Thread: Am I stropping wrong?

I purchased a new straight razor a few weeks ago and the first thing I did was take it to a shop to have the razor sharpened.

Let me stop there. That might have been my first mistake. It wasnt a local hardware store or anything; it was shop that specializes in sharpening blades of all kinds, from defensive blades to butcher knives to straight razors.

The owner told me many people bring their blades in to him. Perhaps I should not have done this.

When I got home I excitedly tried to shave with my first (real) straight razor.

It was a terrible experience! It was far from sharp and it pulled my hair terribly! I ended up going to my back up, a straight razor with disposable blades.

I want to use my straight razor, but don't know what to do to get it sharp.

I have a strop, with leather and canvas sides and have stropped it but to no avail. I probably just screwed up the blade anyways.

Suggestions?

Stroping wont do any good if your razor isn't shave ready.

If you go into the 'members services' area of the classifieds on this site you can find many experienced members who offer honing services and can get your razor shave ready for a reasonable price. I would start there.

-Justin

Depending on where you got it sharpened it may be a matter of your technique. A disposable blade straight is not the same as a "real" straight...the angles etc. that you use will need to be different.

I think pictures would be in order for a better assessment, or perhaps having a look at it through a magnifyer. It does not sound good, I have to say - there is a huge difference in sharpening a knife and sharpening a razor. The required equipment is also quite different, you can hone almost any knife well without razor appropriate hones.

If I were to give any advice it would be to send it out to someone close in the know, or perhaps visit someone near you? It would be hard for you to judge wether it is the edge, your technique or something else on your own.

Best of luck.

You have a number of possibilities here.

1. It's highly likely the razor was not honed properly as most knife shops haven't a clue about razors.

2. You stropped it too heavily & rolled the edge.

3. Your skills are not there yet.

To eliminate #1 see here Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

To eliminate #'s 2 & 3 will take some research & practice.

Thanks for the great responses!

I have been using the disposable-blade straight razor for about a year so I have decent technique with it, though some days are better than others.

I figured that it and a real straight razor are two different beasts, as you all have suggested.

I have tried a few different angles with the real straight razor - more acute and more obtuse both - to no avail. It seems that immediately after stropping it pulls and tugs and manages to cut some hair when shaving WTG but after a few passes...nothing. And definitely nothing but irritaiton when shaving with ATG.

I just noticed that it is a cheap Pakistani razor (explains why it was so cheap )so I will be in the market for a better quality and affordable blade here soon. I have read ok things about the cheap chinese stuff on the forum here and may look into that.

Is there any hope for the Pakistani razor or is it a lost cause?

I'll check out the members services now. Thanks!

Originally Posted by justinA

Stroping wont do any good if your razor isn't shave ready.

If you go into the 'members services' area of the classifieds on this site you can find many experienced members who offer honing services and can get your razor shave ready for a reasonable price. I would start there.

-Justin

Agree. If the sharpening job was botched, take it to one of our members here. Ask him to tell you what kind of shape he found the razor and what he did to correct it.