Thread: A very silly stropping post

Thanks AF, great post. First I have to say - I get a real kick out of the terms and phrases created by you military guys

Command Angle, Stropping or CA-S...how would that be listed in the manual?.

Ok, enough of that. When you say keep your fingers "stretched", do you mean extended? As in away from your palm? I think I get part of what you mean - as in you're moving the razor along the strop instead of on the strop. Correct?

Jordan

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The one thing that I have disagreed with IME that is in both Razor Central's and in the '61 barber manual excerpt is to strop on the leather only after honing.

I had always gone linen leather until I read that and then tried going to the leather only. I didn't get as good a result (I thought?) as I did when I stropped linen/leather. I'm basing that assumption on more frequent success with HHT. Anyone else notice that instruction and found it to be right or wrong in their experience ?

Jimmy,

Wow thanks for sharing this. I've observed the same thing, but thought maybe it's because of my inexperience with honing and stropping. I wonder if the linen is doing a bit more "deburring" or removing rough hone scratches at the edge that are too rough for the leather only.

Jeff

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

You do not let the blade "lay on" the strop, nor do you let the blade get controlled by any undulations of the strop . . . you use stiff finger positioning to control the razor in a precise position with no control by the strop. So the razor moves flat onto the strop by being held firmly there.

AF,

I don't think your idea is a silly one at all. I've been told by a longtime friend who professionally sharpens knives and razors to start with "firm pressure" and then lighten up for the last few passes. I never really knew why he recommended firmness... until now. Thanks you!

Jeff

Originally Posted by jnich67

Thanks AF, great post. First I have to say - I get a real kick out of the terms and phrases created by you military guys

Command Angle, Stropping or CA-S...how would that be listed in the manual?.

Ok, enough of that. When you say keep your fingers "stretched", do you mean extended? As in away from your palm? I think I get part of what you mean - as in you're moving the razor along the strop instead of on the strop. Correct?

Jordan

Yea, extended. Not uncomfortably. If I were holding a pencil in my three fingers (index, middle, and thumb) they would be in the wrong position. If I were to point my three fingers (index, middle, and thumb) at something it would be right. It would also look like I was making a bird head puppet.

Originally Posted by Bruce

AFD,

If I interpret your comments correctly, one can practice the stropping stroke in mid air without a strop, but with a razor. If this is so, I gotta be stropping incorrectly as I turn the shank of the razor between my thumb and fore finger and depend on the strop to support the spine of the razor which is in constant contact with the strop.

Am I reading your suggestions correctly? Go easy on me as I think I'm dislexic, disnumeric, and likely have several other yet to be diagnosed disses.

Your reading this correctly. I don't think your doing it wrong though. I just think I can attain a slightly sharper edge when I control the razor myself. Both stropping styles get a razor sharp though. Once you learn to control the razor you'll probably find yourself melding the two techniques.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Your reading this correctly. I don't think your doing it wrong though. I just think I can attain a slightly sharper edge when I control the razor myself. Both stropping styles get a razor sharp though. Once you learn to control the razor you'll probably find yourself melding the two techniques.

Thanks for this thread. I am rethinking my stropping technique in terms of how much pressure to use. In the past whatever pressure I did use was on the spine in order to assure that I didn't lift it within the stroke. Now I'm trying to use no pressure but control the blade as you instructed. I think you really are onto something.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I think you really are onto something.

Your welcome. And yes, I think so.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Your reading this correctly. I don't think your doing it wrong though. I just think I can attain a slightly sharper edge when I control the razor myself. Both stropping styles get a razor sharp though. Once you learn to control the razor you'll probably find yourself melding the two techniques.

I actually have a slightly modified method that works better for me... Keep the thumb extended, but cup the pointer finger around the tang/shank.. I forget my lingo.. Keep your pointer finger cupped around the part that says "Dovo Solingen" on a Dovo. I believe the shank? Anywho, cup your pointer around that, and use the inner flesh of the bottom knuckle of the pointer to add a tiny bit of traction pressure to the spine, and then roll on the shank, on your finger, and let the spine follow on the leather, rather than just relying on the leather balancing the spine...

Hope I described that well.. I'll try to get pictures, but it works for me, and is similar to yours... Beats the HHT every time

Thank you for this post. Up until this point, when I stropped, I'd been dulling my razor rather than sharpening it. I think this is because until I read your advice, I had been pressing down on the tang with my thumb rather than truly rolling it all the way back between thumb and forefinger.

I just tried this, and whereas the razor I tried it with before wouldn't cut arm hair unless I forced it, it now pings the hairs up.

So again, thanks.

Can I ask one of the experts to make a picture or video clip of the hand while holding the razor on the strop like this? The text doesn't tell me everything.