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ok guys i need to know a little info on stropping. I kinda understand the idea of it, now i have a dovo strop and it has linen on it...can someone please tell me the theory behind it all, well some of it anyways.
I have had varying success at it and want to become a little more consistent...Thanks in advance
coully
When you shave, and even when the razor sits dormant for a day or two, the little cutting teeth get all chaotic, aiming in a hundred different directions.
The stropping straightens them all out so they can cut well. Keep the razor perfectly flat and perpendicular to the direction of the strop, draw evenly and in a slight 'x' pattern to cover the whole blade from heel to tip keeping as much of the blade on the strop at all times. No pressure, just feel the gentle drag from the leather.
The friction from the linen helps warm the metal so it responds better to the leather. Some say it can help keep the blade sharpened too, but I don't know about that.
X
Check out the files section here, as well as info under the "How To & Why" section at http://www.classicshaving.com.
I'm a little confused also. I hold the blade perpendicular to the stop? Or parrallel? I thought it was parrallet to the strop. I guess perpendicular to the strop direction confused me a little. And how much pressure? When I say pressure I mean pressure which forces the blade edge into the strop. Torque I should say on the handle. When I watch the video of Lynn stropping it makes a noise, a slight ringing almost in the metal blade. I only achieve that noise when I torque the blade edge into the strop. Is this correct procedure? When I recreate his actions I seem to be getting a little bit of leather dust which collects on the blade. Not the edge but between the edge and spine. Is this normal wear for a strop? Thanks guys!
Chris
The razor is held perpendicular to the strop.
| | ^ Direction of strop action
| |
| |
|-----------Razor Spine
|------/ Razor Edge
| |
| |
The strop is pulled taught. The razor is stropped spine first, then gently rolled on the spine such that the razor never leaves the strop. I usually do my away action, then the toward action. This makes one lap. I do about 10-20 laps on the linen, and then 25-30 laps on the leather.
You should use only enough pressue to maintain contact between the spine, the edge, and the strop. A lot of people use pounds of pressure when the job calls for ounces. The edge is very delicate, and too much pressure while stropping can ruin an otherwise perfectly good edge.
You should go for feel, not sound. Go slow -- this isn't a race. Speed kills. Go slow, and you should feel a slight suction between the razor and the strop as you move the razor.
Never had any leather dust off a strop. Maybe consider some strop dressing or a substitute like rubbing your palm into the strop...
So without chiming in any further, my question to both of you is:
Are you feeling the drag on the strop that we are speaking of?
This isn't the best example, he makes a little mistake flipping but this is the idea. Smooth and easy. Notice the orientation. Stropping is about 10 seconds in. Check out the shaving too. And don't stare at the girl, she is nervous...and she's with me...or rather I mean, I got dibs...
http://www.koordenwinkel.com/Gent%20april.wmv
AFD,
The scary part of that video is that the girl is shaving a man's face, yet stops and mugs for the camera! Also, did you notice the "quality" of the lather these guys are using? I prefer mine much thicker and wetter.
RT
Yea, I noticed. I only thought one guys was too thick for me to even consider. It would dry out pretty fast huh? I think they probably taught guys to build lather and that guy hadn't passed yet. LOL. I think the girl is trying to say "Hey, get the camera out of my face you idiot, I'm trying to shave this guy"
Well no answer for us? Oh well too bad, you guys must have more of a life than I do...lol. You want consistency? Hold the blade flat on a taught strop and strop carefully until you get a "draw". Pressure has nothing to do with stropping. Torque? Nada. A sharp well honed razor will draw with little pressure. A duller razor will take more pressure. Chasing a dull razor with greater and greater pressure will work but its fleeting effort, better to just hone a little. Important to know though, as the blade gets duller with every shave and you need to adjust, as mentioned, by feel. So, for consistent stropping there is no answer to your question and you should stop thinking about factors that have no effect. Too much pressure though can break an edge, not enough pressure can make an unsmooth edge (but the blade is usually dull if pressure is needed). These are extremes though. An expert can strop using no pressure, but like honing you may not be able to strop without a little pressure, because the blade must be flat on the strop and as you can imagine a little pressure can make this happen easier for a newbie. An expert can also make a dull razor shaveable and smooth using pressure when stropping. Keeping the blade flat they strop using pressure until the blade starts to draw. But it makes more sense to hone the razor as best that you can and strop in relation to how well the blade has been honed.
Honing and stropping are done the same way with light adjusting pressure and a flat blade. But then they are opposites of each other, both in direction and function. Honing sharpens the blade and stropping smooths the edge. They work in harmony. There are no answers to stropping until you have the equation of honing. Its like an algebraic equation: both sides need to be equal.