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Thread: Why an "X"?

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    Junior Member ScottChapin's Avatar
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    Default Why an "X"?

    Why should the stropping motion be in an "X"? Intuitively, I think going back and forth along the same diagonal would be quicker and more natural. Does it maintain uniform wear on the strop, or is there another reason?

    Thanks,

    Scott Chapin

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    I used Nakayamas for my house mainaman's Avatar
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    When you strop on a narrow strop you have to do an X stroke to strop the entire edge.
    For me even on 3" wide strop the stropping motion comes as a slight X.
    Stefan

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    Junior Member ScottChapin's Avatar
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    I guess I don't see it. If I pull from upper let to lower right, roll the blade and push from lower right to upper left, the entire length of each side gets stropped. It just eliminates having to slide the blade from one side to the other at the end of each stroke.
    Last edited by ScottChapin; 02-03-2012 at 10:36 AM.

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    Senior Member tlittle's Avatar
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    As long as the entire edge is getting stropped it shouldn't matter (I'm assuming that you're talking about doing half an x-stroke, flipping the blade, and then going back in the same line, without moving the blade up to start at the heel again)

    I think the main reason that folks do the x is that it's a more comfortable arm motion (for most of us-YMMV and all that) to draw the blade towards the body, rather than pushing up away from the body. I might be wrong, but it seems that you can also add more pressure than necessary if you're doing a pushing motion rather than a pulling motion.
    grogyar likes this.

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    I used Nakayamas for my house mainaman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScottChapin View Post
    I guess I don't see it. If I pull from upper let to lower right, roll the blade and push from lower right to upper left, the entire length of each side gets stropped. It just eliminates having to slide the blade from onside to the other at the end of each stroke.
    This will be the case for a 3" strop, not going to work this way for a 2" or 2.5" strop, you will not have the entire edge on the strop.
    Stefan

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    The Great & Powerful Oz onimaru55's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScottChapin View Post
    Why should the stropping motion be in an "X"? Intuitively, I think going back and forth along the same diagonal would be quicker and more natural. Does it maintain uniform wear on the strop, or is there another reason?

    Thanks,

    Scott Chapin

    If your razor is perfectly true at spine & edge & your strop wide enough. No problemo doing what you describe.

    If you have a razor with a warp or a smiling style blade you will not contact the whole edge without some modification to your stroke. The X gives you full contact on such blades even on a 1.5" strop
    “The white gleam of swords, not the black ink of books, clears doubts and uncertainties and bleak outlooks.”

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    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
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    Because it is harder to learn, and much more difficult to master, and we all enjoy laughing behind the new guy's backs


    Just Kidding

    Like OZ just said, in a perfect world, with a perfect strop, and a dead straight razor, and you doing a perfect stropping stroke, every time, you can go straight up and down... or pretty much any pattern, so far I haven't found that perfect situation

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    Junior Member ScottChapin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mainaman View Post
    This will be the case for a 3" strop, not going to work this way for a 2" or 2.5" strop, you will not have the entire edge on the strop.
    Why not? You'd just be going heel to tip in one stroke and tip to heel in the opposite stroke. Maybe that's the issue. You shouldn't perhaps start at the tip and finish at the heel. Maybe that apples to much pressure to the tip.

    It just seems like a figure eight motion is awkward and inefficient.

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    Junior Member ScottChapin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by onimaru55 View Post
    The X gives you full contact on such blades even on a 1.5" strop
    Why wouldn't back and forth on a slant give full contact?

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    Senior Member cutalot's Avatar
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    most people do a x either on the hone or the strop because it works.no hone is perfectly flat and even if it was your razors bevel isnt either. same gos with the strop. by doing a x you hedge your bets

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