Thread: Flipping the Razor

I find it very difficult to flip the razor on the spine. Like when folks roll it at the end of their stroke. I just flip on the edge side. Is there any bad thing I'm doing here? The videos I have seen of guys doing it are so fast, but to me it is probably the most unnatural thing for my hand to do. Any tips?

It would behoove you to learn it the right way.Eventually if you don't roll it you will slip and then you will have a cut strop. That's why its better to not lift and turn.

I have been rolling it over the spine less than a month now, and it is second nature to me. It will come

When I started straight razor shaving and, consequently, stropping, the movement you describe was also awkward for me. It felt like I was doing something not natural... But I was aware that this - flipping the razor on the spine - was the right way to do it. I therefore kept at it and, in a little while it all came together and I cannot imagine myself doing this in any other way. Plus it prevents the rolling of the edge (so I am told...) and it will, indeed, prevent you from cutting the strop. If you lift the blade from the strop and flip it "airborne", when you bring it to the strop again you could nick the strop...
Keep at it. It will grow on you. And bare in ming that this is not easy... if it were, evrebody would shave like we do. There is a steep learning curve. But progress, with a bit of dedication, comes fast.
Good luck!

And a merry Xmas to you, my friend!

Better learn to roll it over on the spine, take your time and think about it as you do it and pretty soon muscle memory will take over. Its that or buy your strops by the dozen!

Practice with a table knife if you are afraid of screwing up!

I don't know why rolling the razor on the spine is hard at first, but it is. Just slow down, take your time, and it will come to you soon. Especially when you do 25 laps on the linen and 50 on the leather. Hang in there.

Dave

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.

Great posts tonsor and bart, thank you.

Al raz.

I made an important error in my explanation yesterday. I edited my post and corrected it. (in bold)
I hope I have not caused too much confusion.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Tonsor

I don't know why rolling the razor on the spine is hard at first, but it is.

I think it's because your wrist doesn't rotate quite far enough. If I fix my elbow against my side and then bend my elbow at a right angle with my fore arm level to the ground, I can rotate my hand about exactly 180*. Palm straight down thumb in to palm straight up thumb out. It's kind of like a hard stop there. Rolling the razor on the spine requires more than 180* since it's wedge shaped so you have to manipulate your grip on the razor just a bit. If you could firmly grip the razor like a screw driver and still rotate the required amount it would feel very natural. It's rotating the razor that extra little bit in your grip each direction change that makes it difficult until you get used to it. Then again, maybe I'm just physically challenged...

Lifting the razor completely off the strop and turning it over on the edge feels more natural/easier because you only have to turn it less than 180* (remember the wedge shape again). No grip change/manipulation required. But we all know the downsides of doing that...