Thread: Problems with a strop. I need help

Hello everyone!
I need some help with a strop as I have some questions.
I've been using a SR for about a month now, and - if I may say so - my usual stropping technique and routine are solid. I'm not trying to get fast at it, I'm just trying to get a constant rhythm and I go by ear, listening to the blade as it goes along the length of the strop.

The strop is 3" wide so I don't have to worry about an X pattern which makes the whole process easier. I also have to say that I always do both arm and hanging hair tests after each stropping just to be sure I'm not screwing things up.

Now, I do have two main questions. First of all, I've heard that is good to strop both before and after shaving, so what I've been doing is after I shave, I strop with the linen side to get the blade dry. At night, before going to bed I strop with the linen side and after with the leather side so the blade is ready for my morning shave. So that's my question... is there a difference if I strop the night before or not really?

And the second one is the tricky one. I bought my strop used, the guy who sold it to me had the leather replaced a couple of weeks before and you could tell as it didn't have almost - practically - no scratches and not a single nick or cut. And I got to see it and feel it before I bought it.

As you can see from the pictures, the leather side is not 100% flat... it has some little waves along the length of the strop and the thing is that they are not at the same "latitude" of the strop. This is my second question, is this a problem? if so, how do I fix it?
By the way, I have to say that since I've got the strop it has always been stored hanging and not bent.

Again, I really appreciate any help or tips on this regard.

Thank you and sorry for the long post.

Cheers.

E.

It straightens out when you use it right/ Don't worry about it. If it really bugs you hang a weight from the bottom as it hangs but don't stratch the heck out of it. I strop razors in my rotation about 25/30 laps linen 75 to a hundred laps leather. I started doing it every Sunday and got up to every other Sunday, and now ,,,, once a,,every 3 weeks I think. I am not saying you should wait that long. Just that overnight isn't going to hurt a thing.

Strop my razors the night before using them and it doesn't seemed to have hurt anything.

Bob

I will strop night before, or if I'm downstairs may do a couple of laps.

In terms of your 3" strop, I still do an X pattern, because, as you pointed out, the surface of the strop is uneven, and you want your razor's edge to be entirely in consistent contact with the strop. Going only two directions on the strop doesn't guarantee that the edge of the blade is being uniformly in contact with the strop, an X pattern ensure the entire edge of your blade is getting uniformly stropped....at least that's my experience. YMMV.

Originally Posted by BobH

Strop my razors the night before using them and it doesn't seemed to have hurt anything.

Bob

Good point Bob!!

Here at home, after shaving I thoroughly dry my razors, then lightly oil them and put them away and strop right before I use them next.

However, when I hone razors for others, they are fully stropped, then oiled and packaged for shipping back to the owner. I always include instructions that they only need to rinse the oil off with hot tap water and shave.

So far I've had no complaints on my edges.

I also Highly Recommend that after shaving they thoroughly dry the blade and apply a light coat of oil to the blade and edge. I feel this helps protect both from oxidization which would affect both especially the edge.

While stropping on linen would 'help' remove any microscopic oxidized steel, I feel that it's steel needlessly wasted and would also contribute to the edge going south sooner than it needs to!

As always, these are just my opinions and I have no scientific prof to back it up!

Thank you everyone for your replies!

The thing with the strop is that when I pull it taught I can still feel the waves along the length of the strop.
I try not to pull to hard as I've read that this is not a very good idea.

What I've been trying to do is to strop the blades on the "flatter" parts of the strop and avoid the waves.

You might have some luck in evening the strop out by pulling it taut at either end and working it up and down over the edge of that marble worktop with a sharp angle in the strop, face side up. It needs an awful lot of doing this to work, but it may help. If you get cupping, just work the edges down with your hand while pulling it taut, immediately before stropping.

If the waves have been caused by skiving the leather so that it is thicker in places, then I don't think you can remedy it. You can check for any significant thickening with a micrometer, but tiny increments are OK - you are looking for 0.5 mm, probably more.

Regards,
Neil

From what I see in the above pics,I would not worry about It.As above use an X or windshield wiper pattern.
New strops take awhile to break in (I hate new strops).
When you hand Rub the strop, cup your hand a bit,hand rub it until it is warm.
With use I would bet the strop will be perfectally flat in a couple mos. Not to say it even needs to be.

Hi, I strop my blade after shaving 50/50, I don't strop at all before shaving. Sorry I cant help with the strop waviness though.

Roy, lets not get into the science of stropping, you know it will turn into a debacle .