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Just out of complete curiousity, but how long did it take from being a beginner to become a someone who can strop with both delicacy and fury?
I have been using straights for only a year and a half but it had only taken around six months to get my style down pat.
I feel like it took a couple months to get stropping down pretty well. Im sure everyone's answer will be different.
After the second nick my skill level improved greatly and mysteriously.
My abilities on the strops developed over several months.
I thought I had it down after about a month or so, and it did work ok.
Then as I kept at it, it got better and better.
I'd say a full six months before I got to a level where all my different blades got the maximum from my strops.
I'd say it took me a few months of stropping daily before I was really comfortable with it.
It's an alien motion for most folks so it does take a bit of time to get familiar with it and not nick the strop.
Yep, after my first nick I got some invaluable instruction here: Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place WikiQuote:
Originally Posted by Stubear
After my second nick I went back to the above link and let AFDavis11's info sink more deeply into my rock-hard noggin. I feel pretty confident now, but when I feel any wild, caveman tendancies wanting to kick in, I remember... supress... and strop.
:nono:
'Bout 3 months... that sounds about right.
;)
IIRC, there were a couple months worth of solid learning...watching how fast I was moving, the blade, the tension on the strop. I'd say by 5 or 6 months I was stropping well enough to have a positive effect on the razor.
Dunno about delicacy and fury, but it was probably a year before I got to the level where I would have been comfortable having a go on someone else's expensive strop. (Knowing that there was absolutely zero chance I'd nick it, I mean.)
I can't remember that far back.:)
I'd rather strop on his most excellent cat than his strop... even at this time...Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
I'm pretty sure I'd never nick his cat, but if I ever nicked his strop... I'd never forgive myself...
LOL!
A few months to get competent and comfortable with it, but 4 1/2 years later I'm still making slight improvements
The last strop I saw posted with great pride looked like it was thrown under the deck of a very capable lawn mower... and the caption read: still works fine...Quote:
Originally Posted by rodb
I hope that wasn't yours... Didn't look anything like mine... so I quit worrying about it...
:D
I would have to say that each time I think that I have achieved proficiency at stropping I find myself discovering another nuance that improves my technique and ultimately my edges.
Yes... no matter what I do it seems to get better.
I have stopped nicking my strop, but the way I flip the blade in anticipation of the next flip... makes the last one more important...
I do find myself stopping mid strop when I know the next flip isn't going to happen... trail off the stroke... lifting off the leather and picking up the razor in my hand... and taking a breath.. and a better grip.
I guess earlier on... that resulted in a nick.
I guess when we slow down and talk about these things we find out all manner of stuff we can avoid...
:)
Wait a minute!!!! You knew that!!!!
thanks...
tc
I got my first strop, and wrecked it....that was about 45 years ago.
Then I got a new strop....that was about 40 years ago....and it lasted a long time.
Next, injured right hand and had to learn to strop left-handed....trashed it...10 years ago.
Got another new strop...."Lefty" thought he was doing pretty good, until....
Discovered SRP, watched AFDavis11's wonderful video/wiki....last year sometime.
Got inspired, bought a primo new strop, started paying attention anew....9 months ago.
Now: no nicks, and a vast improvement altogether.
Still learning.
Thanks SRP and AFDavis 11 !
Paul
about 4 months of stropping twice a week before I felt semi-comfortable. My real trick now is getting used to stropping different razors, seems i need to adjust my technique for every different one
As we've seen, there won't be a standard answer. It totally depends on the individual - manual dexterity, hand/eye coordination, sensitivity to audio & tactile stimulation - they all come into play to strop effectively. How quickly an individual can adjust to any of those factors is dependant on their own learning curve. Myself, I felt comfortable stropping very early on, but was probably not entirely competant for a few months. Stropping is like any skill though, you only get better with practice, and when you think you know everything about stropping you learn more.
Personally when ever I encounter a new straight it feels like I am starting anew. I judge my own skill based upon the time it takes to get to grips with each blade. A well shaped spine helps too. I have found my Red Imp and Wosternholm (reground by Alex Jacques) are the easiest out of my collection thanks to how they feel.
I suppose that the quality of your first strop could be a factor too. Also your state of mind when you do it. I only shave at night since in the morning I'm far too tired and the risk of losing a cheek is too great.
Started straight shaving exclusively about 2 months ago and just now not dulling it down after the felt...This past week i did not have to touch up the blade mid-week. I have also watched the stropping videos (several times) in Wiki links and am just now stopping at about 40 per minute. Don't know that I am competent yet but it is improving. Yesterdays shave was the most comfortable yet. Its so encouraging to know that nobody starts off with BBS shaves.
6 months is probably the average from incompetency, to adequate to fluid competency. Nicks are like scars and wrinkles, they add character.
Took about a year for me to exploit maybe 95% of what the strop was capable of.
The hardest part for me was rolling the razor. You're, in essence, rolling a surface that's rectangular in shape. I'm still not near to where I'd like to be. But, who is?
Six months to competency and more than three years in, I still slow down every now and again and eke out more performance. It was the single most difficult part of the process for me to get my head (and muscle memory) around.
It's hard to say, because there really wasn't a moment that I suddenly realized I was proficient. It was a gradual process where eventually I thought about what I was doing less and less. Now that I've been at it a couple years, other than counting laps, I don't even think while stropping, at least not about the stropping. Some days I don't even count.
You will know yourself when you get into the zone and your stropping becomes one complete fluid movement throughout the cycle. Then it just feels right, sounds right and ultimately shaves sweetly
I also am beginning to develop problems with my hands that I fear are the beginnings of arthritis. That has started to put a limit to the number of reps I can do at a given time. As mentioned above, it makes rolling the razor real interesting.