Thread: Best shave to date coincided with stropping revelation and first nick

I've only been at this about a month, maybe two. It was the first time I finished stropping and really felt that I did a fairly good job. Kept the speed up decently, about a stroke and a half per second (one stroke being up and down the strop, I've always felt confused what people consider one stroke to be when I read about stropping >.<).

I'm not sure how other people feel with a strop but I realized when I felt I was getting good strokes with my two inch strop the razor was moving with the form of a nicely shaped arc as it drew from the base to the tip of the blade then returned to the base as I flipped it at the other end of the stroke. Might not sound like much but being able to visualize the path of the blade as an arc on the strop really helped my strokes.

When I shaved it felt like the best edge I've had so far and it was definitely the closest shave I've managed. Unfortunately I got my first shaving nick on my upper lip, and I still have trouble getting the angles right for my chin.

Speed is not important, doing it correctly is. Speed will come in time. It does sound as if you are doing well. Enjoy!

I agree - speed will come with time and practice. What you say about the arc is what happens when you fix your elbow in time and space (well, perhaps only space) when you strop on a long enough strop (or have a short enough forearm...).

And yes, the better your stropping the better your shaves. That is why mastering stropping (or at least the basics of stropping) is so vital. Much more vital, I would argue, than any other aspect of straight razor shaving apart from the shave technique itself.

So it does indeed sound like you are doing very well!

James.

We talk about poor stropping which can dull an edge and great stropping which improves an edge however I don't think I have ever seen mention of so-so stropping which can do who knows what to an edge but I'm sure it doesn't improve things. So, after doing great stropping it makes sense your experience would be improved.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

We talk about poor stropping which can dull an edge and great stropping which improves an edge however I don't think I have ever seen mention of so-so stropping which can do who knows what to an edge but I'm sure it doesn't improve things. So, after doing great stropping it makes sense your experience would be improved.

Perhaps so-so stropping is one of those Yoda things: "Strop, or strop not. There is no "so-so"..."??

James.

Ah perhaps I put a bit too much emphasis on the speed in my post. I Notice the better my strokes feel the faster I end up stropping. It's a bit of a coincidence perhaps. Maybe even a bad one :S

I'd agree with the fixed elbow thing, but the arc opens away from me not towards.

With stropping, it's not how quickly you get there, but whether you get there at all.

Originally Posted by ace

With stropping, it's not how quickly you get there, but whether you get there at all.

If the last portion of your sentence is true, you need to work on it. I am not trying to be critical, but if you are having a problem we can help with, let us know.

i have stropped my razors for some time now and speed is developed over time. remember to take care of the strop with some good fat from time to time.

The curve, x-pattern, swish (whatever words a poster uses) is the "meat" of the stropping stroke. It's the key to effective stropping. Great things can happen when we stop being afraid to strop.