Thread: Do you really need to cloth strop ?

On a shave ready razor do you need to strop with the cloth every time before you use the leather ?

I maintained my first razor for months with nothing but a leather strop with no problems.

This has been a debated question for as long as people stropped razors. It is even mentioned as a contested question in the 1961 barber manual excerpt on honing and stropping here in the SRP Wiki. I have tried it both ways and I find, for me, that I get measurably better results doing linen/leather than if I do leather alone. YMMV.

I see some guys strop up 100 strokes and others 20-25, does it really make a razor more shave ready with higher number of strokes ?

Originally Posted by RML

I see some guys strop up 100 strokes and others 20-25, does it really make a razor more shave ready with higher number of strokes ?

Debate about that too. I've gone back and forth with more and with less. For a long time I did 50 and 50 linen/leather. Than I began doing 30 and 30. I know guys who do less whose opinion I respect but here again it is a matter of experimentation for each individual. Stick with a number for awhile and if you think you need more or less try that for awhile. Just IMHO.

I have always liked the results from using both. I have done less on the cloth maybe 10-15 then thrity on the leather. YMMV but that has always done me well.

Thanks for timely response to my questions Jimmy, the hardest part I find is when flipping the razor on the return stroke.

Originally Posted by RML

On a shave ready razor do you need to strop with the cloth every time before you use the leather ?

No you don't have to , but I do . I've tried leather only , a few times , and I think stropping on the linen first , does make a difference .

Try thinking on a microscopic level for a minute. If you look VERY closely your will see that the edge of your razor is actually jagged. As you shave these little zig zags get bent out of shape, and some almost break off. Like a hanging chad.

The linen on your strop works on a microscopic level as well. The tiny little fibers of the strop snags those little buggers and cleans the edge. The strength of the fibers in your linen will help determine how effective your stopping is.

At this point you get the canvas vs cotton vs wool vs poly rhetoric. They all do the job.

With that preparation the leather forces the jagged edge back into as uniform line as possible. The more uniform the line the keener your edge.

And THEN there's draw! Interesting topic as well.

I'm a linen/leather guy myself, so yes, having a material component is a definite asset IMO. I also think it prolongs the time between touch ups.