how to keep razor from rolling up in your hand?

[thuktunflishithy]

I find when I strop I have to stop every 4 or 5 strokes and reposition my grip. I've tried several different grips and no matter which one the razor rolls up into my hand a bit each time I roll it. Is there a solution to this?

[deadrift]

i haven't found any kind of different grip but I have tapped the pins tighter so the razor doesn't fold. if i can't get the pins to tighten i just have to slow down a bit, pita. the only other bit i have is concentrate on the blade, not the scales.

[JimmyHAD]

I have the tip of my forefinger on the spine/tang and the flat of my thumb pad on the bottom side of the tang directly opposite my forefinger. My three fingers, middle, ring, and little finger, are lightly supporting the scales. The 1961 barber manual excerpt PDF in the SRP Library recommends practicing the flip without stropping the razor until you feel you've got proficiency at it. Then begin moving along the strop. Check out the PDF, the last few pages are on stropping. What deadrift said about snug scales is right on.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...t_-_Honing.pdf

[onimaru55]

I always tell people to practice the flip with a toothbrush or butterknife ... then try stropping.
Good advice so far on needing a properly adjusted pivot .

[Maxi]

If you're gripping the tang of the razor, and it slides up your hand as you strop, and you find yourself gripping closer to the stabilizers....then your actual grip isn't tight enough on the tang to begin with.

Grip the tang slightly more, and concentrate on rolling the tang in your fingers. Like Oz says...butterknife or toothbrush first.

[thebigspendur]

yea, the scourge of stropping. Loose scales, badly balanced razors, unusual blades,thumb notches. They all require adaptations. Don't even try them until you have general stropping down pat.

[thuktunflishithy]

I don't mean it moves closer to the scales, it goes up my fingers closer to my palm. I'll have to make a vid to show what I mean.

[mjsorkin]

This used to happen to me. It went away After I practiced stropping a lot. With a good grip and smooth motion, it doesn't happen anymore.
Michael

[Disburden]

honestly, the bad answer you don't want to hear is the right answer; it just takes practice. I have a few razors that loosen up and I tap the pins tight every once and a while. But sometimes they're loose and I don't realize it until I am going to strop with lather on my face and a towel around my waist.

try to keep your thumb on the tang facing up to the ceiling at all times and your forefinger on the bottom at all times. After some practice you'll be able to adjust your fingers while turning your razor. Keep things slow for now, this isn't a race and your edge and strop will be grateful.

How high/low is your strop? Are you keeping it perfectly horizontal or at an angle? What works for me is kind of weird but I hang the strop waist high and hold the end of the strop higher than where it's hooked on to the door.

[JeffR]

Just so you know, it isn't essential to flip the razor with one's fingers when stropping; it's just the most efficient way. With a problematic razor, holding the tang more securely and rolling the wrist will get the job done nicely.