Thread: Stropping Strategies

Not sure this has any validity or weight in the thread. I use linen about twice as much as leather. And as you've said, I'm not sure it's linen. It's the cloth part of a Kokken Barber Supply strop. At any rate, it's dramatically improved my edges over plain leather. This could be an effect of increased skill on my part, but I really believe the linen is a value added component, not to be dismissed. Have you considered dressing your linen, as suggested in old barber manuals? Perhaps that would make it a more effective component for you. Ofc, I understand you don't have any need, as your current routine works very well. And you've been at this much longer than me. But just something I think might be worth considering. And I'd be excited to hear if it changes your opinion at all about it. Is there any chance you might?

Very interesting, i did a lot of reading lately about stropping, 1 thread comes to mind,http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ping-king.html, been playing around with pressure, paying close attention to sounds and feel on the strop. Being part of the JA/norton4k/8k and doing a lot of stropping going for a more pleasureable shave, there is definately something to be learned on the strop, my undrestanding is when you feel and listen you would know when to stop or continue, im not quite there
yet but i see a definate improvement then the usual lets say 30 linen and 60 leather, its really not about the passes on the strop,
its knowing when its ready!!

[QUOTE=AFDavis11;906875]I have a few strategies I follow when stropping, just thought I'd share and see if anyone else does anything similar.

2) The 'Against the Grain" Attack blade

Taut strop with pressure applied to the stropping, about 20 passes, followed by 10 passes using light pressure (usually there are a few intermediate passes using reduced pressure.]

I tried this method this morning, and it dulled my razor. I wonder if I put too much pressure on the blade, and I wonder if I didn't hold the strop tight enough. I did let the strop deflect a little. Do I have to go back to my finishing hone to fix this, or can I, as I have heard so many times, "strop it out?"

It is hard to say - try stropping it normally for a while first and see what happens. If there is little or no improvement, you may well have folded the edge and need to go back to the hones.

Just on the linen note, I've never used it myself. I've tried it on other people's strops, but I find it unnecessary for my needs, much as Alan said. I don't have any philosophical objections to it, just that over the years it has never featured in my routine for getting good shaves or good edges. I know many people like their linen/canvas/whatever and I am glad it works for you, but for me it is definitely an unnecessary addition to my strop.

James.

Yes, using too much pressure and also allowing deflection is a very bad idea. The strop's tautness has to be worked in relation to the deflection. Re-honing is the best approach. It may be possible to strop out the problem though. It really depends on how much over pressure you used. There are probably a lot of people in this boat that have messed up there edge and are still trying to shave with a dulled edge.

At least in the future you'll know how much pressure is too much. Generally, pressure and deflection together are risky. It has to be either one, or the other.

This is an important part. The tautness and the deflection should produce a straight run of leather from the spine, past the edge. I think it can be argued that too taut and too loose could both lead to the leather running in a curved fashion around the edge. You want the leather to move in a flat plane over the razor's edge.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Yes, using too much pressure and also allowing deflection is a very bad idea. The strop's tautness has to be worked in relation to the deflection. Re-honing is the best approach. It may be possible to strop out the problem though. It really depends on how much over pressure you used. There are probably a lot of people in this boat that have messed up there edge and are still trying to shave with a dulled edge.

At least in the future you'll know how much pressure is too much. Generally, pressure and deflection together are risky. It has to be either one, or the other.

This is an important part. The tautness and the deflection should produce a straight run of leather from the spine, past the edge. I think it can be argued that too taut and too loose could both lead to the leather running in a curved fashion around the edge. You want the leather to move in a flat plane over the razor's edge.

Thanks. I don't like ruining a razor's edge in the name of experimentation usually, but then I don't learn all the intricacies, and end up being very conservative in honing and stropping technique, for fear that I'll screw something up. Even with conservative technique, a great shaving edge is still hit or miss, and I HATE having to run to the pasted strops.

I don't use #2.

My routine is closer to #3 for 30-40 passes then finish with #1 for 20-30 passes. Light pressure and loose strop followed by taut strop and always light pressure. If the edge needs any pressure on the strop then I go back to my CrO balsa for a few strokes or even a touch up on the Naniwa 12k. I never try to "sharpen" my blade on the strop. Overall, I like your recommendations. I think the two most common mistakes in stropping are too much edge pressure OR too tight on the strop with no deflection at all.

Different strops for different grinds! I really prefer full hollows and have increasingly gravitated toward lighter draw strops for these. Stiffer grinds require a little more pull for me. Recently got a fantastic HH and despite the light draw, it is extremely tactile and the lighter touch, as indicated above, really works great for me....

I've recently given up on linen, in my case the rough seatbelt-like material. It seemed to me that it was rough on edges, and I wasn't really sure of its benefits anyway. I think it sent two of my blades back to the hones.

I use a paddle strop and find that I can sense "bite" on it too. As I start stropping, the friction warms the English Bridle pad, the warmth increases the draw noticeably and the "bite" is when you can literally feel the leather working on the edge. Of course, on a paddle, with no deflection, I can use some pressure.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Very interesting, i did a lot of reading lately about stropping, 1 thread comes to mind,http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ping-king.html, been playing around with pressure, paying close attention to sounds and feel on the strop. Being part of the JA/norton4k/8k and doing a lot of stropping going for a more pleasureable shave, there is definately something to be learned on the strop, my undrestanding is when you feel and listen you would know when to stop or continue, im not quite there
yet but i see a definate improvement then the usual lets say 30 linen and 60 leather, its really not about the passes on the strop,
its knowing when its ready!!

I just read 20 pages or so of that thread, and have a newfound respect for the moderators here who keep threads on-topic. And it appears that I've been stropping inadequately this past year