Thread: when to strop?

Being a beginner I have read numerous articles on every aspect of shaving.During my research on stropping I have come across articles saying you should never strop a razor after shaving because you could damage the microscopic cutting edge.That you should allow the razor to rest 24-48 hours for the fine edge to realign.I have also come across numerous articles and post of people saying they strop their razor after shaving to help maintain a nice edge and clean the blade and even some who strop during the shave before a final pass over the face.Is this all just personal preference,could you actually damage the edge stropping after a shave?The article in question can be found at this link.Straight Razor Strop Use and Care, How to Strop Single Edge Razors, About Stropsg
the second paragraph under the in general section

In my opinion, resting is a load of rubbish. Strop before each shave with linen & leather to prepare the edge, & after with linen to ensure you've left it clean & dry. You can do this as often as needed with absolutely no detrimental effects.
As far as stropping during the shave, that's just stropping for the sake of it. The blade should be fine for the course of the entire shave.

When reading various conflicting opinions on when to strop straight razors and why, I think about real life experiences, such as a barber 100 or more years ago. Would that barber own enough razors to shave each of his customers with a different razor and then not need to use that razor again for two days while the edge "rests?"

We have some members who are professional barbers and some attending barber school. I don't think any of them ever posted that a razor's edge should be "rested" 24 - 48 hours before being stropped again.

Whether one strops only before a shave or both before and after a shave is a personal decision.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

+1 to all the above. I've never read or heard anything saying a razor needs to sit up like that. It's only steel and that would be like telling a soldier he can't shoot his gun for a day or two after firing a shot. LOL! Even though steel is affected by temperature changes & such, I don't think the hot and cold water from your tap is enough to worry about. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet the steel in a blade has finished doing whatever it's going to do in less than an hour after shaving with it when it reaches ambient temperature.

As I understand it, even though the edge of a blade appears smooth, it looks more serated under a microscope. Each one of these little serations gets a little out of wack from each shave and needs to be re-aligned. Stropping is what re-aligns and polishes these little serations. I read a good article written by one of the old razor manufacturers that talked about stropping before and after each shave. Stropping before a shave polishes the edge and gets it as keen as possible. The razor's edge can get a little oxidation along the edge that can't be seen by the naked eye. Stropping after shaving helps dry the blade from the friction. For the better part of my str8 razor shaving career, I've been stropping 20 linen & 40 leather before a shave then 15 linen & 30 leather after a shave. Since I've been doing this, I have never had a water spot appear on any of my blades and my razors shave really well every time.

Originally Posted by kcarlisle

As I understand it, even though the edge of a blade appears smooth, it looks more serated under a microscope. Each one of these little serations gets a little out of wack from each shave and needs to be re-aligned. Stropping is what re-aligns and polishes these little serations. I read a good article written by one of the old razor manufacturers that talked about stropping before and after each shave. Stropping before a shave polishes the edge and gets it as keen as possible. The razor's edge can get a little oxidation along the edge that can't be seen by the naked eye. Stropping after shaving helps dry the blade from the friction. For the better part of my str8 razor shaving career, I've been stropping 20 linen & 40 leather before a shave then 15 linen & 30 leather after a shave. Since I've been doing this, I have never had a water spot appear on any of my blades and my razors shave really well every time.

This is my understanding and practice as well. Although I start with 30/60, and finish with 20/20.

aib,

When to strop? I do it at about 5 am, which is when I get up to go to work. On the weekend it's more like 7 am.

I wipe my razor(s) dry on a towel after a rinse in really hot water, don't use the after shave strop, and have neaver had any problem with corrosion.

My preshave strop routine has developed to: 30-40 strokes on linen, same number on slightly rough cowhide, and same number on horsehide. I keep about 3-4 razors in rotation, haven't honed any in months, and do a full face shave every morning.

You can safely strop whenever you want and won't damage the edge. There are many old barbers tales out there more about shaving lore I think. I strop 60x on leather before shaving but many do it after also to remove moisture from the blade. I've found once you reach a certain point (pun intended) maybe 60x or so there is no further benefit to it.

aib, I believe what everyone has posted here is true. But it also depends on the razor in question. I have a Fredrick Renolds(sp) Frameback that is great shaver. But I have to strop it about half way through the shave every time to get a great shave out of it. Sometimes I just strop 2 razors when I plan on using it and when it starts to pull just a bit I swap out to the 2nd one and finish up the shave. But it could be my honing skills too at fault with this razor. This the 2nd hardest razor to hone that I own. Right behind a W&B meat chopper wedge. Which after About 6 years I have never got it to shave.


I only strop before a shave. Mostly because I am to lazy to strop after I shave. I have tried stropping after shaves but I found for me it did little to improve the next shave. So I stopped due to the laziness issue.

But find a routine that works for you and stick with it. If you find stropping before and after works and gives you more practice at it then strop away. I don't use a certain # of strokes either. I usually use somewhere between 25 and 50 on linen and leather.

I will say stropping was the hardest thing for me to learn. I had to learn to touch up razors on a hone long before I should have. I bought a couple of razors off of Lynn when I started just to have a sharp razor to learn with. No since in learning with a dull razor.

Sorry for rambling
Noel

3 pages of info here if that helps http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...-stroping.html

Thank you to everyone for the advice.Today was only my second shave with a straight razor.The stropping does seem awkward but like the shaving I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.I know you can't believe everything you read that's why I figured I would ask the pros.I do like the old barber theory,makes perfect sense to me.I guess I'll try some different methods and find what works best for me.Thank you again.