Thread: Strop or not

You can get several great strops, both new & vintage for what those very high grit water stones cost & end up with similar or better results. Honing & stropping do different things to a blade.
Slawman

The validity of my opinion should be questioned due to my lack of experience. However, I have Shaptons up to 30k. I was unable to get a good comfortable edge until I started to strop at least 50 laps prior to shaving.

Reality check...

With every shave, you cause minute damage to the edge. This has been revealed under SEM microscopy and occurs in the form of minute deformations in the edge with very small sections folded over at the apex of the edge. Stropping re-aligns the edge. Without stropping, those folded areas are much more likely to break off, leaving small voids in the edge. Over time that leads to a much more saw-toothed edge and that leads to a much more uncomfortable shave.

Short answer...
Stropping will give you a more comfortable and longer lasting edge.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Reality check...

With every shave, you cause minute damage to the edge. This has been revealed under SEM microscopy and occurs in the form of minute deformations in the edge with very small sections folded over at the apex of the edge. Stropping re-aligns the edge. Without stropping, those folded areas are much more likely to break off, leaving small voids in the edge. Over time that leads to a much more saw-toothed edge and that leads to a much more uncomfortable shave.

Short answer...
Stropping will give you a more comfortable and longer lasting edge.

There aren't many wiser words ever spoken about shaving, the damage to the edge and what stropping does to correct that damage!