Thread: What is your favorite stropping regiment?

I do 40 on the felt, 60 on leather,
THEN at mid/shave another 20/20
then after the shave another 20/20
seems fairly effective, for me at least.
tinkersd.

after honing 10 felt with CrOx, 30 premium cotton, 80 Horse Butt
Daily 30/60 cotton then horse butt
post shave 25 horse butt

20 laps on my SRD paddle (leather) before each shave works great for me.My new pro honed razor needed 10 laps on the green pasted rough leather and another 20 on the smooth side before it shaved right.

I'll never trust "shave ready" again.

I've bought a couple razors in my time, particularly from members here and occasionally from the RazorEmporium. Those guys at the emporium advertise their razors as NOT shave ready which, is fine with me, as you know what you're getting. In fact, the razors I've bought from them seem to come with the bevel set and just a little needed honing and some time on the paste and the leather and they're good to go. All things considered, I have been very happy with all my purchases from those guys. One razor I bought from a member at this site named Doughboy (something or other) was advertised as shave ready and I can attest to his (or her, you never know) honing ability and his word. It was just as sharp and pleasant a shaving tool as any in my collection. So, it all depends on the seller. I for one, do believe that [most] all the sellers at this site are honest and, most importantly, knowledgeable amateur hone-meisters.

Im a barber student and most new barbers seem to be leaning toward the disposable type straight razors. I want to keep the tradition of the conventional blade around so I have been investing time and money into the practice of using a real straight razor. I was told that I need to strop before each client, is this true? If so then it seems like 60, 100, or more strops may be excessive for neck shaves and the occasional full shave. That would mean I would be stropping over 1000 times per day. Any advice for stropping a razor that will be getting heavy use? Thanks guys.

Gentlemen,
I do 30 strokes on canvas and 60 on leather. That's plenty. I can get away with fewer strokes, I'm sure, but I do enjoy stropping.

I always strop after finishing my shave for the day and normally it's about 20 strokes on natural linen, about the same on whatever leather I feel like using that time. I strop after shaving because I am getting too old to remember which razor I used at the next shave. This way I at least know they have all been stropped.

Originally Posted by Obie

Gentlemen,
I do 30 strokes on canvas and 60 on leather. That's plenty. I can get away with fewer strokes, I'm sure, but I do enjoy stropping.

Exactly what I do, and I never variate.

Originally Posted by Barber2012

Im a barber student and most new barbers seem to be leaning toward the disposable type straight razors. I want to keep the tradition of the conventional blade around so I have been investing time and money into the practice of using a real straight razor. I was told that I need to strop before each client, is this true? If so then it seems like 60, 100, or more strops may be excessive for neck shaves and the occasional full shave. That would mean I would be stropping over 1000 times per day. Any advice for stropping a razor that will be getting heavy use? Thanks guys.

I'd say you could possibly reduce the number (laps), as you're not possibly shaving an entire face. But still, it may also depend on how long the razor sits un-used for. Also, as an aside, if I had a hair cut before I knew how to SR shave, and the barber pulled out a straight, 1/2 the fun would be watching and hearing him strop. I'd make it part of the 'act'; the hype, the event or experience, and it'll ensure a nice sharp edge for each client.

Just my thoughts, I love being treat like a really valued customer, no matter what I'm buying...

So if you strop before and after, do you still have to strop before on the next shave day? or does the after on the day before count as the before of the current day? Hope that didnt confuse you.