Thread: How many of you...

...strop between the stages of your shave?

I found that a good 40-50 strokes prior to the WTG shave, then 20 or so for the across the grain, then 20 or so prior to against the grain works really well for me with some razors, especially my Torreys.

What got me really excited about stropping were some Modern Mechanix articles showing a blade's edge at 1300 and 3000 diameters. Mystery of the Razor Blade | Modern Mechanix

Neat stuff, and I find so much less razor burn and the removal of any bumps through cutting. Strop, strop strop!

I only strop before a shave. I want to concentrate on my actions during the shave. To suspend the shave for stropping is perhaps something for later on.

I only strop before are well. I don't like to interrupt my shave in order to strop and I don't think it is necessary for a good shave.

Why do you strop between the passes, does the edge degrade or just habit?

You have to stop your shave to wipe and re-lather anyway... Why not let the lather sit there for the 30sec it takes to strop? If you haven't tried it, you should!

Originally Posted by scott64a

You have to stop your shave to wipe and re-lather anyway... Why not let the lather sit there for the 30sec it takes to strop? If you haven't tried it, you should!

Why should I strop if there is no need to strop?

It sounds like somebody may have a stropping addiction.

I've actually tried the stropping between passes, and at least for me I've found it made very little difference...so now I merely strop before and after the shave.

Originally Posted by scott64a

...strop between the stages of your shave?

I found that a good 40-50 strokes prior to the WTG shave, then 20 or so for the across the grain, then 20 or so prior to against the grain works really well for me with some razors, especially my Torreys.

If your beard is excessively thick, your beard prep is inadequate, if you're using too much pressure, or if the steel is weak or soft, I find that you will need to strop in the manner you describe. If all prep and technique are good and you still have to strop in-between, then your razor is lacking somewhere, if only needing some time on the hones or diamond paste. A good razor, good edge, good prep, and good technique should not require any stropping in-between a shave.

I've seen people post about this before, and so I did try it a few times.
As to any differences, I really couldn't tell to be honest.
But if it works for you, cool beans