Thread: When can I strop

Hi Gentlemen
Can I get some advice on when to strop prior to shaving.
it seems the general consensus is that you should strop immediately prior to shaving, but is there any reason that I shouldn't strop the night before, as long as I have let the razor 'rest' for 24 hours after the last shave?
I have jumped in with both feet and have three razors coming, TI, Dovo and a Boker arriving over the next week and my thoughts were to use one, let it rest then use the next and so on.
My reasoning behind stroping in the evenings, was to give myself more time as I learn to get it right.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
D

Some like it strop, some like it cold. Stupid comment aside it seems shavers will strop as they please. General consensus is to strop just before shaving. Some will strop between passes and some immediately after shaving. I have stropped the night before and found I didn't like the overnight edge. The only time I don't strop before a shave is with a newly honed edge since it was stropped as the final stage before shaving. I suggest you try stropping at night, then try before the shave for a while and see which suits you best.

Also, great debate ongoing is how much on linen, or felt, and how much on leather. I'm currently at 15 on chalk loaded linen, 30 on hard felt and 120 on English Bridle leather. And that could all change in a heartbeat if I feel I've read about a "better" way. Experiment and judge quality of edge and shave to see what suits your face the best.

One caution, use crox very seldom, all that seems to do is waste steel.

I'm pretty sure there is no right or wrong answer, as with many things straight razor, what works for you best is the right way.

I strop at least 20 on linen and 40 on leather after my shave and then at least 40 on leather prior to the shave. This numbers can be sometimes doubled, it just depends on how I feel at the time, but the numbers have certainly increased as I have gained experience and knowledge about the feel of a proper blade.

With good technique, I doubt you could do too many laps.

There are as many answers to that as there are members on srp

I have done both, and it seemed to work out pretty much the same.
My routine is this:
20-30 on linen and 40-60 on leather immediately before a shave, followed by about 20 passes on leather immediately after a shave.

This has been my drill for a few years now and it seems to work perfectly for me.
It is enough to keep the blade going for a good while, and the after-stropping removes any moisture that could affect the edge in any way.

Firstly you really don't need to rest the blade, no one has come up with a good reason to do so that i have read, despite what dovo say.

As has been said you will just need to try and see, I usually strop after then also a few passes before the next shave.

As a side note I generally shave in the evenings.

I strop the night before and immediately after shaving.

I use the linen and leather both times resulting in two sessions before a shave. YMMV.

Yes, everyone has a different routine. I strop the evening before, 10 linen and 60 or so on leather and after the shave with 10 on felt to make sure the edge is dry. The stropping on felt is after thoroughly wiping down the blade and inbetween the scales to get rid of any water.

I doubt anyone "rests" a blade between uses.

Bob

60 linen 60 leather the night before works well for me. I only get to shave once but the night before stropping gives me an excuse for 10 minutes of den time which, well, I enjoy

As already stated, YMMV. Ask a thousand members, you'll get a thousand different stropping routines. I'm not even going to bother saying how I do it. Just do whatever suits and works for you. Good luck.

Normally, I only strop after the shaving session. Rinse blade with hot water, then gently wipe off with a bar towel, followed by ~10 laps linen and ~30 laps leather. Then the razor is left out to air-dry completely, before storing away.