Thread: Flipping the Razor

I have found that some razors are easier to strop than others. I have a bengall that is easier to strop than my dovo and a taylors eye witness that is easier than both of them. There are a numver of factors that cause this, from width of the blade, shape of the tang, the shape of the scales and probably a lot more.
You might find that if you purchase another razor it will be easier to strop. Then once you become more adept at stropping with that razor, the first one will also be a lot easier.

I'm a wrist-roller. Using the technique properly, you can put 60 strokes on the leather in seconds and it appears to be little more than a back and forth blur. There are numerous techniques and any of them that give you a good result is a good technique for you. I think that the level of experience someone has with their technique plays strongly into what's "best" for them. I've been honing and stropping blades of one sort or another for about 35 years, now, so it's about like eating with a knife and fork in terms of automatic but precise motions that require no conscious thought to perform.

Well I'm an old dog but I haven't been at it that long and I'm capable of learning new tricks. After Glen posted on rolling between the thumb and the tip of the forefinger I started trying that and I like it. Depends on the razor and I am still getting a feel for the technique but I feel like I can have a lighter touch on the strop doing it that way.

For what it may be worth, I have tried practicing at the occasional odd moment with my pocketknife at work, pretending the knife is the razor and the back of my left hand is the strop. It's not perfect practice, of course, but seems to help ingrain the basic motion.

It does help that I have a degree of privacy at work and can do things like that without freaking everybody out.

~Rich

Originally Posted by PapaBull

I'm a wrist-roller. Using the technique properly, you can put 60 strokes on the leather in seconds and it appears to be little more than a back and forth blur. There are numerous techniques and any of them that give you a good result is a good technique for you. I think that the level of experience someone has with their technique plays strongly into what's "best" for them. I've been honing and stropping blades of one sort or another for about 35 years, now, so it's about like eating with a knife and fork in terms of automatic but precise motions that require no conscious thought to perform.

Thank you for this post, Robert.

I, too, am a wrist-roller, and I pride myself on the quality, and the speed, of my strokes.

Steve

* Well, I've had this on my mind all night, and I just had to give it a try.

Amazing! I like this method - keeping my wrist straight and rolling the blade on the spine with my thumb and index finger. I seem to like the control, and it was quite easy. I had more control than I thought I would.

Well, I can't believe it! and I was doin' so well with rolling my wrist.

I, also, started out as a two handed honer, and I haven't done that for quite some time now. Well, it seems I have been converted to a stiff-wristed stropper!!! I guess it's never too late to change.

Steve

I just have to say to all, this has been the most useful stropping thread I've seen on this forum, along with the recent "stropping speed" thread.

Since discovering both several weeks back, they have made a huge difference in the effectiveness of and thought behind my stopping. My fumbling flipping technique led to an inconsistent stroke and slow speed that held me back for months, even when I was really paying attention to learning to strop in a way I thought was correct. The stroke and draw felt right, but the results just weren't there.

I really appreciate the help, thank you all, wrist-rollers and thumbs-rollers alike. I've always enjoyed stropping, but getting outstanding results now is great. A real confidence builder, and it has added to the fun of the whole thing.

I have to make a correction. I've never given much thought to my stropping technique. It's just been something that became really automatic and I was wrong earlier.

This morning while stropping, I was paying attention to my movements and I'm a thumb-roller. My wrist doesn't rotate at all when I strop. Here all along I thought I was flipping my wrist and then when I paid attention to see what I was doing it turns out it doesn't move a bit. It's strange because I was sure I was a wrist-roller and nope... not at all.

Originally Posted by PapaBull

I have to make a correction. I've never given much thought to my stropping technique. It's just been something that became really automatic and I was wrong earlier.

This morning while stropping, I was paying attention to my movements and I'm a thumb-roller. My wrist doesn't rotate at all when I strop. Here all along I thought I was flipping my wrist and then when I paid attention to see what I was doing it turns out it doesn't move a bit. It's strange because I was sure I was a wrist-roller and nope... not at all.

What a relieve this is for me...
and

I started out as a wrist roller, and I had all sort of issues with my stropping till I did some research. Then I changed to thumb-rolling, which almost immediately resolved some major problems. But knowing both methods, it puzzled me very much how you managed to do "60 laps in seconds"... At the same time, I realized that Jimi Hendrix trespassed all rules in guitar playing, but he's still a zillion times a better player than I, who complies more to the rules. So If you were the Jimi of Stropping, where would that leave the rest of us, simple mortals? No need to rub thàt in...

Thanks for letting us know,
Bart.