Thread: I'm learning to strop .....

jaswarb suggested to me i should practice with a butter knife. I'm going to try that so I dont do something bade to my razors, but does anyone else have more suggestions. I'm going to be sending my razors out to jaswarb to have him get them shave ready and maybe cleaned up a little and I want to practice good before I attempt it on my own. Please help ....

That's probably the best advice you'll get.

And when you begin stropping with a razor, it might be a good idea to lay the strop flat on a counter at first while you use it.

There are plenty of videos to use for instruction on stropping. At first, go very slowly. Speed has to take second place to accuracy and smoothness in stropping. Flip the razor with your fingers, not your wrist.

You can always practice stropping on some folded newspaper, too. I completely agree with what Ace and 94Terp have told you. Try to flip the blade whilst it is still moving across the strop -- the sudden stop of the blade can nick the strop. That is, while the blade is in motion, lift the blade edge off of the strop before it comes to a complete stop.
The only other significant piece of wisdom I can offer is that friends don't let friends strop drunk. Good luck!

All of the advice is good, BUT...

The only way to become proficient at stropping a razor is to strop a razor, obviously. A butter knife is OK to get an idea of the mechanics but the dynamics are all wrong. Razor has moveable handle/ scales, butter knife doesn't, etc, etc. So, the sooner you put a razor in your hand and put that razor on a strop, the sooner you will develop confidence that you can do it. The more you practice with the actual implements you'll be using, the better you'll get with them. You'll mess up a few times and put some nicks and cuts in your strop. Maybe drop your razor and chip the blade. Just prepare in advance. Never strop over a hard surface, put down a towel or strop over carpet. Go slowly at first, but don't be afraid to speed it up when you feel the urge. Confidence is a big component of stropping. Watch some videos of experts. You'll see no hesitancy. Some guys really attack the strop with their razor, and get really good keen edges. And if you screw up, it's not the end of the world. It's happened to most of us. But if you stick with it, eventually you will be rewarded with the accomplished feeling of stropping expertise and a truly keen, shave ready razor. Good luck!

Great advice honedright. I agree with everything you said there. Bottom line is you just need to get used to it! The muscle memory from the butter knife helps, but it's much different than holding a razor to a strop. Actually stropping for the first few times got my blood flowing pretty good and the nerves got a little jittery. That, of course, resulted in a number of nicks. You're going to nick your strop, so go with a cheaper one as you're starting out. I still have my first one, the filly, from ruprazor.com. I love that thing.

Also...

You didn't mention anything about how your strop is mounted, but make sure that it is firmly mounted and stationary. I've seen guys stropping with their strops on a bath towel bar that will allow the strop to slide back and forth sideways. Not the best especially when learning. If you can, find a place on a wall where you can drive a screw eye into a wall stud. I have a screw eye driven directly into my bathroom sink cabinet. That way you'll have a good stable base minimizing strop movement and allowing a good solid grip. I prefer the strop mounted below the waist with a slight angle upward as the strop is pulled up and into the side just above the hip.

These are the instructions I usually email with a fresh edge to a new user. YMMV.

"If you don't have the experience & muscle memory to strop properly you will damage your edge & strop.
Practising on a single piece of newspaper, the width of your strop,held by a small bulldog clip, is good. Too much pressure will make the paper slip from the clip. Also try using a butterknife or similar to develop manual dexterity. Actually, even a tooth brush will work. The motion is similar to twisting a volume knob but use your other fingers to assist.
Once you can comfortably flip the butterknife 180º back & forth try with your razor then finally move to your paper strop. If you feel you have it wired move to the leather but go slow.A little practice can save a lot in honing fees.... & leather."