Thread: Reverse X-Pattern..?

I would also say that you would be ok with a reverse X stroke. While I think the motion of the x does help a blade more then a straight stroke the more important thing is consistency in your stroke.

Just make sure your razor doesn't catch on to what you're doing! As long as it thinks you're making a conventional X stroke I think you can get away with it.

Originally Posted by ace

Just make sure your razor doesn't catch on to what you're doing! As long as it thinks you're making a conventional X stroke I think you can get away with it.

Maybe that's why it bit me yesterday... lol

Guys, thanks I appreciate the replies. On the consistency of the stroke, I'm happy with that it's nice and even and i can get a full steady sweep along the length of the blade, the flip gives me no problems (all though mine is more a twist of the fingers than a flip of the hand). Honings the next step i guess, but that will be a a while away yet.

One thing i find interesting though. I think that these razors are a lot tougher than we give them credit for. On a couple of occasions early on i did things that made me freak and think i turned or blunted the blade (light ding on the side of the sink etc etc) i was able to strop and get back to comfortable shaving.

Something very satisfying about the hissing noise proper stropping makes..

Hello,

Has any one tried angling your straight stropping stroke, kinda like a guillotine stroke? I do it sometimes because the paddle strop I made is just slightly too narrow, so i angle the stroke while still going straight along the length of the strop so the whole edge is in contact without moving the blade along it's edge.

One thing to consider is the scratch pattern in the bevel formed by the standard heel-leading x-stroke during honing. If you strop with a toe leading x-stroke, then the motion will be aligned with the scratch pattern of the honing. If you strop with a heel-leading x-stroke, then the motion will be perpendicular to that scratch pattern.

The results of which would be..?

even though my strop is nearly wide enough to accommodate the length of the blade, i still do like an x stroke on it, i think it helps, especially if your strop isnt completely flat everywhere

Originally Posted by 111Nathaniel

Hello,

Has any one tried angling your straight stropping stroke, kinda like a guillotine stroke? I do it sometimes because the paddle strop I made is just slightly too narrow, so i angle the stroke while still going straight along the length of the strop so the whole edge is in contact without moving the blade along it's edge.

sounds fine to me, yes, i do angle the blade, even with an x-stroke.