Does it make any difference the speed that u strop as long as the technique is correct ?
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Does it make any difference the speed that u strop as long as the technique is correct ?
I wouldn't think so.
Pressure is more important than speed. And when you are first leaning to strop, speed is your enemy until your muscle memory for flipping the blade is developed. If you try and emulate an experienced stropper in speed without the muscle memory in place - you will make hamburger out of your strop. Ask me how I know:D
The question your asking is more on the advanced side of this, isn't it????
Not the normal Newb question...
If I am right in that assumption then I can dispense with all the normal stropping advice and assume you already know how to strop...
Then yes, you can go too slow, at least that is what some of the tests that were done a few years back seemed to show..
Just to make sure all the Newbs don't get the wrong idea here, going faster doesn't help either :) but the tests showed that once the speed drops too far the effects of the stropping did too...
You need a good steady rhythm, you don't need hyper speed, about 1-1.5 second per lap is plenty fast, that is much slower then you guys think :)
I also think that rhytm is more important than speed itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
Adding to the above, ensuring consistent pressure throughout the the strokes is a good bit of advice I've always followed...
I'd play around with the pressure before worrying about the speed. If you're stropping at all, you're probably doing it fast enough.
There are several things that assist new guys in cutting up or nicking their strops. Stropping too fast, stropping too slow and usually stropping with very tentative pressure are normally the culprits. The keys as mentioned above are really helpful. Develop a rhythm that works for you like a one one thousand or boom shakka lakka or whatever. Hold the strop taught, but not tight so that your arm cramps. You do want a little pressure but you don't want so much that you are bearing down. Keeping the edge and the spine on the strop maintaining that consistent pressure and changing directions by rolling the razor on the spine are also key. Typically if you stop the razor on the strop, you will end up with a nick. If the razor slips off the strop, you can end up with a nick. Sounds like a lot of precautions, but truly, once you get in a little practice, it becomes easier very quickly.
I saw the thread title and at first read "Stropping on Speed." OK, glad it wasn't that.
One thing I never see mentioned is ergonomics; I found that a proper mounting height really helped improve my technique. I put up a dedicated hanger at the same height as my elbow, measured standing with my elbow at my side and my forearm bent 90 degrees toward the wall. That way, I hold the strop horizontal and at the same height as my opposite (stropping) elbow. This really helps me keep the blade flat and all the motion in the same plane.
I should mount a little bracket on the wall so I can do the same thing with my paddle strop.
Just wanted to throw that into the mix.
I agree with all the above. One of the things I found hampered my stropping to begin with was how I held the razor. How you hold the shank can impact on what kind of rhythm you can develop, because if you don't get the fingers in the right position for you you will have to adjust them every time you flip.
I like to hold the shank between my thumb and pointer finger, with the scales resting in the remaining fingers. For the "away" stroke, my thumb is actually on the top corner of the shank closest to me and my pointer rests flat on the underside. When I flip it is just using those two fingers, and not the wrist (or, not too much wrist). On the "toward" stroke, my thumb is on top of the shank, more toward the edge farthest away from me. It is a bit hard to explain not having a razor in front of me, but I think that is about right.
The secret to developing fluidity, and hence rhythm, in stropping is to flip maybe 10cm from the ends whilst the razor is still in motion - the spine never lifts off the strop. It takes a bit of practice, and some fiddling around to find the grip that best suits how you go about things, but you'll get there in the end.
James.
I think I hold mine the same way, James, out and back. But I don't flip it until I've come to a dead stop and in fact begun the return, for fear of A) nicking the strop by bringing the sharp edge over too quickly, and B) running that nice edge into the strop's handle or anchor. Those fears are both based in experience :(
What is going on / how can I stop a pop or slap sound when I flip my razor. Ot geels like ot just flips the last little bit because of the flat sides of the shank.
I'm just gonna say 'as slow as you need to go to maintain good form' and leave it at that...
Carl
I get that too sometimes, in order to stop it, you need to be moving your razor when your razor edge begins to touch the leather but sometimes it happens, I don't think it harms anything. Its cool to slap leather :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Swerve
I get the slapping sound because of how vigorously I flip the razor. I have concerned myself with it, but my results seem to speak for themself, so I no longer worry.
For what it is worth, some guys REALLY hammer the blade into the strop...I would have said that this is a really bad thing to do if I were to simply guess....but I might be wrong considering the level of experience this fellow has;)
I would not suggest that anyone try and emulate this...my POINT is that there are a lot of ways to get to the destination...find the best for you and do not worry about the rest unless you just want to experiment.
Skip to 2:20 and watch him let 'er rip! He seems to do it the same way in all his videos (I would NOT necessarily recommend this...it just shows that many people can potentially achieve great results with very different methods)
http://youtu.be/wXkjXfuNbpg
I wonder what grit his palm is;) I think mine is a bit higher, but I move a bit slower when I do it! That said, stropping on my palm seemed to have surprisingly good results for me FWIW
Okay. While we're at it, I'm developing slight marks on the upper left hand side of the strop from the toe of the blade. This makes me think I'm applying too much pressure to the blade, so I've endeavored to try to remember to keep my elbow(right) parallel with the strop, or slightly lower, to reduce this pressure. Am I off base, or does this ring true for anyone else? I never noticed this with my cowhide strop, but now with the roo it's come to my attention.
Can you describe the marks? Are they tiny nicks or just increased wear? If it is just extra wear on the upper left, I would guess your angle is biased on the flip (I am the opposite, I contact the lower right first, but then level out as I start my stroke).
It may or may not be a bad thing...it could just be your thing? But if you want to correct it, I think your suggested approach might be solid. Another would be to simply stop at the distal flip, place the razor carefully on the strop, and then start up again. After a few days of doing that, see if you notice a difference (use video, you would be surprised what you see from a lower angle!)
Another (possibly instant) cure might be to mount the strop a bit higher. Where is the fixture point relative to your elbow height?
Mine is mounted to my bedroom door knob with a velcro strap used to keep my monster bass (guitar) cables neat, I ran it through the hook, around the knob and tightened down. It is actually sturdy, I pulled pretty tight to make sure it wouldn't come loose during stropping :dropjaw: It's mounted in line with my belly button so on the down stroke I let gravity and the razors weight do most of the work. I pull it up just a bit, pull taught leaving just a very little amount of lax, then lay the blade down and tilt the strop inward and let the razor and strop meet. Borrowed that from Lynn's dvd when he was demonstrating barber's hones (Thanks Lynn). I was having trouble keeping the spine flat until I did that...now it's smooth stropping :D I start slowly about 1 1/2 second stroke for two or three, once I got my rhythm I speed up to a constant fluid motion...can't go warp speed like some of the guys!
Are they little feathery nicks?Quote:
Originally Posted by Costabro
If so, then all you need to do is ensure that you are starting to move the razor away from the edge before you complete your flip. Unless you are doing that, the edge WILL cut slightly into your leather, and leave marks where you are ending your stroke.
Michael
It's likely you are still moving the razor a little bit when you flop the blade over. Its real easy to do so just stop flop and roll :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Costabro