Thread: How many strokes to strop a razor?

Sometimes we don't explain the basics very well.

I just thought I would share my experience in using a strop.

Firstly, I think that stropping is probably more important than honing and we don't say that frequently enough.

My regular strop is a horse hide strop from Hand American. It is 3" wide and 28" long. It has no handle but a half stroke on the leather is a minimum of 24".

My razors after a shave do not have a "sticky" edge. After a successful stropping and before a shave, they do.

We all know about light strokes and holding the strop taught, but how many strokes does it take to get that sticky edge?

Well for me, it takes a minimum of fifty return strokes. I have found that speed does matter. If the blade moves quickly over the leather, I am sure the edge warms up and smooths out better. I'm not being scientific but just making an observation. If my strop was shorter, it would make little difference but I would need to increase the number of strokes.

I know when I have got things just right, because I see the nap on the leather changes shade as the blade flashes across it. Watching the leather nap is like watching the water movement as you hone a blade.

Does anybody else have some useful pointers or advice to share.