Thread: Rounded tip or not

So, ever since I fell into the art of straight razor shaving a few weeks ago, I have been religiously trolling the forums for advice to better my technique in all areas from lather, pressure, angle and stropping. There is so much information, it becomes overwhelming and confusing. One example is the subject of stropping. There are so many opinions on this and they all seem slightly different.

One particular part of the subject is the part of rolling the blade. I read this all the time from members replying to new members posts. When someone starting out comments about their shaves not working out, at least one person states that the edge could be rolled due to improper stropping.

My problem is, how do us new guys know? We could continuosly send our razors in for re-honing but that seems a bit crazy. I read somewhere that a new guy sent his razor in for honing fearing a rolled edge. The person doing the re-honing stated that he only had to strop properly to return the edge to shave ready.

Some say that a modular strop is best for learning, others say that modular strop are very pressure sensitive and can cause more problems. How is someone supposed to practice and get better while fearing their equipment is faulty? How can we learn to strop fearing we will ruin the edge on our newly honed razors?

I am going to persist on concentrating on my technique before I start questioning my equipment. I will concentrate on stropping, pressure, angle, and lather. I can only hope at this point, that I am teaching myself proper technique.

You're a good man. You'll do well with wet shaving.

You want to learn and seem willing to take the time to do things right.

Modular or hanging strop you'll get used to either.. I don't know what rolling the edge is because I've never done it.

I really wouldn't send your razor out until it can't be stropped back to acceptable shape. Waste of time and money sending it otherwise.

Have you got a chromium oxide Strop? Touch up hone?

Practice without fear. Fear for me led to mistakes and cut strops.

Also don't buy a super expensive Strop for your first one or if you did buy a cheap one and cheap blade and get your strop on.

Your title question is round tip or not?
Which looks better to your eyes?

Rounded tips are more forgiving.
Especially for beginners.

Don't worry if a 60+ year old, me, can tech himself to shave with a straight razor you can too. Lots of mistakes will be made along the way also but that is normal and you learn from them.

As for rolling an edge there are ways you can check for it. If you search the site there will be some posts on how to do that.

Nobody likes to send a razor out for honing but as a beginner you will dull a blade more often than someone who has been at this game for a while. That is normal too.

Bob

A tip I give new guys learning to strop is practice using a butter knife; you acquire proper technique, gain muscle memory and won't cut your strop. For stropping before you shave until you do learn proper technique lay your strop flat on a counter top or use a paddle strop.

when stropping DO NOT lift the spine, DO NOT use more pressure that the weight of the blade. If you do those 2 things, you won't roll the edge.

Laying your hanging strop on a table or counter while you learn removes a whole variable from the equation. Its a good way to start out. Keep it slow and light with the spine on the strop at all times, you won't have any issues.

Originally Posted by DoughBoy68

A tip I give new guys learning to strop is practice using a butter knife; you acquire proper technique, gain muscle memory and won't cut your strop. For stropping before you shave until you do learn proper technique lay your strop flat on a counter top or use a paddle strop.

Originally Posted by ecormier

when stropping DO NOT lift the spine, DO NOT use more pressure that the weight of the blade. If you do those 2 things, you won't roll the edge.

This is how I learned to strop correctly - Once you've got the feel of it with the butter knife you can relax into it a bit more with the razor!

Its also a good idea not to buy an expensive strop until you've got your stropping down pat as you'll likely slash your first strop a few times, I certainly did.

IME you'd have to be going pretty heavy-handed with the stropping to knacker your edge to such an extent that it needs re-honing. As long as you're not using loads of pressure even if you do inadvertently scuff the edge it shouldnt require anything more than some corrective stropping to restore it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Originally Posted by Stubear

IME you'd have to be going pretty heavy-handed with the stropping to knacker your edge to such an extent that it needs re-honing. As long as you're not using loads of pressure even if you do inadvertently scuff the edge it shouldnt require anything more than some corrective stropping to restore it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

But then that is the trick isn't it? A beginner doesn't know how to properly strop to correct it.

Originally Posted by Splashone

But then that is the trick isn't it? A beginner doesn't know how to properly strop to correct it.

Well I'm assuming that a beginner knows how to strop to some extent and understands the concept, its just the odd miscue they're worried about? Rather than "I have a razor and a strop and I have no idea whatsoever on how to apply one to the other"

So if you do 10 correct strokes (light pressure, flipping on the spine) and then fluff one this shouldnt knacker the edge and require a re-hone, and by doing another few correct strokes that should mitigate for the one bad one.