Thread: One thing keeping me on edge...how hard is it to strop properly?

Originally Posted by JeffE

Get yourself a PRACTICE strop to start off with. Trust me on this.

+1

As everyone else has said, stropping is actually quite easy.

Just take your time (as mentioned speed plays no part in what stropping does to refresh a blade). And use no pressure other than the weight of the blade.

Two things do take a little getting used to though:

1. Developing the habit of rolling the blade over on the spine when starting a new pass, and
2. Not making any tiny backward (e.g. edge-first) movements

It only takes a little backward motion for the edge to slice or gouge the strop. Once you develop the proper habit/muscle-memory this won't be an issue... but, in the first couple weeks odds are it WILL happen (you'll be surprised at how easy it is, and likely you are, to make a tiny backward jerk at the end of your rolling motion during the first few tries)...

...so, IMHO, a practice strop is a VERY worthwhile investment. And if it's still in good shape after you move onto a higher-end strop, you can hang onto it and use it as a travel strop.

Like a lot of things stropping is easy once you know how. I remember when I first tried electric arc welding with stick. Getting that rod to burn and not stick was a major PITA. By the time I got out of apprentice school welding was as easy as falling off a log.

Stropping would've been easier for me if I had learned correctly to start. Unfortunately I didn't so I had to unlearn some bad habits I had developed. Here is the 1961 barber manual excerpt with the real tip on how to strop..... IMO...

Originally Posted by BGAndrea

Should I go with a paddle strop? Maybe it will illeminate the variable of sagging but IDK...

Actually sagging is not the problem people think it is. Downward pressure &/or lifting the spine is a bigger problem.

You do not even need to pull the strop super tight. The more tension on your anchor hand the more tension in your whole body including the razor hand.

I pull the strop only tight enough to make it flat. The spring scale says 500 grams. If the strop sags I'm pushing down too hard.

Originally Posted by CarrieM

A paddle strop isn't necessary at all. Practice a few times with a butterknife on your strop first making sure you keep it flat and flipping it over on the back edge. If you roll the edge of the razor it's not the end of the world, Most of us have done it a time or two

Ditto! I bought a really cheap razor, not shave worthy, to practice stropping with and it really helped. A butter knife should work well, too.