Thread: Stropping Strategies

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.