge so it can be shaped by the leather. I do not know if this is true.

There are disagreements even among barbers as to exactly what the linen does. My personal best guess is that it does basically the same thing leather does--burnishes & smooths--but much more aggressively. I typically do 50 laps on the leather. I do 20 on the linen but I haven't played with the linen enough to know whether that's an optimal number.

25 Linen and 50-60 leather...

The linen debate has been going on for a long time.....

If you really dig yer going to find a lot of stuff saying that it is actually used for taking off the Micro-rust and the rough from the blade, before, the leather... the leather then aligns the edge, and puts that extra little umpf in before the shave....

The best I can tell ya is try it both ways and see what works better for you...

I do know this to be a fact though, it is way easier to maintain a sharp edge, then to create one.... (not my saying)