Thread: Stropping the Night Before

I strop the night before AND before I shave. You can't overstrop can you?

Originally Posted by gull

I strop the night before AND before I shave. You can't overstrop can you?

Its debatable - providing your technique is sound, then I dont believe so. If your technique is a bit off, then you will slowly (or possibly quickly) blunt the edge.

I go with Bigspendur. One of the major reasons to strop is to remove slight rust, and corrosion, and recondition the edge. However, if one was to put oil on the blade after stropping, the night before, that particular problem would probably be eliminated for all practical purposes.

Take care,
Richard

You cant overstrop unless your technique is bad, in which case you'll end up dulling the edge due to poor technique.

I always strop before shaving because it is part of my ritual. If I stropped the night before I would probably still strop before shaving since it is the way I do things. I have to few rituals in my life to leave out this one.

I like stropping both after I shave, to test the blade with the tpt, and before I shave to finish the job. If I'm not happy with the tpt, I make a mental note to fix it before using that razor again.

I like to do 40 or so laps before shaving and another 10 or 20 afterwards. I read somewhere that this can be useful in cleaning the edge after a shave before putting the razor away. I liked that idea as some razors don't get used for a week or more at a time (and longer now that my collection is growing).

Marc,

I usually strop my razor 15-20 laps afterwards--both fabric and leather. It helps clean the gunk off of the edge of your razor and helps dry it, imho.

Just my 2 cents.

IME, stropping right before shaving yields optimum results. I think the edge relaxes just a little bit when you strop the night before, not to mention that it doesn't take long for oxidation to begin if only barely. I like to strop before getting in the shower in the morning. At the same time I fill the sink with hot water and soak the brush and bowl in same. Stropping before taking a shower allows me to get out of the shower and start shaving sooner while my beard is softer.

I just stumbled across this article taken from a Sydney newspaper back in 1916 that touches on this very subject. Here is a copy of it, sorry for the quality...