Thread: no slack (or slight slack) in the strop

I've been altering my stropping technique in an effort to figure out how to get one of my razors to shave me better, and I've found that really pulling it tight seems to help. I wasn't paying as much attention to this before, although I had read it in several posts. Here's my general approach.

When the razor is fresh from the hone (FFTH):

1. 50 passes linen, strop held very tight and very gentle with the razor (very little pressure)
2. 50 passes leather, strop very tight, and also very gentle with razor
3. 10 passes with ever so slight slack (not much at all, so the strop dips maybe 2-3mm from the 'tight' position) Do this also being very gentle with the blade pressure

This seemed to really help the TI full hollow I was having trouble with earlier (see my earlier posts). The shave was not awesome, but maybe will get better as the number of shaves increases.

E

First of all Eric, I think it's commendable that you are spending this attention on stropping. I think it's an underconsidered part of a good shave.

I would caution against slack stropping. Some say theyve done it for years, but I find it so easy to kill a FFTH edge that I don't want to give it any nudges in the wrong direction. MHO.

X

That seems to be alot of passes on the linen. I think most use about 10 passes and some don't use the linen every time.

I know some guys claim slack in the leather works for them but I find the more slack the greater the chance of rounding off the edge. But of course if that system works for you then by all means use it.

Oops! I didn't mean to suggest I was using a slack strop. I used to use a pretty slack strop, but that didn't work well for me. I just wasn't paying attention to how I was holding it until recently. When I tightened up the strop most of my problems went away... I must have been damaging the edge somehow.

As for all those linen passes, I only do that FFTH. After that, I use only the plain leather until it seems like I need to go back to more linen passes.

E

Originally Posted by ericm

Oops! I didn't mean to suggest I was using a slack strop.

I guess if I had read your post a little more clearly I would have noticed the 2-3mm remark. That sure is a small slack if you could really consider it a slack at all. It's what I would consider within my margin of error. Why do you ease up intentionally?

Originally Posted by ericm

As for all those linen passes, I only do that FFTH.

I have to ask why? It seems like such an intruiging idea considering some of the ideas which have been bandied around here about stropping. What are you trying to accomplish by this and do you think there are any residual benefits?

X

I would only suggest using a tight strop all the time. The number of passes on the linen or the leather should not matter as long as the technique is correct. In other words 100 passes on the linen and 200 on the leather shouldn't hurt, but would be a waste of time.

Glen

Originally Posted by ericm

As for all those linen passes, I only do that FFTH. After that, I use only the plain leather until it seems like I need to go back to more linen passes.

E

E, check out the barber's manual on honing in the help files. It states that the linen should not be used immediately after honing. It says to go to the leather only.

Just my two cents in trying to help.

-Rob

Originally Posted by xman

I have to ask why? It seems like such an intruiging idea considering some of the ideas which have been bandied around here about stropping. What are you trying to accomplish by this and do you think there are any residual benefits?
X

I've had two experiences (not much, in my limited time doing this) where going to the linen FFTH made all the difference for me. I had the razor FFTH and went straight to leather. It didn't shave well, but a few passes on the linen and then back to the leather and it was shavable. I notice also that the linen (which started off very bright white when it was new) has been discolored and probably removes some small amount of metal (it's pretty coarse). After this use of the linen, I try not to use it for several shaves, and see how long I can go without going back to it or the hone.

Originally Posted by xman

I guess if I had read your post a little more clearly I would have noticed the 2-3mm remark. That sure is a small slack if you could really consider it a slack at all. It's what I would consider within my margin of error. Why do you ease up intentionally?

I just let it go barely slack, and I'm not sure it has any effect at all. It may just be my imagination, but it when I back off so there is just ever so slight slack in the strop, the razor makes a distinctively different sound on the leather. I only do it for a few strokes at the end, very gently. I tried this because I saw a video that showed this. I think you can find it if you google "straight razor honing videos".

E