Thread: Is it possible to over strop?

Is it possible to over strop a razor?

A little history. I have been shaving with a razor (Henckels 415) I honed myself and it shaved great for a few shave but I know my stropping was not up to snuff. After watching the Wiki videos it has improved. Recently I re-honed and as someone said on another thread I stropped the "bejesus" out of it (10 felt w/.5 diamond spray, 60 rough leather, and 150 premium I leather) on a modular paddle strop.

Also would like some suggestion on daily stropping with my current setup. At least until I get a hanging strop!!!

Thanks in advance
James

So how was it after you completed that routine? Next time, I'd recommend going from the stones directly to premium leather. You can eliminate some variables that way. When I stopped using felt and spray and stayed with just leather, my results improved. As for over-stropping, if you are doing it correctly on smooth leather, you may reach a point of diminishing returns, but you shouldn't do the blade any harm.

Well I haven't shaved with it yet. I had a mid day Dr appointment and when I shave earlier it was tugging just a little, so I finished up a dreaded disposable orange thing (which actually gave me a very close shave, now that I know how to shave, LOL) and I decided to go to the stones (Naniwa 5K, 8K, an 12K starting with 10 on the pyramid, if it matters) .

But looking at the edge thru a 20X loop it really looked awesome. Just a few striations but I couldn't see any chipping but mostly a beautiful edge. I will shave in the a.m. and test it.

I have never been so excited to shave.

Diamond spray on felt is something that makes a very obvious difference to an edge. Try halving your strokes & maybe more importantly halving your pressure. It's a very useful tool & well worth learning it's proper use.

You'll be getting that feeling alot.

Ok time for an update. It was smooth BBS on the cheecks and the rest is still better in one pass than the muck 3, and no burn. Even Old Spice didnt burn first time thats ever happened.

Its good to know though it wont hurt the razor. I can experiment and not do damage at least in theory (givin technique is correct).

If your technique is good enough to not make some beginner mistakes (essentially, the various way in which you'd bend the edge) then I don't think it is humanly possible to overstrop.

If the strop is abrasive enough, and the razor is stropped long enough, it is theoretically possible that the razor will eventually completely abrade away. I don't think this is something any of us need to be concerned with though

Originally Posted by poppy926

Is it possible to over strop a razor?

A little history. I have been shaving with a razor (Henckels 415) I honed myself and it shaved great for a few shave but I know my stropping was not up to snuff. After watching the Wiki videos it has improved. Recently I re-honed and as someone said on another thread I stropped the "bejesus" out of it (10 felt w/.5 diamond spray, 60 rough leather, and 150 premium I leather) on a modular paddle strop.

Also would like some suggestion on daily stropping with my current setup. At least until I get a hanging strop!!!

Thanks in advance
James

The modular paddle strop is a tough act to follow.

Slow deliberate stropping on a paddle could be
the best option for a beginner. Too many beginners try
to use a hanging strop they way ya might see in
the movies. Movie style stropping almost always
dulls a blade.

Stick with 10-20 laps on your 0.5 micron felt
and 30-60 on smooth leather. The 10
strokes on felt will clean the steel and
make it leather ready. Either rough
leather or premium leather should strop
your edge just fine for shaving.

Adjust as needed based on your shave tests.

When you add a hanging strop to your kit,
start slow and smooth. Speed will catch
you... you will not catch it...

Edit: you may skip refreshing the 0.5 diamond on your felt
except for stropping after honing. i.e. You should not
need any additional abrasive for normal stropping.

One of the senior members stropped with a submicron
pasted strop for months and did not notice any problem
so no worries if you wish to spray away all you diamonds.