Thread: Can you damage your edge by stropping?

Hellooo there -

I'm not talking about banging the edge while turning, or some other kind of isolated thing. I'm talking about just general half-way decent stropping with an occasional clunker in there. I mean, I'll be stropping along just fine....

swhiisch, swchiisch, swhiisch....

and then maybe on one lap the spine/edge doesn't lay quite so flat on the strop and you hear this dull dragging sound. I say this because after I got my first razor ('shave ready and stropping not needed'), the edge was great, but it seemed to go south quickly, right after I stropped for my second shave. That experience seems to persist. The first shave after the honemeister is always great, but then it definately slacks off.

Any of this make sense?

Originally Posted by Woodash

Hellooo there -

I'm not talking about banging the edge while turning, or some other kind of isolated thing. I'm talking about just general half-way decent stropping with an occasional clunker in there. I mean, I'll be stropping along just fine....

swhiisch, swchiisch, swhiisch....

and then maybe on one lap the spine/edge doesn't lay quite so flat on the strop and you hear this dull dragging sound. I say this because after I got my first razor ('shave ready and stropping not needed'), the edge was great, but it seemed to go south quickly, right after I stropped for my second shave. That experience seems to persist. The first shave after the honemeister is always great, but then it definately slacks off.

Any of this make sense?

It depends.
1 could be your stropping is wrong. please check videos about stropping and try to not hurry up while you strop.
2. quality of the blade.
3 less likely overhoned blade.
good luck

I agree with hi_bud_gl. It sounds like you may be rolling your edge. My question for the more experienced, is can subsequent stokes done correctly restore the edge without resorting to re-honing?

Originally Posted by Woodash

Hellooo there -

I'm not talking about banging the edge while turning, or some other kind of isolated thing. I'm talking about just general half-way decent stropping with an occasional clunker in there. I mean, I'll be stropping along just fine....

swhiisch, swchiisch, swhiisch....

and then maybe on one lap the spine/edge doesn't lay quite so flat on the strop and you hear this dull dragging sound. I say this because after I got my first razor ('shave ready and stropping not needed'), the edge was great, but it seemed to go south quickly, right after I stropped for my second shave. That experience seems to persist. The first shave after the honemeister is always great, but then it definately slacks off.

Any of this make sense?

Well, the idea in stropping is to be consistant so you shouldn't have one bad stroke or half stroke.
Depending on which strop I use and the razor they all make either no sound or different sounds. I've had some change during stropping as I alter the stroke a tad.

Originally Posted by leadduck

I agree with hi_bud_gl. It sounds like you may be rolling your edge. My question for the more experienced, is can subsequent stokes done correctly restore the edge without resorting to re-honing?

Yep - now I'm curious about this as well.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well, the idea in stropping is to be consistant so you shouldn't have one bad stroke or half stroke.
Depending on which strop I use and the razor they all make either no sound or different sounds. I've had some change during stropping as I alter the stroke a tad.

I hear you. I'm not too bad at stropping - or so I thought - but it's kind of hard to think of being 100% impeccable with 50+ laps. These are no major gaffs I'm talking about here. If a little deviation from the same consistent sound will ding you, then there must be one heckuva lot of new people such as myself shaving with less than what the could be shaving with.

I have to go s&s now. Will hit a couple of razors with a few light licks on a barber hone and then strop each - perfectly, I hope. We'll see what happens.

Thanks.

It sounds like it could just be a case of rookie stropping technique. You said that the edge "went south", but how badly? Usually a newb is happy with their stropping if they can eck out a somewhat comfortable shave, all the while their stropping is still sub-par or downright poor. I'm not meaning to insult the OP or newbies in general, but they usually think their stropping technique is better than it really is. After straight razor shaving for a year or more you will realize how far you've come and how better the quality of your shaves are.

It's all part of the learning curve. Keep at it and don't let this discourage you.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

It sounds like it could just be a case of rookie stropping technique. You said that the edge "went south", but how badly? Usually a newb is happy with their stropping if they can eck out a somewhat comfortable shave, all the while their stropping is still sub-par or downright poor. I'm not meaning to insult the OP or newbies in general, but they usually think their stropping technique is better than it really is. After straight razor shaving for a year or more you will realize how far you've come and how better the quality of your shaves are.

It's all part of the learning curve. Keep at it and don't let this discourage you.

This is probably true. I am a rookie and I actually have no idea whether I am stropping correctly or not. I have watched every video, read everything there is to read, but there is no way to know for sure if you are stropping efficiently. I am trying to keep the spine on the strop, not roll my wrist and keep a steady pace. How can a newbie truly know if they are stropping correctly?

Originally Posted by Fbones24

This is probably true. I am a rookie and I actually have no idea whether I am stropping correctly or not. I have watched every video, read everything there is to read, but there is no way to know for sure if you are stropping efficiently. I am trying to keep the spine on the strop, not roll my wrist and keep a steady pace. How can a newbie truly know if they are stropping correctly?

It sounds like you are doing everything you should be. It's simply down to practice, that's all. Light touch, next-to-no pressure, etc.

The only way you'll know if you are truly stropping "correctly" would be to have a barber or other pro critique your technique and offer pointers. Since this is a luxuy that most of us do not have we usually learn the hard way - the shave test. Gradually you'll be able to tell the difference between a well stropped blade and a poorly stropped one. I'm sorry that I don't have a more comprehensive explanation than that.

Try to relax, be comfortable and concentrate on what you're doing, as too many newbs get psyched out by obsessing about the "rules", leading to stiff, mechanical strokes instead of steady, confident ones.

I hope this helps.

if you watch Sham's stropping vid it gives very good view of how to hold and flip the razor. Try applying as little pressure as possible when doing the draw and also go with slower speeds. Another thing to experiment with is how taught the stop is.

Stropping technique is one of my pet projects and when stropping a razor, I try to focus on technique and never let the back [spine] lose contact with the strop. A few newbies have PM'd me and asked my opinion regarding correct stropping method. Below is my general response.

Examine this thought. On each stroke you are making a 180 degree change of direction. Do not start this change of direction until you have lifted the cutting edge off of the strop and do not let the edge touch the strop until you have fully changed direction.

You must come to a complete stop before you can change direction. During this momentary "stop", the razor edge should not be touching the strop. The edge only goes back on the strop when the directional change is completed and your hand and razor edge is moving in the correct direction.

Practice all of the above in absolute slow motion and try to see and feel the edge come off the strop at the right moment and go back on the strop at the right moment.

Focus on keeping the razor flat on the strop just as if you were on a stone hone.

The edge only belongs on the strop when it is moving in the right direction.

Again, do all this in SLOW MOTION until you can feel the correct stropping stroke. I always take a deep breath first and always start with the "toward me" stroke.
Stropping is a matter of precise timing and you need to be your own personal judge. Be tough on yourself.
S L O W M O T I O N
Jerry