Thread: Strop question...

all the videos and stuff talk about technique but I dont recall hearing about angle. should the blade be flat in the strop or do you hold it at a certain angle sort of like you would with a knife blade?

second question: I bought a cheap strop, but it has a canvas style side and a rawhide/suede side. is there an order to use? Is one side more for fine tuning?

The razor should be flat on the strop, ie- spine in contact with the strop at all times. The canvas or other fabric side is used first to clean the bevel & then the leather for the actual stropping.


rs,
Tack

I found the easiest way to learn the proper flip technique and pressure til now I can do it eyes shut, is to lay the strop on a flat table or something flat at a comfortable height and orientation(still flat) for you. And buy more razors so that you never have a night of ....."Ah man. nothing to strop "

:}

Hope that helps.

There is no angle for you to maintain. Keep the spine on the strop and the blade edge also. Use as little a pressure as possible. The angle is built into the design of the straight razor. The width of the spine in relation to the width of the blade will automatically provide the correct angle. Ditto on what Siguy said about laying the strop on a flat surface. As you gain experience, you can transition to a hanging strop with great results.

thanks guys. thats a big help!!

What about the amount of passes? I have heard 50 or more?

Originally Posted by jasalvas

What about the amount of passes? I have heard 50 or more?

50 or more is more than enough for some razors and maybe just enough for others while not enough for others. Great answer, I know. But, I can tell you that I don't count. I get into this zone where I'm doing it and I'm not even thinking about it, just sort of zombie like.

I strop every night until I run out of razors to strop. My muscle memory is now there and I don't get the kungfu death-like grip on the razor which leads to overpressure and mistakes. Like I said, I don't count. I don't know that there is such a thing as too much stropping.

But, bad technique will ruin any amount of stropping. 100 laps won't fix bad technique. Bad stropping technique usually translates itself into a bad shave. So, to eliminate that variable, I strop on a board/flat surface. It has become such an important part of my routine. It has been the fast track to good technique. Similarly, I imagine it will help prepare me for honing in some ways.

If you haven't gotten a strop yet, PM me and I'll let you know where you can get a board strop that's quality and won't break the bank and point you to a video on it.

Cheers.