Thread: Stropping problem - getting the razor to "sit down" evenly.

Sir, I think you do it to the front or smooth side. At least that's how I do mine

Originally Posted by nodakjohns

Sir, I think you do it to the front or smooth side. At least that's how I do mine

Are you all talking about using actual shaving lather then running a bottle over it? I'm still unclear what @substance was actually describing doing.

You shouldn't need or necessarily do anything other than rubbing the strop with the palm of your hand. The oils from your hand will work the strop in nicely, as will time.

Stopping is a fundamental to this hobby, and learning to do it properly is key. As has been suggested, this will also help work the strop in, take a butter knife and keep the spine of the knife always on the strop, flipping the knife at the end of each stroke / lap without lifting the spine from the strop.

Practice this frequently, speed kills, it's not a race, and remember to palm rub the strop until the surface of the strop get warm...I do this a couple of times a week at least, and when stropping your razor, focus on the blade, go slow, don't use a lot of pressure, and keep the spine on the strop...do this, and with time, you'll be proficient in one of the main fundamentals.

This is a time based experience task, there is no, what's the saying, "put nine women in a room and get a baby in a month", to this...takes time, patience and practice....enjoy it!


edited to add: I have a heavy Illinois 827 strop and the SRD 3" Roo strop, many feel the Roo strop is to thin, and have complaints about it. Many feel the 827 peels or sheds to much, or doesn't give enough feedback. These are common complaints that it's always the tool, never the user...your leather belt would suffice as a strop if needed. Some put lather on the strop, I don't and never have. The strop will work itself in, wrinkles, warps and such will go away with use, and as suggested, if any waves or wrinkles bother you, usually a bottle will go a long way to start removing them...

@phrank - I've had this strop for months now, and rub my hand across it before use daily. When I pull it taught, the main issue is that it doesn't create a flat surface. There's always areas that are slightly lower/higher than others, so parts of the blade don't touch as I'm drawing it across.

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

@phrank - I've had this strop for months now, and rub my hand across it before use daily. When I pull it taught, the main issue is that it doesn't create a flat surface. There's always areas that are slightly lower/higher than others, so parts of the blade don't touch as I'm drawing it across.

Interesting...I never actually pull my strop, "tight", I always leave enough slack that there is some cup to it, IIRC, this is the proper manner, if there is such a thing LOL, I find with the slight cup to it, it provides a better contact between the blade and the strop. Most of the vids I've seen with barbers stropping, they never have the strop pulled tightly, you'll always see a good amount of slack / cupping...

Originally Posted by Phrank

Interesting...I never actually pull my strop, "tight", I always leave enough slack that there is some cup to it, IIRC, this is the proper manner, if there is such a thing LOL, I find with the slight cup to it, it provides a better contact between the blade and the strop. Most of the vids I've seen with barbers stropping, they never have the strop pulled tightly, you'll always see a good amount of slack / cupping...

Hmmm... that's an interesting point. Maybe I'm pulling too tight which is the cause of the problem. I'll leave a bit more slack tonight. I was concerned about slack because I didn't want to "roll" the edge.

I've got a dozen strops, like any normal person, and I've never had one with "ripples/creases". I would think that would be a problem and I would take a shot at the bottle roll over with some pressure to try and flatten them if nothing else. The lather on the strop/bottle method is an old barber thing. I've never tried it either but here is a thread with pros and cons if you want to investigate it further. Posts by 'honedright' and Neil Miller are particularly instructive though on opposite sides of the method.

When I strop I have enough pressure on the spine to keep the razor on the surface and do the flip in a way that the edge just skims the surface with no pressure. I also do an X of sorts since I use 2 1/2" strops. Also, you say "semi taut". Try taut as you can get and see if that doesn't help. Not sure that it will. Worst case scenario, get a new strop.

Major,

If you mean a 3" English Bridle IV instead of 3" English Leather IV, that is a good strop. As Phrank advises, with daily hand rubdowns and stropping, your strop will come around. Give it time. Unless the strop is defective, then that is another issue. Please get in touch with the vendor and explain your problem.

Originally Posted by Obie

Major,

If you mean a 3" English Bridle IV instead of 3" English Leather IV, that is a good strop. As Phrank advises, with daily hand rubdowns and stropping, your strop will come around. Give it time. Unless the strop is defective, then that is another issue. Please get in touch with the vendor and explain your problem.

You're right - English Bridle. I read reviews before buying and sounded like a good strop, but after 2 months or so of near daily use (including hand rubbing) it just doesn't seem to have broken in. When I draw the blade, because of the way the strop flexes, it's very difficult to keep contact across the entire blade for the entire pass. Various parts of the blade are constantly losing contact.

Major,

English Bridle is a stiff strop and sometimes takes a while to break in. So yes, continue the daily hand rubbing. I do so no matter what type of a strop, shell cordovan to English Bridle. All these years, I have always kept my daily strops pristine by avoiding conditioners; the oils from your hands are plenty. I also give the strop additional slack, any type of strop, since that seems to add a magnetic feel to the leather. Finally, I strop the old barber way by angling the toe slightly forward going up — which in essence automatically gives you the X pattern — and returning with the heel forward. This is a little hard to do at first, but it does wonders with your blade. You'll get there little by little.