Thread: Effects of Draw.

I am using a Tony Miller Vegan strop, and the amount of draw I get on the vegan leather side is amazing. It takes a bit to get used to, but there is an appreciable amount of resistance when you are stropping a razor. You really have to use light pressure.

One time I was stropping fairly quickly, and I noticed that the razor got quite warm. It was not just where I was holding it, but the entire blade was noticeable heating up the more I stropped. I though I was crazy at first, so I brought it over to my girlfriend and said "feel this, is it hot??", and she indeed felt the heat too. So there is definitely a correlation between amount of draw and heating up the razor. This really isn't surprising to me since draw is typically defined as the amount of resistance there is during stropping. Resistance is nothing more than friction on the strop, so you're basically giving your razor rug burn. Now whether the amount of heat has any direct effect on the quality of the stropping is something that I haven't experimented with, but I would be suprised if it didn't have some connection. I would think the heat would only help with the stropping action, since the metal would be more malleable.

Jimmy, you sound a bit surprised that back then everyone had different ideas about the right way to shave!

mparker, I have done your experimental strop. I stropped it 35 laps over the leather in actual fact, then left it for around fifteen minutes. When i started to strop again, the increased draw was there after two laps.
The strop i used was a Jemico Russian.

I hadn't realised that the action of stropping would cause oils in the leather to work their way to the surface.

Dave, your last comment was what i was wondering. I really don't know how much heat it would take to help, but since the edge is so fine, not a lot i would imagine.

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Jimmy, you sound a bit surprised that back then everyone had different ideas about the right way to shave!

Yes I suppose I do. The more things change the more they stay the same.

I have strops that exhibit draw and strops that don't and there is absolutely no difference in the end result.