Thread: Stropping is King

[quote=AFDavis11;74835][QUOTE]I have one thought in the back of my head that has been bothering me. If we get on average about 7 shaves per honing then what exactly does stropping do? It seems to me that we get about 7 shaves per DE blade too without any stropping at all./QUOTE]
DOvo says you should be able to go up to 10 shaves without stropping again. My take is that it's strictly a function of the beard. Some guys can't get through a shave without re-stropping. And we all know what it does. It realigns the teeth in the fin. So, if your beard isn't tough maybe you don't have to strop every shave.

Dovo also says that the fin will realign itself most of the way within 48 hours. So, the shaves without stropping would have to be on alternate days if you use one razor.

I don't like the assumption that stropping has to be somehow sharpening the blade. In my mind if a strop can merely maintain the same edge then its doing its job.

You only need to make this assumption if you want to maintain the edge without honing. We all know from experience that you eventually reach a point where just stropping isn't enough. You need to remove some material. If all you're using is a strop then it will have to remove material at the same rate (abrasiveness) as refreshing every ten shaves.

It makes me wonder if were stropping the same but honing different. If Scott and Lynn are applying a "fin" then maintaining its orientation and alignment should last a long, long time.

Only as long as it takes for micro-oxidation or fin dulling, whatever causes the edge to stop responding to stropping. As far aas I know, Lynn strops before and after every shave and does occasional refreshing wiyh a hone.

In any case there's a huge body of sharpening experience out there. A basic observation is that the sharper the edge, the less durable. Shaving requires the sharpest edges, but fortunately requires little durability. But you can still make the tradeoff of using a less sharp edge so that it will last longer.

Originally Posted by mparker762

I've got a couple of razors with very hard steel, and I suspect I could shave with them for quite a few days before I needed stropping - they pop hairs as well at the end of the shave as they do at the beginning.

I think that's the key. If your shave doesn't misalign the fin, you can strop after the shave without a worry, and you can go for a number of shaves without stropping.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Dude, I hang out on the internet, snarky I'm used to Still, doesn't it make you think that our stropping is kinda, ineffective?

It's as effective as it needs to be. And your experiment will show you how effective it needs to be- how many shaves you can go without stropping.

Originally Posted by honedright

All I can describe is a "feel" I've developed that tells me, based on experience, when I'm stropping correctly to get the results I've been getting. I have mentioned this "feel" concept before, even in other topics. But it's really hard to describe beyond that.

Maybe, but I sure would like to see if you get it with another strop, say a brand new clean one.

I can state for a fact that stropping does improve edge sharpeness even after honing. I've been sharpening stuff for year and for some years I religiously stropped my knives after honing to attain a hair cutting edge on them - one that they DIDN'T have after honing. But I'll also say that it took a LOT of time (hours) and manyh, many strokes (hundreds at least) to see that improvement

Originally Posted by PapaBull

I can state for a fact that stropping does improve edge sharpeness even after honing. I've been sharpening stuff for year and for some years I religiously stropped my knives after honing to attain a hair cutting edge on them - one that they DIDN'T have after honing. But I'll also say that it took a LOT of time (hours) and manyh, many strokes (hundreds at least) to see that improvement

That's part of what I'm saying. Normal stropping won't do it. It takes a lot more reps, because clean leather has such low abrasivenes.

I look at a pasted strop as a shortcut to doing what you describe. A very fine grit will get you closer to what your stropping did, so it will take less leather stropping to get there. Also, if you added the slightest abrasiveness, say the equivalent of .025 microns you would get there faster. Knives are subjected to such tough conditions that you couldn't avoid stropping, but certainly you can appreciate that with a razor there must be a point where stropping only (with slight abrasion) could maintain it. Or you could do hundreds of reps or use a machine.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

Maybe, but I sure would like to see if you get it with another strop, say a brand new clean one.

That wouldn't be a problem. BTW, without having seen my strop, you strongly imply that it's not clean.

I have a few IRS 361 strops for sale. I could take one down and use it as my daily strop. But how would that be any more convincing?

You seem very reluctant to entertain the idea that maybe I've developed a knack for stropping that goes beyond your experience and that of some others. Remember the 5 minute mile? Or was it 4 minutes? It was the magic number in running that at one time was believed no one could achieve. A barrier that couldn't be broken. But once it was accomplished (ok, 4 minute mile by Roger Bannister 1957. He actually did it in 3:58.8), it was subsequently then, and still is, done on a regular basis. As to my knack for stropping, I believe that if I could do it, anyone could.

I think the only thing that will convince you personally is for you to have the same experience. Of course this will require much more experimentation on your part. On the other hand, if you are happy with the results you have been getting so far, then why bother?

I started this topic, not to prove anything, but to encourage and inspire, especially the newbies.

Scott

I have on the odd occation stropped "slack" to reset the edge. This stropping with less tension seems to bring a tired edge back when followed by normal stropping.
Just a note of experiance that popped into my head while reading these posts

PuFF

BTW, you've all heard of the Hundred'th Monkey Effect? If not:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey

Kind of interesting. Now someone please pass the bananas...err...I mean the sweet potatoes...puh-leeze

Originally Posted by honedright

That wouldn't be a problem. BTW, without having seen my strop, you strongly imply that it's not clean.

I have a few IRS 361 strops for sale. I could take one down and use it as my daily strop. But how would that be any more convincing?

You seem very reluctant to entertain the idea that maybe I've developed a knack for stropping that goes beyond your experience and that of some others. Remember the 5 minute mile? Or was it 4 minutes? It was the magic number in running that at one time was believed no one could achieve. A barrier that couldn't be broken. But once it was accomplished (ok, 4 minute mile by Roger Bannister 1957. He actually did it in 3:58.8), it was subsequently then, and still is, done on a regular basis. As to my knack for stropping, I believe that if I could do it, anyone could.

I think the only thing that will convince you personally is for you to have the same experience. Of course this will require much more experimentation on your part. On the other hand, if you are happy with the results you have been getting so far, then why bother?

I started this topic, not to prove anything, but to encourage and inspire, especially the newbies.

Scott

I can sharpen my blades just by looking at them, with no stropping. It takes concentration and practice, but the time is well spent. ;-)

I aspire to be so good at stropping.

E