Thread: Recovering from poor technique

I recently began shaving with a straight and it's safe to say that my technique is a work in progress. However, I'm determined to learn how to shave, strop, hone with adequate skill so that I may become a resource for people instead of the alternative. I got my first razor three weeks ago which was shave ready, used it, loved it and then stopped it. Unfortunately, it wasn't until a few days ago when my second razor showed up that I understood how badly my stropping technique really is. My initial razor is dull compared to the second. It requires more pressure to cut the hair and I'm frustrated with my inexperience. Has anyone gone through this before and if so, can stropping revive a dull blade?

On a different note, how high do people typically hang their strops? I have mine hanging from a hook a few inches above my head but now think it should be hung at chest level.

Thoughts?

Welcome to SRP. Check out the SRP Wiki here for the answer to many of your questions. In addition there are videos here with demonstrations of shaving, stropping and honing. As far as where to hang the strop I have mine on a doorknob. This is roughly equivalent to where the professional barbers hung theirs with the tab built into the barber chair. Yes you can bring the edge back with stropping if you know what you're doing and if it isn't rolled too badly from improper stropping.

Originally Posted by travec

can stropping revive a dull blade?

On a different note, how high do people typically hang their strops? I have mine hanging from a hook a few inches above my head but now think it should be hung at chest level.

Thoughts?

Same as Jimmy- I use a doorknob. Works well, and I'm a tall guy.

As for stropping reviving a dull blade, it depends how dull. You shouldn't need pressure really to shave with a good, sharp razor. Stropping can improve things to a degree, but beyond that, it may need a touch up on the hones- almost impossible to tell from just descriptions. Try practicing your technique with a dull butter knife and then go back to that dull razor when you are confident and give it 50+ laps on linen or the rough side of the leather, then 50+ on the plain smooth leather and see if it helps.

Welcome to SRP, travec,

You may find the following Wiki articles useful:

• Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki
• What hone(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki
• Easily make a pasted balsa strop - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Good luck, and do keep us posted on your progress.

Regards,
Robin

Originally Posted by Philadelph

Same as Jimmy- I use a doorknob. Works well, and I'm a tall guy.

As for stropping reviving a dull blade, it depends how dull. You shouldn't need pressure really to shave with a good, sharp razor. Stropping can improve things to a degree, but beyond that, it may need a touch up on the hones- almost impossible to tell from just descriptions. Try practicing your technique with a dull butter knife and then go back to that dull razor when you are confident and give it 50+ laps on linen or the rough side of the leather, then 50+ on the plain smooth leather and see if it helps.

Thanks for this. The razor worked well yesterday when I had three days of growth but it required a fair amount of pressure. Had I tried that razor today, it would have felt like it was pulling hairs and left razor burn in its wake. I'll try the butter knife on the newly relocated strop (a doorknob instead of hanging it eye level). I've watched a few of the videos that people have posted. However, I'm curious how much pressure you guys put on the razor while stropping.

Has anyone here seen Lynn's DVD and if so, would they recommend it?

I hang on a doorknob too and the close end is held slightly higher (at waist level). I use just enough pressure to feel a slight draw. I use sound while stropping as an indicator too. Start slow and precise, let speed take care of itself as you master the necessary flipping and motions. Latigo (just my personal preference) has more draw than many leathers. Your stropping technique will improve fairly fast.

Lynn's DVD is a good reference.

Pressure on the strop... I do not use a featherlite pressure, I use enough pressure to keep the blade flat on the strop and also enough to cause the center of the strop to deflect downward by about 1/2"-1". I keep the strop taut but I do not try to pull it out of the wall.

Pressure on the face while shaving.... that is a big NO!!
When a razor is properly sharp it will require almost no pressure except on the toughest part of a tough beard.


Hope this helps,

As far as pressure on the strop I do apply some but the pressure is primarily on the spine of the razor. A good read on stropping and on honing can be found here in the SRP Wiki help files. This barber manual excerpt has been so helpful to me that I printed out two copies. One for work and one for home. Not that I am obsessive or anything.

Note that the author suggests beginning to learn by turning the razor on the strop without moving the arm. So you are teaching yourself to flip the razor before you start moving back and forth on the strop. I had already began to strop before I read that but I wish I would have learned that way. Would have saved my strop from some unsightly nicks.

One other thing. When you feel draw it is resistance against the blade. Some strops have more than others. Horsehide has little to none while cowhide may have quite a bit. Anyhow, keep at it and you'll be expert before too long.

Well, I have watched videos numerous times and reread several pieces on stropping. For the last week, I have stropped my razor 100 times per day. This may be overkill but I need to understand what I'm doing and trying to figure this out. However, I think I'm finally getting the idea of what you want to do with your hands and the severity of pressure on both the razor and the strop.

At this point I am holding the strop tight, but not tight as a drum which is what I was initially doing. I noticed that no one in any of the recorded videos holds their strop "tight". I'm using the quotes because it's so subjective and I interpreted "tight" as something you could bounce a quarter of. However holding the strop like that would lead to fatigue and was leading to sloppy form. Secondly, I began o slow down my stroke to make sure that I was making good contact with the razor. Now the razor is to the point where it can cut hairs on my arm if I make two passes (before it couldn't do this) but it's still not as sharp as my second razor. I'm going to continue down this road, hoping to get a good result but I appreciate everyone chipping in with the advice and the links.

You've received some good advice on stropping technique so no need to add to that. Unless you've damaged your edge (like banging against the faucet) then a good stropping is probably all you need. Some passes on a pasted strop wouldn't hurt either.