Thread: possible new strop learning technique, maybe?

I don't know if anyone has noticed this or tried it themselves but, I damaged my pinky in my right hand and the doc says to tape it to my ring finger next to it to stop it moving and help it heal.

But I still have to shave... so I'm stropping with my 3rd and 4th fingers taped and found it quite difficult to apply pressure to my stropping stroke which I actually found to give me a very light touch when stropping while still being able to hold the razor firm. It seems to stop the wrist applying pressure - which I found to be a big problem when starting to strop - as opposed to the shoulder controlling the stropping motion.

Basically, tape your fingers with an inch wide piece of tape (width of standard selotape) so that the tape covers the area after the knuckle on your pinky - I'm reading this over and it seems a bit anal but I'm thinking if it was at the base of the finger, it would affect how restricted the pinky finger is.

If you could try it out and post your findings it would be much appreciated.

Happy Stropping!

Regards
Alex

I don't normally have those fingers on the razor when I strop.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I don't normally have those fingers on the razor when I strop.

Ah, that might be a fault in my technique then or just a variance. I use them to stabilize the blade and it seems to work for me.

And I'm thinking beginners may make the same mistake of using the 3rd and 4th fingers. I think it eliminates some of the time taken to learn stropping as it limits pressure and forces you to use the fingers needed and nothing more.

this thread may apply more to beginners as you seem pretty experienced and might possibly not notice the difference in pressure as your technique has been so ingrained and perfected. (I've been shaving for less than a year)

thanks for the reply.

I don't mean to say that I do it the right way (I don't know if it's "right" or not). All I meant in the above is that stropping in the manner that you describe works well for me.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I don't mean to say that I do it the right way (I don't know if it's "right" or not). All I meant in the above is that stropping in the manner that you describe works well for me.

Ah right, sorry for the misunderstanding, well this is a good start, thanks for the reply. Maybe it'll work for alot of other people as well.

maybe ill give it a try, i usually keep my last two fingers under the scales to kind of support the razor and at times i think i do push up on it to much and add unneeded pressure on the blade, thanks for the tip

-dan-

Thumb and fore finger, if I use the other fingers at all it will be to make sure the scales stay open.

I too use just the index finger and thumb. Using more of the fingers tends to allow force to be applied when it shouldn't be. I do use the pinky under the scales to assist in keeping the blade flat on the strop.

Seems like it might work as a tool for beginners to learn stropping, so if your just starting to learn stropping, try it out.

thanks for the replies everybody

regards alex

Okay, Now I'm interested and possibly a bit confused (no shock there).

Watching AFDavis11's stropping vid for the umpteenth time, he uses his ring and pinky fingers to support the razor while stropping.

HNSB, Nun2, Ace; Do you guys NOT use those fingers? How do you hold the blade for stropping? I'm in this weird limbo-land of "Am I doing this right? I don't know. I could be. Or I could be doing it wrong." when it comes to stropping. I know I'm not applying too much pressure, but I don't know if I'm applying enough. Attempting to apply enough will probably result in applying too much. So I'm trying to sort all of this out.

Thanks for your replies.

Peace,