Thread: High pitched sound when stropping?

I am still concerned about my stropping technique even though I have been getting very comfortable shaves and my blades seem sharp.

I am still new to this whole process, mind you. I am just concerned because when I strop on my 3" latigo from Vintage Blades, I hear a high pitched, uneven noise. I have listened to the sample sounds in the wiki and it sounds more like the "incorrect" noise. I am almost 100% certain that I am not lifting the spine and I am not applying too much pressure. My shaves have gotten progressively better, so I know I have not ruined my edge.

Is this high pitched noise a concern or should I not worry since my shaves have improved?

I get kind of a wiz or a zippy sound when I strop. I wouldn't define it as high pitched but there is sound. If you're getting good results I would think you must be doing something right. If you wanted to experiment with making slight changes in your stropping technique and see what the sound is like comparing results of sharpness/smoothness in the process you might find a better way .... or worse. Sometimes if it is working it is better not to fix it.

If the edge on the razor is good and doesnt suddenly deteriorate then I wouldnt worry about it. An edge suddenly going is a sign that you've done something wrong, but if your edges are holding and the shaves are improving, then it all sounds pretty good to me.

My razors make a variety of noises when I strop them, from almost silent to a kind of singing noise on the big full hollows.

By all means experiment with different stropping techniques and see if you find something thats better, but as Jimmy says, if it aint broke dont fix it..!

Fbones24, I went to the Wiki to listen to the stropping sounds you mentioned to make sure I'm not doing it wrong. I couldn't find the app. Where did you find it ?

I wouldn't get hung up on the sound. As long as the result it good that's what is important. Depending on the razor and the strop I get all kinds of sounds. Even with the full hollows the sound is different with different razors.

What is the sound of one hand stropping ?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Fbones24, I went to the Wiki to listen to the stropping sounds you mentioned to make sure I'm not doing it wrong. I couldn't find the app. Where did you find it ?

I think it is here:

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Thought I looked there but managed to miss it. Both sound the same to me and the guy is a slow stropper. Not that slow stropping is bad ..... but my sound is faster and zingier. Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that zing.

I agree with everyone else here...Don't worry about the noise so much. Different hollows make different noises. Try stropping a wedge...it's an entirely different noise, if any. I am not an acoustic engineer, but I think it has to do with; 1) speed of stropping and 2) the way air flows during stropping. A wedge has virtually no air pockets between spine-edge-strop whereas a full hollow has the most. The flow of eddy currents that you create in the hollow will make different pitched noise based on the speed of your stropping...A wedge is very different...if you do it right, there will be no air pockets between edge-spine-strop...noise will be minimal or muted.

Mind you, this is all coming entirely from my limited theory of engineering...so, hopefully a real engineer will chime in and correct my 1/2-baked theory...

Consensus = Do not worry about strop sounds....it is the shave results that really matter.

I think this is one of those things I am "over thinking." K.I.S.S.