Thread: first time worries

I recommend 23.5 on the canvas and 26.75 on the leather.....

Just kidding

When you fill the fuel tank of your automobile how many gallons do you put in? Of course as many gallons as it takes to fill your tank, no more, no less.

Same with stropping. Strop as many times as it takes to make your edge shaving keen, no more, no less. Sometimes it may take 20 strokes on the strop, sometimes fewer strokes will do the trick. Sometimes you might find that after 50 strokes your razor is still not where you want it. Then what?

Find one of the barber manuals kept in the files here and read up on stropping, as well as the way to test your stopping with your thumb pad. Learn that and you can forget about counting how many strokes you need to do.

And your other questions will be answered as well.

It's actually not as difficult as it sounds.

Just take your time (speed plays no part in the effect stropping is meant to achive).

And use let the weight of the blade provide the downward pressure on the strop (e.g. the only pressure coming from you hand should be in the direction your sliding it and no more than is necessary to make it move.

If you can though, definitely start with an inexpensive practice strop -- odds are you will put at least 1 or 2 nicks in it in the areas where you do the spine flip until you get the motion down.

When Os honed my razor, he gave me some stropping advice, it really helped!

He said make sure its rolled along the spine, never along the blade otherwise you will round and blunt the blade. He also said be gentle, he likened it to putting a needle onto your arm. He said the force you can put a needle on your skin without pain, is how much force you put on the razor when stropping.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, relax when your doing it

Here is more info:
Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki
The Wiki is great!