Thread: Razor skipping. What to do?

Well I'm still in my 3rd week of SR shaving, and I my Illinois 127 strop came the other day. I practiced with a dull knife etc. Any way this morning I decided to strop my razor. I did 10 passes on the linen and about 40 on the leather.
No pressure etc. (or so I thought). When I started shaving the razor is jumping and skipping down my right cheek so I stopped shaving and continued with my SE.

So I know I screwed up on stropping; my question is does the blade need to be re honed or should I try freshening it up with CROX on the inside part of the linen strop. Just not sure how to proceed with getting the razor back to good.

Thanks

was it professionally honed previously? if so do 5-10 laps on the crox and see if theres any improvement, if not, it may need a rehone.

on the topic of stropping, the first thing you should focus on is making sure the edge is in contact with the strop then from there work on the pressure of the edge.
there should be a nice pull or suction from the edge, how much depends on the strop you have.
and theres always the urge to frantically strop away at a million miles an hour but if you take it slow, the edges will be worth it

I still take it slower on certain razors because going a little faster isnt worth another 15-20mins starting over.

regards
Alex

Perhaps you have rolled the edge. You could try the following: lay the strop down on a table (or anything flat) and strop your razor on it. That way, you cannot have incorrect cupping of the strop Make sure the strop won't fall off the side of the table or something. If that doesn't work, go to the crox.

3 weeks and you just got the strop ??? am I reading that right that you shaved the edge for 3 weeks without stropping then when you finally stropped it you lost the edge ????

I like to always say whatever you mess up with a strop can normally be corrected with "Proper Stropping" but I am just not sure with this

As said flat strop to start. Only thing I would add is 50 Linen and 100 leather. I usually do 35 linen 70 leather but you might need the extra. Your not going to over strop.

Hard to say if crox will bring it back. I guess start there and work backwards. Extended shaves without stropping will have a definite affect on the edge.

Yes, the razors were professionally honed. I have 2 razors that I had honed at the same time and I had been rotating them plus a schick injector every 3rd day so the razors only had about 5-6 shaves each. I started out just doing one pass. Last weekend I started doing 2. I new I needed the strop soon so ordered one. I had read or seen in a video that you don't need to strop every day so I decided to shave with them since I knew stropping might mess up the edge. I think I got pretty good performance from the razor until this AM. I'll try the un-stropped one tomorrow and see.

Thanks to all for the advice. I think I'll try flat stropping with more laps first and then try crox if that doesn't do it.

Originally Posted by JaberCrow

... I had read or seen in a video that you don't need to strop every day ...

While this is true, it usually goes for more experienced guys. When you're new to straight shaving, poor shaving technique will dull the edge faster than an experienced hand. Yes, you can get several shaves out of a razor without stropping in between, but I would recommend stropping before each shave. You'll have to learn it anyway, might as well practise often

Originally Posted by Laurens

poor shaving technique will dull the edge faster than an experienced hand.....but I would recommend stropping before each shave. You'll have to learn it anyway, might as well practise often

Amen to that.

Also, +1 to table stropping. It really allows you to focus on your stropping technique.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ght=Stroptober

This is a fantastic thread with *many* stropping videos available. Also, for stropping on a flat surface, have a look at gssixguns' video on his bench strop:

gssixgun Gemstar Custom Bench Strop - YouTube

There's more valuable information in the stickies in the Beginners sub-forum as well.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Laurens

While this is true, it usually goes for more experienced guys. When you're new to straight shaving, poor shaving technique will dull the edge faster than an experienced hand. Yes, you can get several shaves out of a razor without stropping in between, but I would recommend stropping before each shave. You'll have to learn it anyway, might as well practise often

I agree. I can get two shaves before needing to strop but prefer to strop each time.