Thread: what am i going wrong

I am trying hard not to press the edge on the strop but this then leaves intermittent gaps under the blade I have attached some pics. Pics are upside down sorry but i think you get the point

the blade touches at the sides of the strop but not the middle this varies slightly along the strop

Perhaps the strop is cupping. Also I would have less of the heel on the strop. You can always try using a x-stroke to help with complete edge coverage. Is this happening no matter which way the razor travels?

That is quite normal IME.
No strop is 100% flat, and so you will see those kind of things when holding your razor on the strop.
Once you start doing an x-stroke with a minimum of speed and give in the strop, your entire edge should get a proper stropping.
The give on a full-lenght strop should in my opinion be about a half to a full inch.
Or thereabouts.

Try it out
Oh, and do search out the stroptober thread too.
That is filled with good info on stropping.

When I strop, along with a light but firm pressure, I even apply a slight twist to the blade so that I do press down the edge onto the leather. However, the whole time, of course both the spine AND the edge make contact with the leather! As long as there is full contact, I do not worry much about too much pressure! You do need some pressure!

If your strop is "cupped" or lower in the middle, just bend the leather along its length to remedy the cupping. It's an easy fix.

There seem to be a lot of posts lately about applying pressure while stropping, mostly by newbies.

In my book that isn't right - the only pressure needed is roughly that of the weight of the blade itself, in other words the bare minimum to ensure proper edge and spine contact.

Excessive force leads to a less than stellar performance - it can even be detrimental.

Strops cup and crown, razors have kinks and warps - that's only natural. Lay a blade on a flat hone (not the tang part, just the blade in front of the heel stabilisers) and it isn't exactly unknown to see areas where the blade does not make contact. It's just a fact of life.

In my opinion the easy way out is to use an x-stroke to ensure that all the blade contacts the leather at one time or another - an x-stroke with minimal pressure, that is.

Regards,
Neil

For exactly the reasons Neil Miller stated, I always use an X stroke, even on a 3" wide strop, with weight of the blade pressure only. That way the whole blade gets equal contact.

what about a blade with a frown in it? might not be the strop

My experience matches what Birnando describes. One must use enough pressure to ensure good, firm contact with the edge. Flex in the strop is very beneficial. I've used such a technique for five years with my DOVO #41 razor and Illinois 361 canvas/leather strop. It has not needed honing once in that time. I've shaved with it on average about four times a week over that period.