Thread: Flipping the Razor

Thanks for the explanation guys!

Well.......... Just tried it -flipping on the spine. Not as hard as I thought. The volume knob explanation is what did it for me. I can see also that my passes are more consistent as well. I have a piece of leather about 4 in by 18 in. Ran some double head rivets through a handle and have a decent strop. clamp it in my 3in. vice and hold the handle and strop away. I burnished the leather surface with a hammer handle. I was honestly looking at buying one. I have a huge bin of leather though and just dug around and found a nice piece. Good to go!

It takes awhile. I started out slow and gained speed but I was turning the wrist. Forum member the The Topher watched me strop and told me that I shouldn't bend my wrist but use the thumb and forefinger. I later read the same thing in the SRP help files honing/stropping barber manual download.

It pays off to read and re-read all of the stuff in the help files and the Wiki. There are things you miss the first or second time around that you will notice as you gain real time experience.

It has been tough to break the habit of bending the wrist since I taught myself to do it that way. I have been working on it and it requires more concentration and slowing down a bit but I am getting there.

Last night I was thinking about the akwardness of proper stropping technique. I think that the problem is that you flip the razor at the end of your stroke with the arm in that same direction. The natural motion would probably be to stop the motion and start the back stroke, which would result in flipping the razor on the blade. Not to mention the years you have been using the wrong technique while buttering bread ;-). No big deal startnice and slow, really slow...., and with close attention to the task in hand. I reiterate, this is a great thread.

Al raz.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

It has been tough to break the habit of bending the wrist since I taught myself to do it that way. I have been working on it and it requires more concentration and slowing down a bit but I am getting there.

This is very recognizable, Jimmy. I too started out by turning my wrist, and had to unlearn it, before I managed to adopt the proper technique. I requires finer motor skills, but once learned, it really allows for more consistent pressure between the back and the forth stroke. Speed finds it's own way in the process and comes automatically.

All the best,
Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

This is very recognizable, Jimmy. I too started out by turning my wrist, and had to unlearn it, before I managed to adopt the proper technique. I requires finer motor skills, but once learned, it really allows for more consistent pressure between the back and the forth stroke. Speed finds it's own way in the process and comes automatically.

All the best,
Bart.

Yeah thanks Bart,unlearning poor technique is a lot harder then getting it correctly from the start. To be honest when Topher told me that I wasn't supposed to turn my wrist I didn't think that much about it. On reading about it in the barber's manual they made the same point that you make about the consistent pressure. In practice I think it gives me more feedback as to what I am doing and allows me to have more control of what the level of pressure I'm using is.

I have also found that with the proper technique my edge is more keen.

Try changing your grip on the razor. Currently, when you turn your wrist in the way that feels natural it rolls on the edge. If you rotate the razor 180 degrees (so that if the edge was towards you, it's now away from you or vice-versa), turning your wrist in the same way will now rotate it on the spine.

Originally Posted by Bart

Turning the razor over the edge, will dull the edge. You really must turn it over the spine.
It is also best to turn it between you thumb and index finger, and not by turning your wrist. It is more a "turning the volume knob" motion than a "turn key in the lock" motion.
To avoid the tendency to turn over the edge, it might help to start at the far side of the strop. Lay the razor flat on the strop, the edge facing you. Now, turn it over the spine, only using the thumb and index finger. Start the first stroke by moving the razor into your direction. At the end of that first stroke, there's only one way to turn it now (without breaking you fingers) and that's to turn back, which is automatically over the spine. Proceed with drawing the razor away from you. Now you have finished one lap.
Stropping is effective by cause of friction. So you need to feel a bare minimum of drag. Adjust pressure accordingly.

Hope this helps. The motions do settle in the mind after some practice.

Best regards,
Bart.

Bart, That is a great way explaining the motion.....Thanks

Originally Posted by zeppelinfromled

Try changing your grip on the razor. Currently, when you turn your wrist in the way that feels natural it rolls on the edge. If you rotate the razor 180 degrees (so that if the edge was towards you, it's now away from you or vice-versa), turning your wrist in the same way will now rotate it on the spine.

but you (me) still can't rotate your wrist more than 180*. Since the spine is thicker than the edge I'm guessing it takes somewhere between 190* to 200* of rotation to get the edge from on the strop to on the strop again when rolling it on the spine. Since your wrist will only rotate 180* then the razor must be rotated an additional 10* to 20* in your grip. You have to manipulate your grip on the razor each time you roll it on the spine. This is what makes it difficult and takes a bit of practice. (You cannot maintain a really firm grip on the razor while you're changing it).

The natural tendency, until you learn otherwise, would be to roll the razor on the edge. This only requires ~160* of rotation. Well within your 180* wrist rotational limit and does not require "regripping".

When stropping I hold the razor with my thumb on the bottom of the tang. Pretty much where it would be when shaving. As I strop I have to move my thumb from one edge of the bottom of the tang to the other while rolling it on the spine.