Thread: What "should" stropping sound like?

After about 4 months of shaving with my full hollow I am finally getting cut free shaves and feel my stropping skills have impoved as well.

No matter how many stropping videos I watch I still cant tell if I am doing it right. most of the time I gauge how "well" I did by what comes off the blade after I wipe it after about 30 passes on the strop.

I tried to check in with a few local barbers but they all use straights with disposable blades and either had no clue about traditional straights or "stopped fooling" with them a long time ago.

Also whats the opinion about stropping after a shave?

I am still learning so I hope I do not lead you in the wrong direction. I find that different razors and especially different grinds will give a different sound. A razor with a full hollow will sound different an a 1/4 hollow when stropping. I look for a consistent sound. I want the sound to be the same in both directions when stropping.

The videos are great, but the biggest help in improving my stropping technique was the honing and stropping section of the barbers manual in the wiki. I was using the wrong grip on the razor. By using the wrong grip, the sound of my stropping strokes were not consistent due to a difference in pressure that I was applying in the up stroke and back stroke. With proper technique my stropping is much better and so are my shaves.

I am not clear about your statement when you look at what comes off your blade after stropping. If you are using a clean leather strop, the blade should be clean with no visible residue.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

no particular sound, some razors are more noisy some are not at all.
Make sure your spine is on the strop and apply little pressure when making the draw.

There are a couple of mp3's in the wiki showing both the sound of proper and improper stropping.

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I hope that helps.

If you're getting good shaves, then it sounds to me like your stropping technique is fine. What I've been doing is testing the edge before and after stropping, by running the blade through arm/leg hair, above the skin. I pay attention to how the blade shaves my face as well. I change my stopping technique from time to time and evaluate. When it comes down to it, you're the only one who can tell if your stropping technique is working or not. You just need to come up with a test to evaluate. And of course sound could be one of the ways you evaluate, but I think the shave is the best evaluation tool.

Edit: I strop 25 rounds on the cloth strop to clean the edge of the blade. Some use the leather side.

Let me dispell some things it's not the sound or a sound your going for imo at all.


I have found it's a feeling you shouldn't feel a shuddering or grinding feel, infact it should feel as if the razor is sticking to the strop, the better your stropping gets the more of a smooth feel it will make, and the more suction you will feel against your strop.

It's important to note that you must break in your strop, the strop must be soft, you can do this with some neats foot oil or continued use, even the plam of your hand.

Yes, every grind has a different feel indeed!

A fullow hollow to me is the most difficult to get right, I think the 1/4 hollows and 1/2 hollows are easier to find their sweet spot.

To me it reminds me of tennis alot, you can hit a forehand in the wrong part of the raquet and still get it back past midcourt but not to the baseline, but you will immediately feel it when you hit it on the sweet spot of the raquet and you will most certainly hit a deep shot.

Also, you must becareful with shoulders to make sure their over the edge of the strop, or they will cause your stropping to be off.

Cheers
D

sound will not tell you a lot if you haven't hear that sound before. Sounds will change from razor to razor. EXample hallow ground will differ from wedge etc so on.
if you hear hallow sound then you can remember how it does sound and you can try to get exact sound by using similar ground razor.
we do have great videos about stropping. check GEneral then videos subdivision
General rule.
wrist doesn't turn while you strop it stays same postion.
No pressure.
you do back forward motion I made this up.
have fun
hope this helps.

Originally Posted by lesshairy

I am still learning so I hope I do not lead you in the wrong direction. I find that different razors and especially different grinds will give a different sound. A razor with a full hollow will sound different an a 1/4 hollow when stropping. I look for a consistent sound. I want the sound to be the same in both directions when stropping.

The videos are great, but the biggest help in improving my stropping technique was the honing and stropping section of the barbers manual in the wiki. I was using the wrong grip on the razor. By using the wrong grip, the sound of my stropping strokes were not consistent due to a difference in pressure that I was applying in the up stroke and back stroke. With proper technique my stropping is much better and so are my shaves.

I am not clear about your statement when you look at what comes off your blade after stropping. If you are using a clean leather strop, the blade should be clean with no visible residue.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks your input does help. I am using a clean leather strop that is broken in without any paste. After I strop and wipe the blade most of the time there iss some leather residue. I guess I am in fact placing to much pressure on the blade.

Originally Posted by BigBubba

There are a couple of mp3's in the wiki showing both the sound of proper and improper stropping.

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I hope that helps.

This really helps thanks!

Yes, I wouldn't be using sound as an indicator. As has been said the sound or lack of it will vary from razor to razor and grind to gring and strop material to strop material.

When I strop sometimes it sounds like cut glass and sometimes its totally silent. If your technique is good the job is being done. Don't fret over sound.