Thread: Strop or not

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I tried it without stropping then with 10-15 strops after and before and I think the 10-15 strops does gives a better shave. When I went back to the 40-60 I found the results were not as good as the 10-15 strops. I use a SRD modular strop. His more laps really necessary or needed. Open to your opinions.

Well, there you have your answer. May be no stropping works for him, but if it doesn't work for you there is no reason to get inferior shaves just because somebody says that a different routine works great for him.

Stropping on leather before shaving is the standard practice that hasn't changed for over 200 years. I suppose the argument is that 12k, 16k, or 30k grit hones are the new invention that obsoletes stropping, but those have been around for the last decade and if that were the case chances are we'd have a good number of highly experienced people reach the same conclusion, which isn't the case.

I watched the same vid and thought about it, but I still strop. I admit over time I do not do as many laps. I went to doing around 20/40 laps to 15/30. Sometimes, I might just do 10/20. I think you can go straight from the stones and shave with a razor too, but where is the fun in that. The only thing we have is anecdotal evidence, albeit a lot of anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of stropping. Like others have said, do what works for you.

I hesitate to mention the hanging hair test due to how frequently it is misused and misinterpreted by beginners who have absolutely no d&mn business attempting or interpreting it, but I have found that the HHT is always (ALWAYS) improved by stropping, regardless of which finishing hone I use.

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!