Arc-pattern stropping - pros and cons? What do you think of this?

I understood at the beginning that if your strop width is narrower than the length of your blade, then some sort of compensatory pattern (such as the popular X-pattern) is necessary to keep a consistent razor edge all the way accross it. Well, sort of from the beginning, but after I had already bought my beginner strop, which is not a paddle! So I did the best I could with that, but I was never comfortable with stropping in an X because I found it difficult to avoid rocking my blade over that part of the strop which it was in contact with while I was drawing it accross, and I knew this would cause my edge to warp. Then I realized that you can maintain nearly full contact for the length of your stroke if you begin with the outer end of your blade perpendicular to the inside end of your strop, and end it with that part of your blade facing perpendicular to the outside end of your strop (cycling vice-versa, of course). This forms an arcing pattern. Although it causes your blade edge to travel at an angle which is not perpendicular to the length of your strop, I tend to feel more confident in my consistency of contact with the leather, and what I am wondering is whether that alone is not the bottom line for results. I haven't the experience (and possibly not the sensitivity) to notice a small degree of negative impact from this change, and then I probably never did the X-pattern right, therefore how would I know? So far I've done better with the arc pattern than with what I have been doing (a clumsy X), but do you think it's important that I should work on my X-stroke for best results, or to avoid trouble over time?

If I am picturing what you are talking about correctly this is an exaggerated wiper (windshield wiper) stroke.
Lynn shows this in one of his video's.
As long as you are keeping the proper contact and pressure on the strop and covering the entire edge there should be no negative impact.
I don't think about it but I generally change up a bit as I strop and cover all of the strokes straight, X stroke, and wiper motion.

If it works and works well for you run with it.
You can always change up and try new things when the fancy hits you.

You can strop in x-pattern, rolling pattern, straight pattern, does not matter as long as you are catching the whole blade and do not roll the edge.

+1 on the above posts.

Here's the video referred to:

Enjoy!!

Howard :)

Straight Razor Stropping for Beginners - YouTube

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Originally Posted by SirStropalot

+1 on the above posts.

Here's the video referred to:

Enjoy!!

Howard :)

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LOL beat me to it, was going to look for it after I got the youngn's Lunch.
Thanks Howard :tu

Maybe it's just me, but when I was new to shaving, I was more concerned with much more... major? important? relevant?... things. Worry about getting great lather, developing your shaving stroke, stretching your skin, finding products that work with your face, keeping the razor clean and dry, becoming confident with basic stropping, etc. By comparison, minor variances in stropping will not make any noticeable difference.

And I don't mean to dismiss your question, not in the least. But the little things like that will work themselves out over time. Just get comfortable with the big stuff first.

Well thanks, but I do worry enough on all those things you mentioned that it's sort of distracting me from my whole life right now. They do make beginner's strops kinda narrow, which is why you really don't have the luxury of developing your stroke first and then later thinking about stroke patterns while you are using one of these. Not, anyway, if you practice with any blade that you plan on shaving with! Unless all of your strops are 3" wide, how can you consider stroke patterns (having one or the other to compensate for the lack of width taking precedence over any argument on which pattern you choose) to be a minor thing?

Thanks! :)

Unlike honing where it can be important, it doesn't matter with a strop that the whole edge must contact the strop on each stroke.

Once you realise that, stropping on a narrow strop is easy. You can X stroke or you can C-stroke (what you describe above) if you really feel the need to hit the entire edge on each stroke. Or, you can do a few laps where you just hit the heel half; then a few where you just hit the toe half; then a few where you just hit the middle half. You can finish off with a few laps of the entire edge after that if you want.

James.

Thanks. I wasn't so much concerned that my blade doesn't maintain full edge-contact with my strop so much as that I have had a hard time maintaining even contact with the part that is touching the strop while drawing it accross in an X. For this issue, I've found the wiper stroke to be more stable.

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Originally Posted by Jimbo

Unlike honing where it can be important, it doesn't matter with a strop that the whole edge must contact the strop on each stroke.

Once you realise that, stropping on a narrow strop is easy. You can X stroke or you can C-stroke (what you describe above) if you really feel the need to hit the entire edge on each stroke. Or, you can do a few laps where you just hit the heel half; then a few where you just hit the toe half; then a few where you just hit the middle half. You can finish off with a few laps of the entire edge after that if you want.

James.

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Originally Posted by bluroot

Well thanks, but I do worry enough on all those things you mentioned that it's sort of distracting me from my whole life right now. They do make beginner's strops kinda narrow, which is why you really don't have the luxury of developing your stroke first and then later thinking about stroke patterns while you are using one of these.

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In response to your first sentence, I believe it was Jeff Foxworthy that said "There's your sign." Unless being distracted from your whole life is a good thing.

With regards to the second - if it's that big a deal, just get a 3 inch strop. You only need one to last your whole lifetime.

I happen to have a 2 inch strop as well, and I do what James said. Strop the heel, then the middle, then the toe by moving the razor a little bit out or back on each flip. That way I can use the same stroke no matter what width strop I'm using.

Bluroot, Holli4pirating and Jimbo hit this square on the head.

I think what holli4pirating meant, and what Jimbo echoed and defined, was that ultimately it's not a super huge deal which way you strop, so long as the end result is one that is acceptable to you. Because everyone is different, you may have a different stroke than I do, therefore, using an X-pattern for me works great, but may not do the same for you.

The somewhat unspoken thing here is that it won't hurt your razor to experiment with what works best, so long as you're not overdoing it on the pressure or rolling the the edge. As long as good edge and spine contact are present, you can strop as much as you want, however you want until you find something that works for you. I know I don't strop in a perfect X-pattern, but my stropping-technique-of-randomness works for me on a 2.5" strop. The same can be said here. The X-pattern is, mostly, a general guideline... the same way that a 35 degree angle is a general guideline on blade angle. It's ultimately dependent on the razor (or in this case, the one stropping) what the best angle is, but you at least have a good starting point to figure that out.

I think what holli4pirating meant (and in a good way) by focusing on the larger issues is that it takes more skill and practice to learn proper lathering, proper blade angle, proper pressure and so forth, so your time would be better spent focusing on those things since they take a more concentrated effort to master. Let the stropping come by more natural and intuitive means so that your focus can be on the harder skills to attain. Though, if you choose to focus on stropping technique more than what has been suggested, that's your choice, and no one should fault you for it. It's your journey, and if you feel it's important, then it's important.

Either way, if nothing else, the question shows that you're thinking things through and evaluating your routine. This, above all else, is to me the most important thing one can do until they have achieved their goal and can do so with consistency. That is the crux of why there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Keep on learning like you are, and ask any question that comes to mind. As another member stated in a different thread, it's like we have an army of kind uncles on here, and they are all here to impart what they have learned and to encourage us along in our journey.

It's all true, and thanks for the good advice! But it's also true that beginners tend to start out like me, with a strop which is narrower than 3" because such narrower strops are marketed to the beginner. If the beginner wants to practice any part of the ritual which involves actually using his blade, he must practice stropping as well, otherwise he very soon won't have a blade that he can shave with. If he practices stropping incorrectly, he definitely won't have a blade that he can shave with - without this, what good will it do for him when he has the proper angle on his face, and no good results?

I posted this question because I knew that I must find some way of covering the whole blade as I pulled it across my strop, and I was concerned that I sometimes had poor coordination as I did that, sometimes losing full contact and (worse) hitting the edge of my strop at an angle in the wrong dimension. Somehow for me the C-pattern (or wiper pattern seems to describe it more accurately) made it easier for this beginner to maintain even contact, therefore this beginner felt that it was important. I had discovered this on my own, having only seen the X-pattern suggested on tutorials, therefore I thought I should clear the idea with this forum.

Anyway, I am already fairly comfortable with my shaving angle (no weeping cuts this week, and no rash for more than a month), but the wiper pattern made me feel that much more confident in my quality of care for that tool which I was putting to my face, and that's why I wish I had learned it earlier - I would have been able to worry less about that and focus on the other important things. Perhaps it's a good idea to advocate the practice of this skill for a period ahead of actual shaving! Getting a good lather is important too, but it's more about following directions than learned, physical skills.

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Originally Posted by crouton976

Bluroot, Holli4pirating and Jimbo hit this square on the head.

I think what holli4pirating meant, and what Jimbo echoed and defined, was that ultimately it's not a super huge deal which way you strop, so long as the end result is one that is acceptable to you. Because everyone is different, you may have a different stroke than I do, therefore, using an X-pattern for me works great, but may not do the same for you.

The somewhat unspoken thing here is that it won't hurt your razor to experiment with what works best, so long as you're not overdoing it on the pressure or rolling the the edge. As long as good edge and spine contact are present, you can strop as much as you want, however you want until you find something that works for you. I know I don't strop in a perfect X-pattern, but my stropping-technique-of-randomness works for me on a 2.5" strop. The same can be said here. The X-pattern is, mostly, a general guideline... the same way that a 35 degree angle is a general guideline on blade angle. It's ultimately dependent on the razor (or in this case, the one stropping) what the best angle is, but you at least have a good starting point to figure that out.

I think what holli4pirating meant (and in a good way) by focusing on the larger issues is that it takes more skill and practice to learn proper lathering, proper blade angle, proper pressure and so forth, so your time would be better spent focusing on those things since they take a more concentrated effort to master. Let the stropping come by more natural and intuitive means so that your focus can be on the harder skills to attain. Though, if you choose to focus on stropping technique more than what has been suggested, that's your choice, and no one should fault you for it. It's your journey, and if you feel it's important, then it's important.

Either way, if nothing else, the question shows that you're thinking things through and evaluating your routine. This, above all else, is to me the most important thing one can do until they have achieved their goal and can do so with consistency. That is the crux of why there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Keep on learning like you are, and ask any question that comes to mind. As another member stated in a different thread, it's like we have an army of kind uncles on here, and they are all here to impart what they have learned and to encourage us along in our journey.

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